The Consumption of Caffeine and its Effects of Athletic Performance
Start Date
April 2020
End Date
April 2020
Major Field of Study
Psychology
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Afshin Gharib, PhD
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
Caffeine consumption among college students is often considered as an increasing motivation for studying and improving performance on examinations. Students routinely consume caffeinated drinks on the assumption that it will improve their stamina, attention, and motivation inside and outside the classroom. On another hand, side-effects of caffeine are well known, for example in disrupting normal sleep patterns. Researchers have also conducted studies of caffeine consumption and how it affects the performance of college athletes. Chia et al. (2017) found caffeine ergogenic by increasing force production and decreasing the perception of pain and stimulating the central nervous system which delays fatigue and enhances performance. These findings increase college athlete’s motivation to use caffeine as a legal performance enhancer. The purpose of this research is to determine whether using caffeinated beverages and the amount of consumption of these among student athletes’ effects performance positively. Twenty five women soccer athletes at a small college will be asked questions about caffeine consumption throughout the day, most recent consumption and amount consumed, sleeping habits (the Sleep Behavior Scale, Suh et al., 2014), and whether they believe caffeine to be an inhibitor or enhancer of athletic performance. Participants number of goals during practice and their performance will be recorded. It is hypothesized that caffeine will influence the amount of goals scored - athletes who consumed more caffeine and had caffeinated drinks more recently prior to practice are predicted to score more goals. It is also predicted that those who consume more caffeine will report sleeping less.
The Consumption of Caffeine and its Effects of Athletic Performance
Caffeine consumption among college students is often considered as an increasing motivation for studying and improving performance on examinations. Students routinely consume caffeinated drinks on the assumption that it will improve their stamina, attention, and motivation inside and outside the classroom. On another hand, side-effects of caffeine are well known, for example in disrupting normal sleep patterns. Researchers have also conducted studies of caffeine consumption and how it affects the performance of college athletes. Chia et al. (2017) found caffeine ergogenic by increasing force production and decreasing the perception of pain and stimulating the central nervous system which delays fatigue and enhances performance. These findings increase college athlete’s motivation to use caffeine as a legal performance enhancer. The purpose of this research is to determine whether using caffeinated beverages and the amount of consumption of these among student athletes’ effects performance positively. Twenty five women soccer athletes at a small college will be asked questions about caffeine consumption throughout the day, most recent consumption and amount consumed, sleeping habits (the Sleep Behavior Scale, Suh et al., 2014), and whether they believe caffeine to be an inhibitor or enhancer of athletic performance. Participants number of goals during practice and their performance will be recorded. It is hypothesized that caffeine will influence the amount of goals scored - athletes who consumed more caffeine and had caffeinated drinks more recently prior to practice are predicted to score more goals. It is also predicted that those who consume more caffeine will report sleeping less.
Comments
This presentation was accepted for the Scholarly and Creative Works Conference at Dominican University of California. The Conference was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic