The rise of coffee drinking culture in Singapore is prevalent with the increase of new coffee chains. To some of us urbanites, coffee is a definite drink in the morning to energise the day. But will drinking too much caffeine affect your performance during runs or exercises?

Coffee and other caffeinated beverages often get a bad reputation, but many individuals do not understand the benefits that come with a cup of coffee. The reality is that caffeine in moderation is actually beneficial to anyone who needs a boost in brain power or reaction time.

Reaction Time Benefits

According to the LA Times, caffeine is known to provide a boost of energy that improves reaction time in athletes. This improved reaction time results in faster running times and longer lasting energy during an endurance run.

Improving Brain Health

Coffee is not only known to help improve running speed and reaction time, it is also beneficial to those who are striving to improve brain power. The consumption of coffee has been known to help students spot grammatical errors in written work, indicated by Huffington Post. It is also suggested that coffee helps protect the brain from degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease, though studies have yet to determine if the caffeine or other ingredients are providing protection for the brain.

Reduced Cramping

Athletes get more out of drinking coffee than just the benefit of faster reaction times caused by the addition of caffeine. Pure Miracle Herbs expressed that coffee helps reducing muscle cramping throughout the body. This means that during a long run, those who drink coffee are less likely to have cramps in the legs, stomach or side when compared to those who do not drink coffee.

Better Mental Recall

Coffee protects the brain from health problems, but it also goes further. Drinking moderate amounts of coffee is shown to help improve mental recall. This means that the memory is improved as much as mental alertness, creating a double impact that keeps the brain in top shape.

Improved recall means that it is possible to remember school and work related information. It also means that other memory related necessities, such as remembering where the finish-line is located or the route of the race, becomes a little easier. The brain is more alert and the memory is easier to pull up in a short amount of time.

Other Health Benefits

Coffee is about more than mental benefits and the benefits relating to athletic ability. It has a wide range of other health advantages that make it a guilt-free drink.

According to Web MD, coffee is shown to help reduce the risk of developing diseases like insulin resistant diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer. In the case of cancer, the findings related to liver cancer and other liver related diseases are relatively consistent and show that moderate coffee drinking does help protect the health of the liver and reduce the risk of developing liver diseases.

The health benefits are variable based on other health related factors. For example, a smoker will still have higher risks of heart disease despite consistent coffee drinking.

Coffee may have gained a bad reputation among athletes, but it is not as bad as many think. Coffee is good for the body when consumers drink in moderation to boost brain, muscle and total body health without the negative side effects.