A new study has shown that caffeine boosts power in muscles. Researchers isolated muscles from mice ranging in age from juvenile to elderly. They looked at two different skeletal muscles, which are the muscles we can control voluntarily and tested their performance before and after caffeine treatment. The first muscle was the diaphragm, a core muscle used for respiration and the second was a leg muscle called the extensor digitorum longus (EDL), used for locomotion.

Sports scientists at Coventry University looked at whether these age-related changes in muscle would be altered by the effect of caffeine. They found that caffeine continued to enhance muscle performance in two different muscles from mice, although it was less effective in muscles of older mice. "Despite a reduced effect in the elderly, caffeine may still provide performance-enhancing benefits." according to Jason Tallis, the study's primary author.

As we age, our muscles naturally change and become weaker. Caffeine helps muscles to produce more force hence adults in their prime can maintain their muscle strength thus reducing the incidence of falls and injuries.

Tallis said: "With the importance of maintaining a physically active lifestyle to preserve health and functional capacity, the performance-enhancing benefit of caffeine could prove beneficial in the aging population."

Source:

Society for Experimental Biology (2012). Caffeine boosts power for elderly muscles, experts say. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 30, 2013.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120629120445.htm