Academic Journal Review

Greetings readers! For this week’s post, I am going to share information from an academic journal article I read, Caffeinated Energy Drinks Improve High-Speed Running in Elite Field Hockey Players. As dietitians, we will be utilizing and applying information from academic journals into our studies, which is why it is vital to comprehend the information written in them. Although it is challenging to do so, the information I acquired was intriguing since it had to do with athletes and supplements. Let's take a closer look at the content I read about. 

 

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a caffeine-containing energy drink to improve physical performance (distance, acceleration, heart rate) of elite field hockey players during a game. Recent studies show that the use of caffeinated beverages enhances movement patterns of several team sports such as basketball, volleyball, and tennis. Therefore, this experiment was designed to see if the caffeine had the same effect in field hockey players as it has in other sports. During this study, 13 elite field hockey players had to drink 3 mg of a caffeinated beverage per kg of body mass, or the same drink with 0 mg of caffeine, also known as the placebo. To make sure this experiment was conducted fairly, participants and researchers were placed in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized crossover study under the same environmental conditions.

Protocol

Each participant was instructed to stretch and warm-up the same, and abstain from alcohol, stimulants, or other caffeinated beverages twenty-four hours prior to the ingestion of the 3 mg of caffeine or placebo. The players were dressed in t-shirts, shorts, sneakers, and had a GPS (accelerometer-heart-rate device) attached to their chests to measure the quick movements and accelerations of participants. The GPS also detects the distance run, instantaneous running speed, accelerations and decelerations, and average heart rate.

Results

The results show that the total distance covered with 3 mg of caffeine in the body is similar to the distance covered with the placebo drink between the first and second halves. However, the number of high-intensity actions (sprints) is greater in the caffeinated drink than with the placebo drink. In regards to accelerations and decelerations, the study shows the ingestion of the energy drink decreases the number of body impacts. Lastly, the study outcome shows that the caffeinated drink increases heart rate in elite field hockey players in the first half of the game by 181 ± 9 bpm (beats per minute) compared to the placebo drink.

Side Effects

Although the study shows that caffeinated beverages increase high-intensity actions and heart rate, it also shows side effects. Below is a chart that I read in the journal article that shows the side effects of the caffeinated beverages versus the placebo in percentages.

Side Effect	Placebo	Energy drink
Nervousness	0.0	23.1
Insomnia	15.4	61.5
Gastrointestinal problems	7.7	0.0
Activeness	0.0	30.8
Irritability	7.7	23.1
Muscular pain	15.4	23.1
Headache	7.7	30.8

The data chart shows that for all symptoms besides gastrointestinal problems, the energy drink increases all symptoms, including nervousness, insomnia, activeness, irritability, muscular pain, and headaches in the elite field hockey players the morning after their games.

Conclusion

Overall, the ingestion of 3 mg of a caffeinated energy drink in elite field hockey players increases movement patterns and heart rate. On the other hand, it reduces the amount of distance run at moderate intensity. Caffeinated energy drinks can be used to enhance overall performance in elite field hockey players, but the negative side effects should be taken into consideration prior to supplementation.

I hope you guys enjoyed this study as much as I did! Talk to you all next week.

Sincerely,
#sharingwithshar