Caffeine: The Cure or The Cause

     Insufficient amounts of sleep for adolescents have many detrimental effects on their development. Judith Owens, a professor of Neurology at Harvard University found that chronic sleep loss, associated sleepiness, and daytime impairments in adolescence are a serious threat to the academic success, health, and safety of our nation’s youth and an important public health issue. Many know  adolescents are facing corresponding effects of not getting sufficient sleep, whatever the cause. To combat these issues, many teenagers are consuming high amounts of caffeine just to stay awake during classes or get through long and grueling days of work.

   What is the impact of caffeine on teenagers? This is a highly debated question as the answer isn't straightforward. According to Sun Pediatrics, the precise amounts of caffeine that are considered safe for children and adolescents remains inconclusive. Regardless, many professionals recommend low amounts due to the unknown advisable volume permitted for children. Valentina Alfonsi, along with other authors with the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health say children require 8–10 hours of sleep per night to support the critical developmental milestones occurring during these years. The cardiovascular system is likely still developing during this age of adolescence, and you'd be surprised how many things people do as a developing human transition with them into full-grown adulthood. Dr. Eun-jeong Kim, a doctor of Internal Medicine, found that your body absorbs caffeine quickly and efficiently. It takes just 15 to 20 minutes for caffeine to hit your bloodstream, but its effects can last anywhere from one to 10 hours. Caffeine acts as a stimulant, temporarily boosting alertness, therefore, accelerating your heart past the point of healthiness. Overtime, this constant stress on the heart damages it and leads to many detriments. However, drinking caffeine (particularly in coffee) in moderation has actually been linked to protective effects on the heart, such as reducing the risk of arrhythmias, hypertension, risk of coronary heart disease, and heart failure.  

   Conclusively, the debate for whether or not caffeine is positive or negative persists, however, drinking caffeine in moderation is crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Teenagers who face high levels of stress in school or because of school tend to lack the ability to get consistent and healthy sleep, resulting in many harms to their lives, such as sleep deprivation. To combat this, the unhealthy consumption of caffeine products is prominent. As we near the period of AP exams and finals, studying and late-night homework sessions increase as well. During this time, pay attention to your health and don't let a demanding lifestyle cause long term detriments to your life. 

  So, do you want better sleeping habits? Personally, I've heard all of the common ones. Establish a better sleep schedule. When you have summer, or spring, or winter break, don't stay up late and keep a routine. Limit your screentime, whether you are online for leisure or for academic purposes. Do not stay up too late. We all know these things, however, if you're a student then you know that these things are highly unrealistic. Many of students are staying up extremely late to attempt to maintain decent grades, as well as balance sports and extracurriculars.  As a student with a demanding schedule that has led to many late nights, I have some tips and tricks to sustaining good grades, as well as getting 8-10 hours of sleep every night. To start, I plan everything I have to do in the day when I first wake up, down to the most tedious detail. I meticulously plan every step, by planning, I can finish everything by 5 PM, leaving time between 6 PM and 7 PM to shower and get ready for bed. However, this doesn't allow for student athletes to have much time. If you play sports, I recommend you plan around your practice or games. In an idyllic world, the schedule would work, except we all know how hard it is to stick to routine. Still, implementing some of these would be good to better your lifestyle and sleepin habits to minimize the need of caffeine.