“Tall Latte on the Counter…” I look around library and see fellow students all doing the same thing I am: studying to no end. As I look out the window, I notice that the sun has went down and proceeded look to the bottom right corner of my laptop screen and look at the time. It’s really late and I am nowhere near being done. I think, “What do I do?” “I can’t go to sleep and not finish this homework!?” Then, I look out into campus and see the neon red sign lit up at the campus coffee shop reading “OPEN.” I look up at the ceiling of the library and silently thank God for finding me a solution: get something with caffeine from the coffee shop and I’ll stay awake for a while. Quickly, I pack up my stuff and make my way over, the light of the sign …show more content…
In fact, caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive stimulant in the world (Boere 26). You can look anywhere and find a plethora of informative articles and studies done about how harmful caffeine is for your body. Some resources may even present a counter argument in saying that caffeine can be beneficial. If you look hard enough, you can even find articles on caffeine affects in relation to academic performance and performance pressure. Because caffeinated drinks are so widely consumed in today’s society, you can find lots of information and even look at very specific studies conducted on the effects of caffeine on certain parts of the body. Interestingly, Cole writes that “entering first-year (college) students reported an average of 1.1 servings of caffeine per day” (125). I thought this was interesting because it shows that using caffeine as a study aid something students don’t just start in college, it is normally a habit developed over …show more content…
Most do not know specific harmful effects, but they know enough common knowledge to know that too much caffeine is a bad thing. Evan* said that he “tries to limit himself to two cups of coffee a day. One busier days, (he) allows (himself) to have three cups, but (he) drink(s) water for the majority of the day.” When asked why he does not avoid caffeine altogether he says “I want to make my time at UNC count. I have spent so much money on tuition and textbooks and everything else in between that I feel like it would be a waste of my money if I didn’t do everything in my power to get the best grades possible. If I can get good grades by drinking a bunch of coffee, then so be
We must come unto the Lord, and not expect the Lord to come unto us. Of the many dangers in this world, the greatest danger that we have is an uninformed citizenry. Being informed is an obligation that each of us has to ourselves. Brigham Young said that "Education is the ability to think clearly, to act well in the day's work, and to appreciate life". By this definition, and after knowing the effects of caffeine upon the human body, I have come to the conclusion that drinking caffeine is a sign of a lack of respect for oneself, and of an unappreciative attitude toward the life that each of us has been blessed with.
Caffeine raises your blood pressure when you drink/eat it, raising your blood pressure in general is not a good thing but imagine drinking and/or eating caffeine daily, and your blood pressure constantly rising. Another negative aspect is that caffeine can have a disruptive effect on your sleep. The most obvious effect of the caffeine is that it can make it hard for you to fall asleep. It can help you stay awake during the day but can also make you stay awake during the night when you are trying to fall asleep. You can also have withdraws from caffeine, going back to the story “Java Man” the author Malcolm Gladwell considered it a drug and remember you can get addicted to drugs (you can really get addicted to anything). There are plenty more negative ways caffeine can disrupt your lifestyle but you know what they say for every negative thing you can say there can be some
Caffeine is a mild stimulant that occurs naturally in at least 63 plant species. Caffeine can be found in the leaves, stems, seeds, and roots of these various plants. Caffeine is part of the methylxanthine family. It consists of a xanthine molecule with three methyl groups attached to it. Caffeine can be found in many products like sodas, tea, and coffee, but it also occurs in several other products such as prescription medications, diuretics, and pain relievers. Caffeine’s widespread use and popularity have caused many people to view the substance as an addictive drug. Thus making caffeine the most inexpensive and readily available drug known to man. Then on the other hand there are people who view caffeine as a helpful stimulant that increases the individual’s concentration and awareness as well as many other physical traits. The important thing to remember is that caffeine’s affects vary based on the person, the amount ingested, the frequency of consumption, and individual metabolism. (http://www.pp.okstate.edu/ehs/kopykit/caffeine.html)
Caffeine raises adrenaline levels and heavy coffee consumption can lead to a state of adrenal gland exhaustion where the adrenal glands are no longer able to adequately respond to stress by releasing enough adrenaline. Adrenal insufficiency can then lead to a host of other problems, including a weakened immune system response, anxiety and panic attacks.
