Caffeine supplementation delays the fatigue through central nervous system modulation
Sport Sciences for Health August 2016, Volume 12, Issue 2, pp 239–245 Paulo E. Pereira
This study verifies if caffeine supplementation delays the onset of fatigue, enhancing performance, and whether this effect is due to modulation of the caffeine in the rating of perceived exertion, motor drive activation, autonomic nervous system, and energy metabolism.
Nine recreational athletes were submitted to two constant load tests after supplementation of caffeine and placebo. In both conditions, the fatigue was not identified by the motor drive activity, autonomic nervous system, and energy metabolism.
CAF group improved performance (total time until exhaustion) in 27 % compared with PLA (1220 ± 245 vs 963 ± 243 s, P < 0.05). When compared with the absolute time, the RPE presents a reduction on the final term of the caffeine condition on the same time when compared with the placebo condition (17 ± 2 vs 19 ± 1, P < 0.05). This ergogenic effect has not changed cardiac autonomic activity and energy metabolism.
We showed that caffeine supplementation increases the time associated with a reduction in the ratings of perceived exertion concluding that fatigue is controlled by central mechanisms.