Negative consequences of taking caffeine for (cardio) endurance?

Asked by: Dani Bennett

While consuming caffeine before a workout can be beneficial in enhancing performance, consuming too much caffeine can lead to some negative side-effects. Some of these side-effects include restlessness, insomnia, rapid or abnormal heart rhythm, anxiety, upset stomach or heartburn, and increased blood pressure.

Does caffeine affect cardiovascular endurance?

However, the results of this research indicate that caffeine consumption in interval of one hour to exercise could increase heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, blood glucose and also improve the time of performance for endurance activities in athletes.

How does caffeine affect endurance?

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system to reduce fatigue and drowsiness. It may also benefit exercise performance; research has shown that it can improve endurance and increase muscular strength. As such, it is no surprise that caffeine is a popular go-to performance enhancer for athletes.

Does caffeine negatively affect athletic performance?

Caffeine is one of the most studied supplements in the world. Studies correlate its use to increased exercise performance in endurance activities, as well as its possible ergogenic effects for both intermittent and strength activities. Recent findings show that caffeine may increase or decrease exercise performance.

How does caffeine affect the cardiovascular system during exercise?

A summary of the studies presented can be seen in Table 1. Of the studies conducted, the cardiovascular effects most consistently reported are elevated blood pressure and lower heart rate on caffeine (3 and 5 mg/kg) during aerobic exercise in both boys and girls (see Table 1).