Michigan Medicine reports that high school students should refrain from consuming more than 100 grams of caffeine per day.
However, many students rely on caffeine to stay awake, concentrated, and energized. In fact, Strath Haven High School’s cafeteria offers caffeinated drinks such as Blue Raspberry ICE (70 mg caffeine) and 12oz coffee (136 mg caffeine).
According to the Director of Food and Nutrition Ms. Kate Rittler ICE is sold 85 times a week and coffee is sold 25 times weekly. Overall, high schoolers have access to caffeine, and many students take advantage of it, whether buying it from the school, bringing it to school, or consuming it at home.
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) defines energy drinks as beverages intended to increase alertness and performance, and they often contain caffeine. This caffeine is responsible for stimulating the central nervous system and often takes effect within half an hour after drinking.
“In the middle of the day or before track practice, sometimes I might have an energy drink that I brought from home to help me get some energy after the school day,” sophomore Rheya Singh said.
While students consume energy drinks hoping to increase their energy, Better Health reports drinking caffeinated beverages doesn’t create new energy in the body, the energy boost wears off once the caffeine is metabolized. In fact, alarming effects of caffeine can be observed after it begins to wear off.
“Sometimes after practice, I just crash on the couch and I am slumped,” Singh said. “It gets in the way of me feeling motivated to do my homework or study. If I take them towards the end of the day, those nights I might have trouble sleeping as well.”
There’s a scientific reason for this. When caffeine wears off, it blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, making you feel tired. So, when the caffeine’s effect begins to fade, you are met with the tiredness that you tried to avoid by taking the caffeine in the first place.
These side effects lead to an important question: why do students still drink caffeine?
“The side effects don’t happen every time I have something caffeinated, so I’m willing to take my shot,” Singh said. “And, the temporary energy is beneficial during that time so in the moment I think it’s worth it, even if it’s not. It turned into a cycle now.”
This cycle based on dependency to caffeine is not a unique experience. Gambling with the side effects comes from a learned physical dependence on the beverage, which can lead to a weakened reaction to caffeine.
“I think if you have energy drinks, often it can have the opposite effect than what it is intended. Having them too much can lead to reliance and a built tolerance which depletes the effect of the caffeine,” sophomore Olympia Fries said.
The NLM confirms this phenomenon, explaining the central nervous system, when introduced to unregulated caffeine intake, can learn to tolerate caffeine.
“I think caffeine and energy drinks have become really popular and normalized,” Singh said. “It’s not like they might be purposefully damaging, but I think there’s a ton of stuff unknown about them, especially how they might interfere with high schoolers’ minds.”
