In high school, I rarely drank coffee or consumed caffeine to wake me up. I may have had a cup of coffee here or there throughout the week but I never really needed it. However, about 4 weeks into my first semester of college I was drinking coffee or grabbing an energy drink before class almost every day. This was a result of the workload we are responsible for as college students and I never thought twice about it. Now, being a health conscious person, I started to wonder what this drug I was putting in my body was really doing to my brain so I did some light research. Most people consume caffeine with impunity and with caffeinated beverages being served all over campus it is easy to not think twice about it. Before you go get that “nonfat no-whip frap” from Starbucks, lets think twice about it.
Caffeine isn’t addictive, right? Actually, there is a debate going on within the scientific community on whether or not caffeine is actually addictive by definition. This is an important issue considering 80% of Americans consume caffeine on a daily basis according to the FDA. A quick google search on caffeine addiction will bring up dozens of articles with differing standpoints on the issue. This is a manifestation of the anti-authoritarian aspect of the scientific community and it drives more research. With many different facts pointing to different answers, the debate will continue until conclusive evidence comes to light. The Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at Johns Hopkins University has a fact sheet that covers what they call “caffeine dependence.” Their studies show that a consumption of caffeine greater 100mg a day can “lead to physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms upon withdrawal.” They sited observed withdrawal symptoms ranging from a mild headache to depression and anxiety. Shockingly, one “tall” cup of Starbucks “Pike Place” coffee contains a whopping 235mg of caffeine, according to their website. Considering that is the smallest size listed at most Starbucks I’ve been to it is even more concerning that they have a “Venti” size that contains 410mg of caffeine. At 4x the caffeine intake required for caffeine dependence as cited by Johns Hopkins , it is no wondering Starbucks has a cult following. By the way, you can order that Venti Starbucks coffee in not one but 3 places in the HUB on campus.
From Caffeine Informer’s website
Brown University’s Health Promotion website states that coffee causes insomnia. I myself have experienced this too many times and it is very easy for anyone to consume enough caffeine to cause insomnia. Lack of sleep due to caffeine can result in an unfortunately ironic cycle of caffeine dependence as well. Think, if you are tired from lack of sleep due to caffeine the easy fix is another cup of that monster Starbucks coffee with its 410mg of caffeine. Before you know it, you become another one of the many college students reliant on caffeine.
A wonder drug? It frightens me how much America’s affinity for caffeine reminds me of its very similar, and still somewhat present, nicotine addiction. Blaming sleep deprivation and related issues on work demands and school work seems awfully reminiscent of the notion that increase in lung cancer in the mid 20th century was due to industrialization and pollution. Work demands and school work may be putative confounding variables for caffeine consumption and sleep deprivation along with other issues associated with caffeine consumption.
I’m not saying we should all stop consuming caffeine (I had a Red Bull this morning). But it only took me an hour of light research to uncover some things about caffeine that are a little unnerving. I think if there is one thing we should take from this class it should be a skeptical outlook on the world. The science is there, we just have to make ourselves aware of that. Who knows, it could save you some sleep!
I knew that most adults run on coffee during the day, but I never viewed it as a drug. It is interesting to see that it can cause damage to your health and it is not something that you wanna get addicted to. Asthis article states, there are apparently many reasons to quit coffee. I think the one that stood out the most was that it increased your stress levels. The last thing I need is more stress, so I guess its time to lay off the coffee a little bit!
Good post. There is a theory about caffeine that is widely held that it contributes to dehydration. People would shy away from having several cups of coffee or several energy drinks because they thought that they needed to hydrate on top of drinking their caffeine of choice. It turns out, though, that this is not true. Caffeine does not dehydrate you, it merely has a diuretic effect on your body, causing waste to move through your system faster than it normally would.