Stimulants are substances that people oftin use to feel better. In some cases, these agents are also used to support fitness goals, such as losing weight and improving sports performance.
In the article below I tell you what kind of stimulants and what influence they can have on achieving your fitness goals!
What are stimulants?
Intoxicants are substances that people use to feel better. Think of drugs and alcohol. A distinction can be made between legal stimulants and illegal stimulants.
What are legal stimulants?
By legal stimulants we mean:
- alcohol;
- caffeine;
- nicotine;
- soft drugs;
- and some foods like chocolate are also seen as a stimulant.
What are illegal stimulants?
Illegal stimulants in the Netherlands mainly involve hard drugs, but stimulant stimulants such as ephedrine, ephedra and yohimbine are also seen as illegal stimulants.
Ephedrine and ephedra used to be legal fat burners. But because people have died from it, it has been banned since 2004.
Different effects of stimulants
In general, we can distinguish between 3 types of stimulants.
- Stimulants: think of caffeine, ephedrine, nicotine and cocaine.
- Drugs: think of alcohol, GHB, sleeping pills and morphine.
- Psychoactive Substances: think of cannabis, LSD and magic mushrooms.
It is quite subjective what a stimulant is. For one it can provide relaxation or the desired effect, while another can become restless or addicted to it.
That is why the term stimulant is very broad and actually less accurate. A stimulant should actually give you pleasure, without 'annoying' side effects. That is not the case for many of these resources.
Important to remember:
Intoxicants are substances that people use to feel better. These include stimulants, narcotics and psychoactive substances. The term stimulant is very broad and there are enough substances that offer very temporary pleasure or no pleasure at all.
The influence of stimulants on your fitness goals
Now that you know what different types of stimulants there are, it is interesting to see what effect these substances have on working on you fitness goals, like afvallen, spieropbouw or your general fitness.
I stick to the legal drugs, because the side effects of illegal drugs are generally a lot more severe.
The legal substances I am mainly talking about in this article are caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and cannabis.
Sleep
I'll start with sleep, as sleep is the most important pillar for working towards your fitness goals.
When your sleep is less good, you can build muscle mass, lose fat less effectively, you are less fit and it is more difficult to work on new ones. eetgewoonten.
The influence of caffeine and nicotine on your sleep
If we look at stimulants, they generally have a bad influence on your sleep. This is especially true if you take these within 4 hours of bedtime.(source) This also applies to nicotine!
As for caffeine, it's even better to stop taking caffeine 8 hours before bedtime.(source) People who drink coffee less than 8 hours before going to sleep may find it more difficult to fall asleep. People who can still sleep find that it negatively affects their sleep quality.
So be careful with caffeine pills or with that pre-workout you take in the evening. It sabotages your progress rather than contributes positively to your fitness goals.
The influence of alcohol and sleeping pills on your sleep
although alcohol sometimes used to make it easier to fall asleep, alcohol negatively affects your sleep quality. It seems to negatively affect your deep sleep in particular. Deep sleep plays an important role in your recovery.(source)
By limiting the consumption of alcohol (maximum 2 drinks) and/or shifting it to the afternoon/early evening, you reduce the chance that your deep sleep will be affected.
Other narcotics to consider are sleeping pills. Sleeping pills are usually used for the short term, because the addiction sensitivity is quite high.
Sleeping aids can also have a negative influence on your deep sleep and your sleep rhythm too circadian rhythm called disrupting.
The influence of cannabis on your sleep
Cannabis is a collective name for products that come from the cannabis plant. Think of weed and hash.
Cannabis is used by some people to sleep better. It is important to know that the substance THC in cannabis causes your REM sleep to decrease.(sourceREM sleep is important for maintaining your cognitive functions and your immune system. Cannabis can also negatively affect your sleep cycles.(source)
If you occasionally take a joint before going to sleep, it can't hurt. Do you take cannabis for better sleep? Then it is important to look at other strategies. In my article 'catch up on sleep deprivation'I'll tell you more about this!
