Coffee Increases Physical and Cognitive Performance Both in Men and Women

Habitual Caffeine Intake Affects the Ergogenicity of Dosing Regimens on Muscular Endurance But Not on Sprint and Cognitive Performance in Men and Women

The impact of caffeine habituation on acute responses to different doses of caffeinated coffee has received minimal attention. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different doses of coffee on physical and cognitive performance in men and women with different levels of daily caffeine consumption. Sixty-nine (35 women) athletes participated in this study, attending 4 experimental visits in a double-blind, randomized, crossover fashion: decaffeinated coffee (PLA), 1.5 mg·kg-1 (LCOF), 3 mg·kg-1 (MCOF) and 6 mg·kg-1 of caffeine (HCOF) from coffee ingestion. Sixty min after coffee consumption, participants performed squat and bench press exercises (1 repetition maximum, 1RM), 60% of 1RM muscular endurance (ME), maximal sprinting, and cognitive performance (CP) was assessed. Participants were allocated into low (LGROUP), moderate (MGROUP), and high (HGROUP) caffeine consumption groups.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Exercise; Dietary Supplement
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: Low Dose Caffeine (LCOF); Dietary supplement: Moderate Dose Caffeine (MCOF); Dietary supplement: High Dose Caffeine (HCOF); Dietary supplement: Placebo (PLA)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 69
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Ankara University's Department of Sports Science

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy individuals
• Physically active individuals
• Non-smokers
• Age between 18 and 30 years
• Free from respiratory insufficiency
• Free from cardiovascular disease
• Free from neuromuscular disorders
• Free from musculoskeletal injury within the previous 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosed cardiovascular disease
• Neuromuscular disease
• Current limb injury
• History of limb injury requiring treatment within the previous 6 months
• Chronic respiratory disease or treatment for chronic respiratory conditions

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Low dose caffeine supplementation; consuming 0.12 g·kg-1 of decaffeinated coffee + 0.04 g·kg-1 of caffeinated coffee to achieve 1.5 mg·kg-1 of caffeine intake 60-min before the experimental trial.	Dietary supplement: Low Dose Caffeine (LCOF); Caffeinated versions of instant coffee were prepared in 600 ml hot water (approximately 65°C) and served in a mug. Participants ingested 0.12 g·kg-1 of decaffeinated coffee + 0.04 g·kg-1 of caffeinated coffee to achieve 1.5 mg·kg-1 of caffeine intake in LCOF 60-min before the experimental trial.
Experimental: Moderate dose caffeine supplementation; Consuming 0.08 g·kg-1 of decaffeinated coffee + 0.08 g·kg-1 of caffeinated coffee to achieve 3 mg·kg-1 of caffeine intake 60-min before the experimental trial.	Dietary supplement: Moderate Dose Caffeine (MCOF); Caffeinated versions of instant coffee were prepared in 600 ml hot water (approximately 65°C) and served in a mug. Participants ingested 0.08 g·kg-1 of decaffeinated coffee + 0.08 g·kg-1 of caffeinated coffee to achieve 3 mg·kg-1 of caffeine intake in MCOF 60-min before the experimental trial.
Experimental: High dose caffeine supplementation; Consuming 0.16 g·kg-1 of caffeinated coffee to achieve 6 mg·kg-1 of caffeine intake 60-min before the experimental trial.	Dietary supplement: High Dose Caffeine (HCOF); Caffeinated versions of instant coffee were prepared in 600 ml hot water (approximately 65°C) and served in a mug. Participants ingested 0.16 g·kg-1 of caffeinated coffee to achieve 6 mg·kg-1 of caffeine intake in HCOF 60-min before the experimental trial.
Experimental: Placebo; Consuming 0.16 g·kg-1 of decaffeinated coffee 60-min before the experimental trial.	Dietary supplement: Placebo (PLA); Decaffeinated versions of instant coffee were prepared in 600 ml hot water (approximately 65°C) and served in a mug. Participants ingested 0.16 g·kg-1 of decaffeinated coffee in PLA 60-min before the experimental trial.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Upper- and Lower-boy muscular endurance	Muscular endurance assessed during bench press and squat exercises using 60% of one-repetition maximum (1RM). Performance expressed as total weight lifted (kg).	60 minutes after caffeine or placebo ingestion (during each experimental trial)
Upper- and lower-body strenght	Maximal dynamic strength assessed using one-repetition maximum (1RM) tests in the squat and bench press exercises (kg).	60 minutes after caffeine or placebo ingestion (during each experimental trial)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Sprint Performance	Peak power output and mean power output measured during a 15-second Wingate anaerobic test on a cycle ergometer (W/kg).	60 minutes after caffeine or placebo ingestion (during each experimental trial)
Cognitive performance	Reaction time (ms) and accuracy measured using a modified arrow flanker task.	Baseline (before caffeine ingestion) and 60 minutes after caffeine or placebo ingestion.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Northumbria University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 4, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 20, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): March 20, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 6, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 11, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 11, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Motor Activity; Heterocyclic Compounds; Heterocyclic Compounds, 2-Ring; Heterocyclic Compounds, Fused-Ring; Alkaloids; Purinones; Purines; Xanthines; Caffeine
• Other Study ID Numbers: İ3-149-20

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No