Written by Hailey Brown
It’s 6:00 o’clock on a Monday morning, disregarding the past three alarms. Waking up is beyond a struggle, but it’s something required. The energy drink in the fridge calls your name. Just from the first sip, A refreshed feeling looms over the mind and body.
Caffeine may feel like it has good short term benefits, but it has long lasting effects on the mind and body such as fatigue, addiction, irregular heartbeats and dehydration. And the addiction side of it is very real. While not commonly addressed, caffeine is a stimulating drug. Stimulants raise alertness and energy, creating a physical dependence on it.
These effects are especially true for young students in middle or high school who have been influenced by the popular energy drinks gaining traction, such as Celsius and Alani. Both these drinks have 200mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of two cups of coffee or six cans of Coca-Cola.
Personally speaking, these two energy drinks along with coffee have been a favorite of mine to get through a tiring day. Everyday during the summer I’d be having some sort of coffee to get me through the morning and then when school started, I switched to an energy drink up to threee times a week.
However this habit over a long amount of time led to dehydration, headaches and stomach aches afterward. After drinking caffeine every day this summer, those symptoms started to get worse when I went without it a day, this was caffeine withdrawal.
While symptoms vary from person-to-person, the most common symptoms of caffeine withdrawal are decreased energy, decreased alertness, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and an overall depressed mood.
This is common for many high school students who drink caffeine regularly. Freshman Lexie Borek has experienced withdrawal symptoms and can attest that they are due to regular caffeine usage.
“Over quarantine, I used to drink Pepsi and Coke every single day,”Borek said. “So did my brother and my mom, and we all collectively decided to stop and I had really bad headaches and I was always in a bad mood, it was bad.”
According to an article titled Caffeine Addiction: Symptoms and Withdrawal written by Elizabeth Hartney, caffeine deals with types of chemicals in the brain and affects its reward system.
“Caffeine affects the brain’s reward system, which triggers the release of a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine causes people to feel good, creating a reward cycle that motivates them to keep consuming it,” Hartney said. “It also causes physiological dependence, which means that when you reduce or stop your caffeine intake, you will likely experience withdrawal symptoms like tiredness, headaches, and irritability.”
Caffeine is a chemical that has some benefits, but its lasting effects take a bigger toll on you in the long term. That is why reducing and keeping caffeine intake to a minimum is vital in keeping students’ minds and bodies healthy.
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