The Effect of Immediate Consumption of High Carbohydrate and Caffeinated Drinks on Speed, Coordination and Cognitive Function in Professional Futsal Players

Researchers believe the beneficiary role of some supplements in improving futsal player’s performance, since their performance is disturbed by lactate accumulation.

Therefore, in the present study, the acute effect of high-carbohydrate and high-caffeinated drinks on motor performance (speed and coordination) and cognitive function in futsal players was investigated.

A quasi-experiment method with pretest-posttest with control group was used. 40 participants were randomly divided into 4 groups: (1) carbohydrate supplementation (N = 10); (2) caffeine supplementation (N = 10); (3) carbohydrate and caffeine supplementation (N = 10); (4) control group (placebo). Two carbohydrate and caffeine sports drinks, one dose each at the rate of 6 mL per kilogram of body weight) and placebo were prescribed to the subjects. Speed was measured by 36-m sprint test and coordination was measured by dribble and shoot test. A modified version of the continuous performance test (CPT) developed by the researcher for use in futsal players was also used to measure cognitive performance.

Carbohydrate had a significant effect on reaction time (as cognitive performance) and coordination (P ≤ 0.05). Additionally, caffeine was associated with a significant improvement in cognitive performance (P≤0.05), but no significant effect was found on speed and coordination (P≥ 0.05). Moreover, those who had carbohydrate supplement with caffeine had improvement in speed, coordination and cognitive performance (P ≤ 0.05).

Taking a supplement in the form of a combination of carbohydrate and caffeine 5 days before the performance will have a positive result in speed and coordination tests.