Caffeine Craze — REFINE Magazine

By: Nathaly Suquinagua

Almost every college student can relate to the fact that they may be a bit obsessed with coffee, or simply anything to do with caffeine.

At first glance, it might seem that college students drink more coffee (especially iced lattes), but in fact, it is actually people over the age of 60 who drink more coffee by 68 percent,.

Professor Deirdre Dingman from the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Temple has studied the way substances can affect our bodies and our health.

“Caffeine comes from xanthine, it is an alkaloid with stimulating properties,” Dingman explained. “Because it crosses the blood-brain barrier and affects mood, it is considered a psychoactive substance.”

We might presume that coffee can be addicting, but that may not be the correct term to use when explaining how often a person drinks coffee. Addiction impairs the brain in many ways and currently, while caffeine can be used as a dependent substance, there are no caffeine-use disorders.

Professor Dingman stated that an “addiction requires a person to meet six to 11 specific diagnostic criteria, including loss of control of use and continuing to use even after negative consequences.”

Coffee over time can become a way for someone to depend on caffeine and you can experience withdrawal effects by not drinking it.

Melanie Moran, a TCNJ speech and language pathology major, personally does not drink coffee but knows many people who do.

In regards to whether or not coffee can make someone have more energy, Moran believes that it can also have a placebo effect.

“I think caffeine does probably do something to your system and makes you more alert but at the same time I believe it could be a placebo effect,” Moran said. “We do have the idea that drinking it makes you more alert.”

In some cases, if someone goes one day without drinking coffee, they can experience withdrawal effects like headaches and not feeling like themselves.

Caffeine is a stimulus and one of the many reasons why college students drink it is because it gives them energy.

Other students like Sarah Heidelbaugh, a freshman communication studies major at Temple, drinks coffee because of the taste and because of the energy it gives her.

She prefers her coffee bitter and believes drinking it is not bad unless you overdo it.

“I love coffee for the taste and at the same time for the caffeine. It can give me energy and I think people drink coffee mainly for the caffeine but it also varies on the type of coffee that it is,” Heidelbaugh said.

Coffee can affect the brain and the cardiovascular system, so while consuming coffee, we can experience the jitters and irregular heartbeat.

Coffee can make us more alert and focused.

“College students in today’s society have become dependent on caffeine in order to perform at their best in multiple facets of their hectic lives, including classes, clubs, and internships” says the University of New Hampshire in their study on student caffeine habits.

Many students consume caffeinated products when they did not get enough sleep the night before and when they may be up late studying for an exam, however, they seem to understand the health benefits of coffee and how much caffeine they should intake.

A study from Refuel Agency found that 53 percent of college students are likely to experiment with coffee brands.

At Temple especially, there are many options in which college students can purchase their coffee drinks from the Barnes and Noble gift shop to the Dunkin by Morgan Hall .

By having coffee options near college campuses , it gives students the opportunity to purchase and be able to facilitate their coffee obsession.

Many students depend on coffee to be able to concentrate better at school and give them a boost at being alert. Others drink it simply because it tastes good.

At the end of the day , it depends on the type of person and if they can handle what caffeine can do to the person.

While there are no “cures” to stop drinking coffee, to wean off of the beverage, a person would need to stop drinking it slowly. This method would be the most efficient way in decreasing your intakes of coffee. By just completely getting rid of coffee together, a person can experience withdrawal symptoms and by giving it up all at once you would experience more severe symptoms than to slowly stop drinking it.

However, it also all depends on the individual and how their own systems react to caffeine.

Many people drink tea instead of coffee or take a walk whenever they want to be energized.

Whether the person drinks coffee or not, at the end of the day it comes down to moderation and how it is key in any substance use.