Study: Coffee Can Enhance Endurance During Exercise

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --  A new study may have just given us more reasons to grab another cup of coffee.

Researchers at the University of Georgia say that drinking coffee can enhance your endurance when exercising.

Study author Simon Higgins, a third-year doctoral student in kinesiology in the College of Education, found that coffee increased endurance performance by an average of 24 percent.

The amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee can vary from 75 mg - 150 mg, depending on variety and how it's made.

The study participants drank coffee and then cycled or ran.

They then exercised vigorously and the results were measured.

In a majority of cases, endurance was noticeably improved.

Higgins says that more research is needed before giving any official recommendations to athletes, especially since the amount of caffeine in coffee can vary depending on how it's prepared.

The study was published in this month's issue of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.

An abstract of the study is available here.