Benefits
Energy and alertness
Caffeine is the world's most used stimulant, reliably increasing alertness, focus, and perceived energy.
Exercise performance
A meta-analysis confirmed caffeine improves endurance performance and time to exhaustion, a benefit used widely in sports nutrition.
Focus
Caffeine sharpens attention and reaction time, especially when tired.
Mechanism of action
Adenosine blockade
Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, reducing the feeling of fatigue and increasing alertness.
Catecholamine release
Caffeine promotes release of adrenaline, supporting energy availability and exercise output.
Clinical trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of caffeine intake on endurance performance. (Wang et al. 2022, Nutrients)
Adults across multiple trials.
Caffeine improved endurance running performance and time to exhaustion versus placebo.