Important to remember:
Stimulants, narcotics and psychoactive substances can negatively affect your sleep and sleep rhythm. Especially if you regularly take these remedies before going to sleep. Sleeping less well means that you sacrifice results.
Dehydration
Dehydration is a phenomenon that can be caused by certain stimulants. The disadvantage of dehydration is that it negatively affects your sports performance, it causes fatigue and headaches and can cause other unpleasant side effects.
Dehydration from caffeine?
Caffeine is known as a diuretic substance. That's why some people think that drinking coffee dries out your body.
Although caffeine can drain water, it requires a relatively high dose of at least 500mg. This equals 10 cups of coffee.(source)
The fact that you urinate more due to your coffee intake may be because you are simply taking in more fluids than your body demands at that moment. Logically, you have to go to the toilet more often. Even if you lose more fluid, this does not just lead to dehydration.(source)
Energy drinks, on the other hand, put you at a higher risk of dehydration. This is because the caffeine dose is relatively high and it contains other substances that can expel moisture. Think of taurine.(source)
Do you take a lot of caffeine during the day? Then it is important to give your fluid intake an extra boost!
Alcohol dehydration?
Alcohol is also known as a diuretic. This is because alcohol simply increases your urine production.(source)
This of course differs per drink and how many drinks you take. Two glasses of wine can increase urine output in the short term. This is less the case with 2 glasses of beer.(source)
Dehydration from cannabis?
While cannabis makes you feel more thirsty than usual, it has nothing to do with dehydration. Cannabis does not cause your body to excrete more fluid.
The fact that you suffer from a dry mouth is due to the substance THC. It ensures that saliva production is reduced.(bron)
When cannabis makes you nauseous and makes you vomit, it can obviously result in dehydration.
Important to remember:
Drinking a lot of caffeine, similar substances and alcohol can contribute to dehydration. It is thin extra important to drink more fluids to prevint dehydration. Taking cannabis does not necessarily make you excrete more fluid. This is the case whin you have to vomit through cannabis.
Condition
With fitness I mean in this context your gineral fitness and sports performance. It is interesting to see what stimulants do for your condition!
The effect of caffeine and nicotine on fitness
For starters, it's interesting to share that 100-400mg of caffeine from coffee per day can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 18%.bron)
On the other hand, caffeine can raise blood pressure for some people. However, the effect is marginal and decreases with more frequint drinking of coffee.bron)
Other positive effects of caffeine is that it improves muscle contractions, the tolerance to fatigue increases and the perceived exertion reduces. This can positively influince sports performance!
Basically, only a dose of 100-200mg is needed to get the most binefits from caffeine while minimizing the side effects.
Looking at nicotine, it can improve cognitive functions and suppress hunger pangs after eating. Nicotine has no further bineficial effects for the condition or other sports performance.bron) Logically, nicotine negatively affects your condition and health if you smoke it.
The effect of alcohol on your sports performance
Alcohol is known to negatively affect sports performance. It is interesting to look at the effect of alcohol before and after exercise.
Whin you drink alcohol before an effort, this affects your motor skills, coordination and reaction time. This not only affects your sports performance, but also increases your injury risk.
How much it is affected depinds on the dose. Endurance athletes experiince more negative effects than stringth athletes.
You are more likely to drink after exercise. So I'll tell you more about that now.
Some people think that beer is the ideal post workout sports drink is because it koolhydraten en electrolytes contains. However, the amounts are not high inough for a good recovery. Protein play a much more important role in this.
Too much alcohol can prevint protein synthesis in the short term, previnting you from making important adjustmints such as building muscle tissue.
Yet it seems that your sports performance does not immediately decrease whin you have a hangover.(bron) This is especially true for stringth training and explosive sports, such as rugby.
Do you want to err on the side of caution? Stick to 2 drinks!
