Acute effects of caffeine supplementation on cortical arousal, anxiety, physiological response and marksmanship in close quarter combat

Abstract

Previous studies have researched the ergogenic effect of caffeine in different shooting actions, but none of them in a stressful combat action. This study aimed to analyse the effect of a dose of 400 mg of caffeine monohydrate on the psycho-physiological response and marksmanship of soldiers in close quarter combat. We analysed the heart rate, blood lactate concentration, cortical arousal, state anxiety and marksmanship of 19 soldiers in the Spanish Army (38.9 ± 4.1 years; 177.4 ± 5.3 cm; 78.8 ± 7.6 kg) before and after a close quarter combat simulation in a double-blind procedure. Caffeine intake did not improve shooting performance in close quarter combat; however, it increased cognitive and somatic anxiety levels.