Coffee Highs

(HealthScoutNews) -- While that morning cup of coffee always seems to get you instantly stimulated for the day, you might be surprised to learn that it has another plus side.

According to a report from the Yale University School of Medicine in the June 2000 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, caffeine packs an added punch.

When 20 people were given either caffeine or a placebo 90 minutes before physical exertion, the levels of muscle glycogen, a measure of energy stored, were about the same for both groups. And the caffeine group showed higher levels of lactate, a measure of muscle fatigue.

But the caffeine group also showed higher levels of cortisol, an anti-stress hormone, and endorphins, the body's natural pain killers. The placebo group showed only a small increase in cortisol and no increase in endorphins.