Caffeine and Cognitive Functions in Sports: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Cognitive functions are essential in any form of exercise. Recently, interest has mounted in addressing the relationship between caffeine intake and cognitive performance during sports practice. This review examines this relationship through a structured search of the databases Medline/PubMed and Web of Science for relevant articles published in English from August 1999 to March 2020. The study followed PRISMA guidelines. Inclusion criteria were defined according to the PICOS model. The identified records reported on randomized cross-over studies in which caffeine intake (as drinks, capsules, energy bars, or gum) was compared to an identical placebo situation. There were no filters on participants’ training level, gender, or age. For the systematic review, 13 studies examining the impacts of caffeine on objective measures of cognitive performance or self-reported cognitive performance were selected. Five of these studies were also subjected to meta-analysis. After pooling data in the meta-analysis, the significant impacts of caffeine only emerged on attention, accuracy, and speed. The results of the 13 studies, nevertheless, suggest that the intake of a low/moderate dose of caffeine before and/or during exercise can improve self-reported energy, mood, and cognitive functions, such as attention; it may also improve simple reaction time, choice reaction time, memory, or fatigue, however, this may depend on the research protocols.

Effects of Energy Drink Consumption on Physical Performance and Potential Danger of Inordinate Usage

“…However, more power during lifting and sprinting was produced in male athletes than in female athletes. Beyond the physical aspect, it was found that a low or moderate dose of caffeine can improve self-reported energy, mood, and cognitive functions such as attention in sports practice [ 32 ]. These reports show that caffeine administration may be an important factor in competitive performance at an elite level where results depend on narrow margins and may also be helpful for amateurs in beating their personal records.…”

Effects of carbohydrate and caffeine mouth rinsing on strength, muscular endurance and cognitive performance

“…Carbohydrate (CHO) and caffeine (CAF) ingestion are supported by strong evidence to have beneficial effects on exercise and cognitive performance and used by professional and/or highly trained athletes to increase training and match performance [ 1 – 3 ]. CAF binds to adenosine receptors A 1 and A 2 , reducing the influence of the parasympathetic system and increasing the synthesis of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and catecholamines, increasing cognitive performance [ 4 ], tension, vigor and perception of vitality and a reduction between training load and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) on elite and moderately trained athletes [ 5 ]. At the peripheral level, CAF improves sodium-potassium (Na + -K + ) pump activity and increases the bioavailability of calcium (Ca 2+ ) in the myoplasm [ 6 ]; mechanisms that explain an enhancement of one repetition maximum (1-RM) [ 7 ] power output with a determined load [ 8 ] and muscular endurance [ 9 ] in resistance exercises.…”

Mental Fatigue and Basketball Performance: A Systematic Review

“…Cognitive functions include a lot of basic mental operations, such as attention, memory, and executive functions involving working memory, decision-making, and multitasking (Lorenzo Calvo et al, 2021 ). Among these functions, attention is the one mainly defined as allocating cognitive resources to internal or external stimuli, which is key for sports performance (Furley and Wood, 2016 ).…”

“…The participants in the control group listened to an audio-book segment on natural history, which was 15 mins long, and the results indicated that a brief mindfulness intervention could decrease the negative influence s of MF on basketball freethrows. Kabat-Zinn described mindfulness as "paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally" (Sierpina, 2005) 2021) states that the intake of caffeine could improve attention (Lorenzo Calvo et al, 2021). Listening to self-selected music would be a suitable method of reducing MF in endurance performances (Lam and Phillips, 2019).…”