By: Kris Cantrell
Re-Edited 6/3/10
I know you’ve been there before. We all have. The clock shows 12:17 A.M. and you’ve just finished your first of three chapters due by nine A.M. class the next day. You’ll be lucky if you get four hours of sleep tonight. Here’s the problem: You were up the night before with the same objective in another class and you’re running on three or four hours of rest. What’s the solution? Caffeine. Enough caffeine to make an elephant tap dance. When you head to the local 7-11, do you ever stop to ponder the health effects of this caffeinated lifestyle?
The Fresh Prince once said, “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” and he may have been on to something. Parents may not understand that students today are seemingly more busy than ever. A lot of students are forced to balance a five class schedule, a 30 hour work week, an internship, extracurricular activities, and a respectable social life while still managing to get a few hours of shut eye. The result? An army of caffeinated college kids on campus. What kind of health effects could students be facing?
Caffeine mainly affects the central nervous system. Despite the typical awakening effect, caffeine can also cause some short-term side effects. Use of this energizing drug can cause restlessness, jitters, higher blood pressure, headaches, dehydration, increased heart rate, and possibly an uneven hearth rhythm. This is why doctors do not recommend caffeine use to patients with heart problems. In addition, caffeine can also contribute to stomach issues such as heartburn because it helps to release stomach acid.
FDA studies have shown that long-term users can become dependent on caffeine and build a tolerance towards it. The tolerance contributes to users feeling less energized by normal caffeine intakes. This tolerance is often paired with caffeine dependency that can cause withdrawals if caffeine is removed from a person’s diet. These withdrawal effects can include depression, extremely painful headaches, and crankiness.
Caffeine does have some gnarly side effects, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil. What’s going to keep you awake when you need to pull an all-night cram session before a final exam? Caffeine. What’s going to wake you up before an eight-hour work day? Caffeine. What’s going to have a few minor side effects? Caffeine. Like any over-the-counter, legal, stimulant, caffeine is a good form of energy to be used in moderation.
Caffeine does have some gnarly side effects, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil. * What’s going to keep you awake when you need to pull an all-night cram session before a final exam? Caffeine. *What’s going to wake you up before an eight-hour work day? Caffeine. *What’s going to have a few minor side effects? Caffeine. Like any over-the-counter, legal stimulant, caffeine is a good form of energy to be used in moderation.
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