—SURVIVIN
WITHOUT S$

Caffeine addiction and effects on the s

 

Jessica Berget
Editor-in-Chiet

o many students, coffee is a best friend. It

wakes you up for the day ahead and can

also give you that extra jolt you need to

finish whatever work you’ve put off until
the last minute. However, as much as students think
coffee is a great chum, the drink may actually be
their worst enemy.

College students have a unique relationship with
coffee. With so much to do—and so little time to do
it all—many students spend sleepless nights peered

over their laptops finishing up their assignments with
a large mug of coffee at their side. | know this because
| am currently writing this at 3:30 am doing exactly that.
Unfortunately, for many students, this means that they
won't get the recommended amount of sleep they need each night. The obvious
solution to this? Drink more coffee.

Drinking copious amounts of coffee or any other caffeinated drink is something
many Canadian college students know all too well. In fact, according to the president of
the Coffee Association of Canada, Sandy McAlpine, Canadians love their coffee—over
65 percent of people over 18 consume it everyday. This should come as no surprise to
Douglas College students; we've all seen how long the Tim Hortons line-up gets, and
the high number of coffee cups in classes. Due to staying up all night and trying to stay
awake and focused all day, students need that little boost of energy. Unfortunately,
this lifestyle leads to many forming a dependence or addiction to caffeine. | know this
because not too long ago, | had developed one myself.

A ccouple months ago, | was a coffee drinking machine. | would drink up to two to
three cups a day, and sometimes even a couple espresso beverages (curse the free
coffee drinks at my other job). After noticing how anxious it made me, how tired |
became in the middle of the day, and how groggy | was before my morning cup of joe, |
knew | needed to cut my daily coffee intake down entirely. To test these limits and the
affect copious amounts caffeine had on my body, | decided to stop drinking coffee for
a month. They say the first week is the hardest, so | documented the changes | noticed
during the first few days.

On the first day, the first thing | did when | woke up was start to make myself a cup
of coffee. As | began boiling the water, | remembered my goal of cutting it out for the
month. Frustrated, | opted for a cup of Earl Grey tea instead... but it’s not the same.
Acup of coffee has nearly 95 milligrams of caffeine, while a cup of tea has about 22
milligrams. A significant difference to someone who drinks at least two cups of coffee
everyday. | felt sluggish all day and couldn’t stop thinking about how much | missed
coffee.

The second day was a true test of my will: | had a 5 am opening shift at my bakery
job. | had to resist my aching tiredness and the free coffee | get on shift. | drink Earl
Grey tea again to replace the need for coffee, but it doesn’t do anything in terms of
waking me up. One thing | notice after going just a couple of days without coffee is that
I’m less jittery. My thoughts aren’t racing through my mind as much as they did when |
drank coffee, but that could just be because | was too tired from caffeine withdrawal.

The third, fourth, and fifth day all ended up the same. | drank tea instead, didn’t
crash by midday, and was able to go to bed at a reasonable time because | didn’t have
my afternoon cuppa. The longer | went without drinking coffee, the more | realized |
didn’t need it. | felt better and more awake in the morning, which was a nice change

   
        
     
   

66 Drinkin
Lots of caffeine
has been Linked to
insomnia, irritability,
anxiety, high blood
ressure, and
elevated heart
rates,