Public release date: 11-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, March 11, 2013Consumption of energy drinks containing caffeine may have beneficial effects on exercise but probably not for mental function. The effects of pre-exercise caffeine consumption by trained cyclists on racing times and cognitive performance were measured and are reported in Journal of Caffeine Research, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Caffeine Research website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jcr.

Race performance improved for all study participants after consuming an energy drink, even if they already had an elevated blood caffeine level before the energy drink. Cycling times improved by an average of 3% for the group. David Gray Lassiter and coauthors from University of Texas at Austin also reported improvements in certain aspects of cognitive function, but these were probably not due to the energy drink. They present their findings in the article "Effect of an Energy Drink on Physical and Cognitive Performance in Trained Cyclists."

"While it is not certain from this one study whether energy drink improves physical performance, the study is important in pointing the way to further research in this area," says Jack E. James, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Caffeine Research.

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About the Journal

Journal of Caffeine Research: The International Multidisciplinary Journal of Caffeine Science is a quarterly journal published in print and online that covers the effects of caffeine on a wide range of diseases and conditions, including mood disorders, neurological disorders, cognitive performance, cardiovascular disease, and sports performance. The Journal explores all aspects of caffeine science including the biochemistry of caffeine; its actions on the human body; benefits, dangers, and contraindications; and caffeine addiction and withdrawal, across all stages of the human life span from prenatal exposure to end-of-life. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Caffeine Research website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jcr.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Breastfeeding Medicine, Journal of Medicinal Food, and Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website at http://www.liebertpub.com.

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Can energy drinks improve the physical and mental performance of cyclists?

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