Caffeine is the most popular and most widely used stimulant in the world. In Canada, the average person drinks 2.6 cups of coffee a day; that is equivalent to 949 cups of coffee a year. (Van Houtte) Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that improves ones attention, focus, and fatigue. When caffeine is ingested it causes your neurons to move at a faster rate, increasing alertness. (Fit Day) Caffeine also binds to the neural receptors, which blocks the adenosine, which prolongs tiredness. Caffeine is a white odorless powder that is most commonly found in coffee, tea, energy drinks, and pops. Caffeine can also be considered and ergogenic aid. Ergogenic aids are external influences that enhance/ improves ones strength, endurance, reaction time and speed of recovery. (Healthline) The three theories that make caffeine an ergogenic aid during exercise is the effect it has on the central nervous system, skeletal muscles, and metabolic changes. (Sheila G. Dean) Caffeine also has a positive effect on an individual’s health, some positive effects include: reduces risk of developing liver cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s. (Chawala) Caffeine has been proven to have positive effects on an athlete’s performance, and ones overall health.
Several people rely on caffeine to wake them up or give them a boost of energy when they feel down. Acting as a stimulant, caffeine not only improves concentration and focus, but also stops fatigue (Staff 1). Considered the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world, approximately 90 percent of adults consume it daily (“MedicineNet.com” 1). But do caffeine buyers really stop to evaluate the possinle harmful effects on their body? Health scares similar to this are not recent. In fact, they have been going on for over 100 years. In 1911, the US Government sued the Coca-Cola company for making their drinks hazardous to other’s health (Lovett 2). Although the Coca-Cola company won, it proves that people worry about what they put into their bodies, even if it does help them stay up to finish their homework. Not everybody will experience the same effects from caffeine. Some people seem more sensitive to caffeine than others (Staff 1). While some will express unwanted effects after only one cup of coffee or tea, others will not notice these same effects until after maybe four or five cups. Although caffeine does include benefits, many downfalls exemplify the stimulant as well. Drinking even small amounts of caffeine daily develops harmful effects on most people’s body and health.
Although individuals try to stop using caffeine, some cannot because it has a strong hold on them and some people can stop. The people that doesn’t stop may fit the clinical definition of caffeine addiction. “In this study, 94% of participants experienced withdrawal when they attempted to stop using caffeine, and 94% continued to use caffeine even though they knew that they might be harming their health with their use.” Women stop taking in caffeine during their pregnancies. Studies suggest, caffeine can be harmful to a growing baby. Most individuals with mental illnesses might be asked to stop taking caffeine. (Caffeine Addiction). All races of women consume 200 milligrams of caffeine daily. They drink coffee, black tea, green tea, and soda. About 89 percent of United States women ages 18 to 34 consume two cups of coffee a day. Even though caffeine affects men more strongly than women, caffeine changes women's estrogen levels; it has different effects in Asian, white, and black women. Studies showed that the effect differ between men and women based on the caffeine intake they consume. Men consume 7 milligrams of caffeine a day. Other men consume 85 to 170 milligrams of caffeine a day. Thirtynine percent does not drink caffeine at all.
High school students were surveyed about what negative effects they experience when they feel overwhelmed, both in school and at home. “40% of students say they [lost] interest in school and learning” altogether and “35% said they participated less in extracurricular” activities (Powell). Extracirriculars are an essential part of a teenagers high school expirience, but if students cannot handle the high expectations academically, they will not voluntarily add more to their agenda, even if it means giving up something they were once passionate about. There is not enough time for extracurriculars when workloads take up both the days and nights of most high school students. The rumor that once college starts, students should be prepared for sleepless, coffee fueled nights is losing validity; those nights begin in high school. “73% of students [lose sleep due to the high stress levels]” in school. Whether they are losing sleep from anxiety to complete their work or if they actually sacrifice ...
