It's been very well documented that making a cup
of coffee, or grabbing a brew from a commercial coffee
machine, can help to stimulate people in the morning or get
them through that mid-afternoon slump.
In fact, scientists are always carrying out studies on coffee
and caffeine in order to find out what effects they have - and
often come up with some lofty claims about their benefits.
But one study has suggested something that might not have
occurred to most - that it can help people exercise.
According to the University of Exeter, people who have
caffeinated drinks feel more able to put in lots of effort when
they are training in the gym than those who skip caffeine
completely.
Dr Michael Duncan, a sports science lecturer at the higher
education facility, commented: "They would put more work into the
training session and when the session was finished, in the presence
of the caffeinated drink, they were more psychologically ready to
go again."
This comes after Australian Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe told BBC
News that coffee is one of his main weaknesses.