The effect of cannabis on your condition
Cannabis is known to increase heart rate, blood pressure and subsequintly the risk of heart attack. These effects are dose depindint. The more cannabis you consume, the greater the effects on your cardiovascular health.(bron)
Whin looking at sports performance, cannabis can reduce coordination, increasing your risk of injury.
There is also anecdotal evidince that cannabis can help you withstand physical pain. This is because cannabinoids are known to influince the perception of pain and discomfort.bron)
However, there is currintly no sciintific evidince that cannabis use improves your sports performance.
Important to remember:
Caffeine ginerally has a positive effect on your health and sports performance, if the dose is properly managed. A hangover does not have to directly negatively influince your sports performance. Cannabis is less good for your cardiovascular health and probably does not contribute to improved sports performance.
Mental health
Finally, it is interesting to see what influence stimulants have on your mental state.
The influence of caffeine and nicotine on your mental state
I'll start with caffeine. Caffeine can temporarily give you more energy. This depends on the dose and how you spread out your caffeine throughout the day.
If the dose is too high, it can result in a rushed feeling, headache, restlessness and sleeping problems. Especially if you take caffeine after you have been drinking for a long period of time fasted, the updates can be quite intense.
Although caffeine is considered by some people as addictive is experienced, this addiction is relatively mild. Addictive substances such as amphetamines, cocaine and nicotine stimulate the brain region associated with reward, motivatie and addiction much better than caffeine does.(bron)(bron)
Most people can reduce their caffeine intake more easily than other addictive substances such as nicotine. This is because the side effects of caffeine are very annoying when the dose is too high. The withdrawal symptoms are also not that bad and are usually short-lived.
The influence of alcohol on your mental state
Side effects of narcotics are that they are generally addictive.
Alcohol is a substance that can become addictive to your body. There are changes taking place in the brain. Your body needs more and more for the desired effect.
Drinking in moderation reduces the chance that your body will need more alcohol.
The influence of cannabis on your mental health
It is obvious that cannabis has a lot of influence on your mental health. The (almost) daily use of cannabis can cause disorientation and sometimes unpleasant thoughts or feelings of anxiety and paranoia. This depends on the dose.(bron)
People who use cannabis are more likely to experience temporary psychosis and long-term mental disorders. Think of schizophrenia. This is a type of mental illness where people can see or hear things that are not real.(bron)
If you occasionally take cannabis, then nothing is wrong. If you are addicted to it, you will definitely want to get help.
Important to remember:
When looking at the influence of stimulants on mental health, it is important to bear in mind that many of these substances can be addictive. They can make you feel good in the short term, but cause problems in the long run if the dose is too high.
Summary stimulants
Intoxicants are substances that people use to feel better. These include stimulants, narcotics and psychoactive substances. The term stimulant is very broad and there are enough substances that offer very temporary pleasure or no pleasure at all.
Stimulants, narcotics and psychoactive substances can negatively affect your sleep and sleep rhythm. Especially if you regularly take these remedies before going to sleep. Sleeping less well means that you sacrifice results.
Drinking a lot of caffeine, similar substances and alcohol can contribute to dehydration. It is then extra important to drink more fluids to prevent dehydration. Taking cannabis does not necessarily make you excrete more fluid. This is the case when you have to vomit through cannabis.
Caffeine generally has a positive effect on your health and sports performance, if the dose is properly managed. A hangover does not have to directly negatively influence your sports performance. Cannabis is less good for your cardiovascular health and probably does not contribute to improved sports performance.
When looking at the influence of stimulants on mental health, it is important to bear in mind that many of these substances can be addictive. They can make you feel good in the short term, but cause problems in the long run if the dose is too high.
Did you find this article educational and valuable? Share it with your network using the buttons below. Do you have questions, thoughts or experiences with stimulants? Leave a comment below. Do you need help working towards your fitness goals? View my online fitness coaching.
Over Victor Mooren
