Feeling a little weak? Better get yourself a cup of coffee!
The Society for Experimental Biology meeting last month featured a study that showed caffeine can boost the power generated by your muscles, which means that your daily cup of joe might be helping you more than you originally thought.
As we age, our muscles get weaker due to biological changes and deterioration. Researchers found that caffeine can combat these changes, helping to strengthen muscles and allow them to produce more force.
For the elderly, that’s good news — you’ll be able to maintain your strength, which may reduce your risk of falls. Falls are the most common reason why the elderly are injured and hospitalized.
Decreasing muscle strength is known to increase our risk of injuries. It also reduces quality of life. As a result, it’s important that we strive to maintain muscle strength as we age, whether it be by going to the gym or engaging in physical activity that helps us do this.