Female athletes who play intermittent sports often wonder if caffeine helps them perform better. A new analysis looked at data from nine studies involving 118 women to answer this question. The research focused on how caffeine affects physical performance during exercise.
The results showed clear benefits for specific movements. Athletes taking caffeine demonstrated better agility and higher vertical jumps. The data suggested these improvements were consistent across different groups. However, the study did not find any boost in sprint performance.
The researchers also looked at how the menstrual cycle might change these results. They found no significant differences between the follicular and luteal phases. Yet, the evidence for effects during the luteal phase was less certain. The small number of studies with detailed cycle information limits what we can conclude.
Experts say we need better-designed studies to test if caffeine responses truly differ across cycle phases. Until then, the current data supports caffeine use for agility and jumping in this specific group of athletes.
