Juggling extracurriculars, social lives, and good grades in school can be a particularly difficult task for busy high schoolers. Having numerous obligations can cause high schoolers to use caffeine as a crutch to carry them through their strenuous schedules. As a result, they use caffeine as a “power up” to get them through their daily lives. Although normalized, dependence on caffeine is unhealthy and can create problems later in adulthood.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, teenagers should limit their daily intake of caffeine to 100 mg. However, common energy drinks such as Celcius and Alani contain 200 mg, and most coffee drinks contain at least 150 mg of caffeine. In order to understand the impacts of exceeding the recommended caffeine intake, it is essential to acknowledge how caffeine interacts with our adenosine receptors.
As stated by Medicurio in “Caffeine and Adenosine Receptors,” adenosine receptors are proteins that cause sleepiness and prevent the brain from overworking. Caffeine prevents adenosine from binding to its receptors due to their similar molecular structures. Consequently, signals of alertness are sent to the brain instead of sleepiness.
Furthermore, ingesting caffeine on a daily basis can cause tolerance–the body requires more and more caffeine to have the same feeling of attentiveness. For instance, an individual who starts drinking one cup of coffee every day will eventually need to increase their intake to three or four cups to have the same effect. Long-term caffeine consumption can cause negative effects on the body, such as headaches, insomnia, irritability, and high blood pressure.
Having said that, caffeine can also be used in good ways. The drug can be added to pain medications to treat headaches and migraines due to its ability to constrict blood vessels. Furthermore, drinking caffeine in moderation can elevate energy levels, which temporarily increases athletic and mental performance.
Luckily, there are strategies to avoid addiction or lessen a person’s reliance on caffeine. For instance, limiting your caffeine intake to under 100 mg or gradually reducing the amount of caffeine you drink over a period of time will reduce your need for caffeine. Moreover, staying hydrated, increasing protein intake, and exercising regularly will naturally increase your energy levels rather than relying on caffeine.
Overall, lowering your caffeine intake before leaving high school will decrease your chances of tolerance and addiction later on, and finding alternative “energy boosts” will create healthy and sustainable habits for a lifetime.
