When it comes to competing in sports, athletes are always looking for ways to boost their performance. For some people, the thought of using coffee to provide that surge of energy they seek is preposterous. But others feel the sudden jolt could give them that little extra push they need to out-perform their competition.
I recall a specific case of a star high school athlete who went to college on a full soccer scholarship. There was no question that her performance on the field was superb. Her game excelled during training camp at college as the season approached. When it was finally time for the first game of the year, the coach announced to the team that he would not tolerate the use of any stimulants by his players. The problem was that the star athlete had created a pre-game ritual of a strong cup of coffee for a burst of energy to play. When her coach announced this, she feared the worst. Fortunately for her, she was able to realize the pattern she had created and was able to overcome this. In her case, the ritual itself had become as strong of a drug as the caffeine in the coffee.
So can coffee and caffeine really give us that extra jump to compete better? It is important to consider what the coffee and caffeine is actually doing to us inside which creates that stimulation.
Coffee acts like a drug by uncontrollably stimulating neuron activity in the brain which triggers the pituitary gland to secrete ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone). This is a hormone that sends a signal to the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline (the stress hormone). This sudden rush we feel is a false sense of energy. In fact, we are demanding the adrenal glands create energy by any means necessary. This means we are not actually creating energy. Rather, we are forcing the body to burn off its reserves at a faster pace than can be stored.
Our hormones are responsible for practically every activity inside the body. So when we start disrupting the system from which hormones are produced and used, our entire internal homeostasis can become negatively impacted.
So although the coffee is giving us some extra energy, it is artificial, unsustainable and detrimental to our overall performance in our sport. Many people are quite happy to continue on with the perpetuating cycle of giving themselves a quick boost of energy with a jolt of caffeine when needed. But the dependence we build will ultimately cause our abilities to suffer.
Below are a few issues that have been related to coffee and caffeine consumption that will affect how well we can compete:
- Rapid blood sugar fluctuations (dysglycemia)
- Over-burdened pancreas & liver activity
- Over-stimulates & exhausts adrenal glands
- Malnutrition and malabsorption of nutrients
- Leaches and depletes vitamins & minerals, including B-complex, vitamin-C, calcium, magnesium, zinc, potassium, etc.
- Lowers metabolism (depleted nutrients needed to convert food to energy)
- Impaired brain and nervous system functioning
- Prevents iron absorption leading to anemia
- Diuretic
- Headache
- Moodiness
- Constipation
- Chronic stress
- Chronic fatigue
- Unstable energy
- Increased anxiety
- Disturbed sleep
- Damages the thyroid gland
- Lowered immune system function
- Cardiovascular inefficiencies and heart arrhythmias
- Increased blood pressure
- Pulse and respiration rates speed up
- Impaired blood circulation and nerve sensitivity
- Vaso-constrictor
- Increased aging
So before you reach for that cup of coffee (or redbull) before your next game or competition, keep the list above in mind and ask yourself if you think you can really perform to the best of your abilities when you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms. Is a 15-minute surge of energy from caffeine really worth it? Wouldn’t you rather build a naturally strong and sustainable energy reserve inside your body?
