by Arjun Singh ’12

Throughout the day, exhausted teens look for an extra boost of energy in order to finish an assignment, stay alert or just wake up. A common solution: caffeine. Eighty-five percent of Americans consume caffeine habitually. The mass popularity of caffeine comes from its effects as a stimulant that raises alertness and decreases fatigue in the body. This gives users that “boost” that they crave which can even improve their mood.

The problem is that very often, the use of caffeine is overly abused. While the reality is that most teens will consume caffeine, the large number of habitual drinkers may develop caffeine dependence or caffeine withdrawal. Too much caffeine can have negative effects such as insomnia, restlessness, nausea, jitters, anxiety, irritability and the infamous “crash.” Those that become dependent on caffeine no longer use it to raise their alertness or decrease their fatigue but only to maintain their current level of alertness. They function at a lower rate without caffeine and need it in order to operate properly.

Caffeine is measured in milligrams (mg) and the amount of caffeine appears on the nutrition labels of each product. Let’s follow the a hypothetical student through her daily consumption of caffeine. First, on the way to school, the student stops at Starbucks to get the Starbucks Grande coffee with an astounding 330mg of caffeine in order to wake up. During lunch, she downs some Nestea Iced Tea with 34mg of caffeine. For dinner, the student drinks Coke which contains 35mg of caffeine. Finally, to finish some homework, the student sips a Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino containing 90mg of caffeine. The total caffeine consumed in those four beverages adds up to 489mg of caffeine in one day. If the hypothetical student follows this routine daily, that’s 3243mg of caffeine in a week. So is that too much?

The recommended daily intake for caffeine should not exceed 2100mg for an adult per week, according to health.com. Our hypothetical student daily consumes nearly 200mg more than the safe amount and consumes over 1000mg more than the safe amount for a week. She is well on her way to a caffeine addiction that is exceedingly difficult to break. An abrupt decrease in caffeine can cause caffeine withdrawal. Instead, the Mayo Clinic suggests keeping tabs, cutting back, going decaf and checking the bottle. This means observing how much caffeine she intakes, gradually reducing her caffeine consumption, drinking decaffeinated beverages and recognizing uncommon sources of caffeine. Gradually decreasing caffeine intake is the most successful way to break this addiction.

To obtain more energy, there are other natural ways to prevent putting harmful chemicals in one’s body and to avoid the consequences of caffeine. One way is sleep. The recommended number of hours of sleep for adults is seven to nine while teenagers need 10 to 11 hours of sleep. Getting these precious hours of sleep allows the mind and body to rest, providing more energy for the day. Also, eating foods that provide energy, like carbohydrates, will store energy that the body can use throughout the day. One last tip is to stay active, which can have the same stimulating effect as caffeine. If getting more sleep and exercise is unrealistic and caffeine is going to be the likely quick fix, then the key is moderation.