Caffeine May Help You Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

If your health-related New Year's resolutions aren't going as planned, it could be time to kick up your coffee habit.

In a new paper published in the journal Sports Medicine, University of Kent endurance expert Samuele Marcora describes how the use of caffeine can help people stick to their fitness goals.

Most people give up on their get-healthy resolutions within the first six months of the year, Marcora explained, but coffee might help to challenge the evolutionary desire to converse energy - and be lazy - in winter months.

Perception of effort

Marcora explained that, along with lack of time, physical exertion is one of the biggest barriers to exercise. People often find it hard to sustain a fitness routine when they are constantly perceiving themselves to be expending so much effort.

Caffeine, however, can reduce this perception of effort, as it gives the body an energy jolt - much like more potent psychoactive drugs.

If your perception of effort is lower, you are less likely to engage in sedentary activities during leisure time, Marcora explains.

Much like nicotine is used to treat smoking or appetite suppressants are used to treat obesity, caffeine may help those needing a boost in the exercise department, the paper concluded.

A few cups of coffee per day are generally safe for diabetics, as long as your drinks don't contain an excess of milk, sugars or caloric-rich syrups.

Source: University of Kent