Stimulants

What are they?

Stimulants boost the levels of some chemicals in the brain. They also make the heart beat faster and raise blood pressure.

Stimulants can help an athlete:

• Exercise longer.
• Feel less tired or hungry.
• Feel more alert and aggressive.

Common stimulants include caffeine and drugs called amphetamines. Cold medicines often have a stimulant in them.

Energy drinks are popular among many athletes. They often have high doses of caffeine and other stimulants. The street drugs cocaine and methamphetamine also are stimulants.

Risks

Stimulants have side effects that can make an athlete play worse, such as:

• Lowered focus due to feeling nervous or angry.
• Trouble sleeping.
• Dehydration.
• Heatstroke, which happens when the body gets too hot and can't cool down.
• Addiction to stimulants, or needing higher doses to feel the effects.

Other side effects include:

• A feeling that the heart is beating fast, fluttering or pounding.
• A heartbeat that is too fast, too slow or out of rhythm.
• Weight loss.
• A type of shaking called tremors.
• High blood pressure.
• The sensation of seeing things that aren't there, called hallucination.
• Stroke.
• Heart attack or other problems with blood flow.