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Effects of caffeine ingestion on endurance performance in mentally fatigued individuals

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Abstract

Purpose

To examine the effects of caffeine ingestion on physiological and perceptual responses in mentally fatigued individuals.

Methods

Eight male physically active subjects completed four cycling constant-workload tests in four experimental conditions at 80 % of maximal power output: control (C), mental fatigue (MF), mental fatigue plus caffeine ingestion (5 mg/kg) (MF-CAF), and mental fatigue plus placebo (MF-PLA). The mental fatigue was induced by a continuous performance task A-X version (AX-CPT). Before and after the AX-CPT, the profile of mood state (POMS) and blood samples for lactate measurement were collected. Oxygen consumption (\( \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{2} \)), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and electromyography (EMG) activity were measured during the cycling test.

Results

The time to exhaustion in C, MF, MF-PLA, and MF-CAF were 251 ± 30, 222 ± 23, 248 ± 28, and 285 ± 42 s, respectively. Delta values (corrected by C condition) were higher in MF-CAF than MF (P = 0.031). MF-CAF reported higher Vigor scores when compared with C (P = 0.046) and MF (P = 0.020). RPE at the first minute was significantly higher in MF-PLA than in C (P = 0.050); at the second minute, RPE was higher in MF-PLA than in C (P = 0.049) and MF-CAF (P = 0.048). EMG activity was not different between the conditions.

Conclusions

Caffeine ingestion increased approximately 14 % endurance performance after the induction of mental fatigue. This effect was accompanied by a tendency to improvement in mood state (i.e., vigor). Therefore, caffeine ingestion can promote a beneficial effect on endurance performance in mentally fatigued individuals.

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Abbreviations

AX-CPT:

AX continuous performance task

C:

Control group

CNS:

Central nervous system

EMG:

Eletromiography

iEMG:

Integrated eletromiography

MVC:

Maximal voluntary contraction

MF:

Mental fatigue group

MF-CAF:

Mental fatigue plus caffeine ingestion group

MF-PLA:

Mental fatigue plus placebo ingestion group

RMS:

Root mean square

RPE:

Rating of perceptive exertion

POMS:

Profile of mood state questionnaire

VL:

Lateral vastus

VO2max :

Maximal oxygen uptake

W max :

Maximal power output

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Endurance Performance Research Group, Departamento de Esporte, School of Physical Education and Sport (GEDAE-USP), University of São Paulo, Av. Professor Melo de Moraes, 65, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-030, Brazil

    Rafael Azevedo, Marcos David Silva-Cavalcante & Romulo Bertuzzi

  2. Sports Science Research Group, Academic Center of Vitoria, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil

    Marcos David Silva-Cavalcante & Adriano E. Lima-Silva

  3. School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Bruno Gualano

  4. Rheumatology Department, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Bruno Gualano

Authors
  1. Rafael Azevedo
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  2. Marcos David Silva-Cavalcante
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  3. Bruno Gualano
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  4. Adriano E. Lima-Silva
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  5. Romulo Bertuzzi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Romulo Bertuzzi.

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Communicated by Guido Ferretti.

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Azevedo, R., Silva-Cavalcante, M.D., Gualano, B. et al. Effects of caffeine ingestion on endurance performance in mentally fatigued individuals. Eur J Appl Physiol 116, 2293–2303 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3483-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3483-y

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