As mentioned earlier, relying on caffeine to wake you up and keep you that way reduces your body’s ability to do that itself. The problem, one might argue, is not necessarily the coffee, but the school giving the student so much work that they have to stay up late enough to rely on coffee to keep themselves awake, or the teen’s lack of self-regulation staying up late doing pointless activities such as playing video games. And that one would have a point, except that we aren’t here to argue for educational reform or about “darn kids” and their video games. Those things are the source of the problem, but caffeine is a symptom that perpetuates itself and many other problematic symptoms. Even without school or video games, the problems associated with caffeine still
3:30 A.M. finds me in front of a glowing computer screen yet again. I’m waiting for some inspiration. My friends, kind enough to let me use their dorm room and their Macintosh, are asleep in their beds just feet away in the half-darkness, reaping the rewards of their wisdom: they haven’t waited until the night before like I have. I take swigs of Mountain Dew from a plastic mug; it’s the sweet nectar of the Gods of Last-Minute Paper Writing. No, make that bittersweet nectar -- the taste of sugary green goodness reminds me, with every swallow, that I’ve sentenced myself to another unnecessary all-nighter.
One thing that has been the same for many years. Has always been society 's intake of caffeine even in the early eighteen hundreds caffeine played its role (Gladwell 235). In the American Revolution mainly remember it with the “symbolic rejection” of the people pouring tea into Boston Harbor (233). Boston Harbor is one of the most known conflicts that caffeine has brought into this society. In the Twenty-First Century over ninety percent of Americans have a cup of coffee in the morning (Collingwood). In many studies, caffeine, when it is consumed in the afternoon, will stimulate the brain which will have side effects that are similar to insomnia (@healthline). When anyone doesn’t get the rest that they need, their brain will not react properly to any situations. Caffeine is what drives, crashes, and tear apart this society. Will caffeine run this world or will the world run without the harmful embrace of a
As the vast majority of Americans are addicted to caffeine, studies show that the effects during post-consumption, can be positive or negative depending on the amount and frequency of caffeine intake. As the demand for caffeine has increased, the caffeine industry has increased its amount of marketing and establishments to help aid this demand. Caffeine addiction can lead to serious health detriments and physiological detriments. It is evident that the primary reason for consumption of caffeinated beverages is due to positive effects, such as alertness. The media has an abundance of marketing to continue to illustrate this main effect. The media fails to project the negative effects of excessive caffeine intake. This literature review will illustrate how excessive caffeine consumption can be detrimental to one’s life, and how problematic caffeine use derives from conditioning by the caffeine industries.
The following study will examine and provide research methods, results and conclusions about college students who consume caffeine, energy drinks, alcohol or both to get an energy boost for one reason or another. Coffee, which used to be the highlight of boosting energy and staying up late nights to complete homework assignments or study, has taken a fall in the 20th century. The study will also point out the effects of the energy drinks and alcohol and the harm and health concerns that contribute to the students behaviors when consumed. The first study examines energy drinks and alcohol among college students and the fact that more students are consuming the product. The study is a web-based questionnaire.
Coffee is the first thing that people associate with instant energy on a groggy morning. “In the U.S., coffee is king of beverages” (Reinke) Research has been done that has named coffee as an addiction to the people who consume large quantities of it. Coffee was named the top source of antioxidants. This is partly because of the amount consumed each day. Some of the antioxidants that coffee has are quinines and chlorogenic acid. It also contains trigonelline, an antibacterial compound. This is where coffee acquires its delicious aroma. Now let’s step back for a minute and just think about how much caffeine people consume. In an 8oz cup of coffee it has about 85 milligrams of caffeine. This is about double the amount that tea contains. Studies have shown that caffeine stimulates the brain and nervous system. This is where you get that energized feeling. After about the third cup, knees start to bounce, pens are clicking and people start running laps around the office. Caffeine can become addicting if you drink too much. Coffee can become that addictive habit people are unable to shake.
It’s important to watch how much caffeine your body is receiving each day in the foods and drinks you consume. Caffeine is not a bad drug, but be careful to watch for symptoms of withdrawal and caffeine intoxication. It can be dangerous for your body if too much stress is put on it. Remember, there are always decaffeinated options and sometimes these are the best to keep your body healthy. Works Cited faculty.washington.edu/chudler/caff.html greenfacts.org/en/psychoactive-drugs wisegeek.com/what-is-caffeine.htm psych.umn.edu/courses/spring05/ / caffeine.