Students funnel into the tower every morning, walking restlessly up stair mountain. Alongside them, their sidekick to conquer the day: their cup of coffee. Boosting them up and giving them that power to keep on going. 

Many people consume caffeine for a quick boost of energy, but there are many miniscule issues that come with the repeated consumption of caffeine. Long term effects of large doses of caffeine such as heart attacks, high blood pressure and seizures are many times disregarded. Although these symptoms are uncommon, keeping them in mind can help limit high rates of caffeine consumption.

First year Norrix business teacher, Jefferey Birkes and long time coffee drinker, is aware of these long term consequences and wishes he wasn’t as dependent on  caffeine as he is. Starting his coffee drinking days back in college, Birkes developed his habit of drinking coffee to fuel his late night study sessions and keep him going.  

Drinking coffee regularly since college, Birkes doesn’t like how coffee consumption could affect him and said, “It’s not a good thing. It’s really not a good thing.” 

Senior Connor Rafferty, a two year barista at Biggby Coffee has also developed a habit of drinking caffeine daily, but he takes a different approach towards these long term effect., 

“I definitely think about it, but at the moment I don’t care because I feel like I need it,” said Rafferty.

Rafferty is not alone. According to the National Library of Medicine, up to 85% of Americans use caffeine on a daily basis, anywhere from a cup of coffee in the morning to an energy drink. All of these small amounts add up, and it is recommended to keep your daily intake of caffeine below 400 mg. This amount of caffeine is regularly found in around three cups of coffee, or two to three energy drinks.

Although there isn’t a fatal risk until around 5 to 10 thousand mg of caffeine are ingested, exceeding the recommended level on a daily basis is very unhealthy and can lead to future side-effects. These side-effects can include increased heart rate, insomnia, headaches and increased anxiety.

Another issue that comes along with the consumption of caffeine is addiction. It may sound silly, but caffeine is the most commonly used drug in the world, with up to 80% of the population using it daily, according to the CDC. This repeated habit of drinking coffee everyday can lead to developing a dependency on a source of caffeine. This dependency makes your body start to rely on that boost of energy and the other effects of caffeine to be at peak performance for the day. 

“I’m probably addicted to caffeine, so I get used to the caffeine rush to start my day,” Birkes said.

When this dependency is denied by not consuming any caffeine, withdrawal symptoms may start to appear. These withdrawals are possible after around 12 to 24 hours without the substance and peak around 25 to 51 hours after consumption. Symptoms of headaches, increased fatigue and energy, irritability and trouble concentrating are all common symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. Though, the more caffeine you consume daily will affect the severity of withdrawal symptoms.

Despite these concerns, Harvard’s School of Public Health  said “Low to moderate doses of caffeine (50–300 mg) may cause increased alertness, energy, and ability to concentrate.” Studies have also shown that using caffeine can pose a boost to peoples’ short term memory, WebMD stated. This makes coffee or another source of caffeine to be a staple of most Americans’ mornings. 

“It just pumps me up for the day, got to get going you know,” said Rafferty.

This “pump up” comes from the stimulating effects of caffeine on the brain and nervous system. When consuming a healthy amount of caffeine, it boosts the amount of adrenaline produced by the adrenal gland located in the brain and that then increases the amount of dopamine produced by the neighboring neurons. Simultaneously, the levels of serotonin produced in the brain help combine and give that boost of energy, attention, and alertness.  

Boosting these centers of the brain after caffeine consumption can last for up to 6 hours, but the caffeine can stay in your bloodstream for up to ten hours, according to the Cleveland Clinic. For many people, this process can really affect their sleep schedule due to increased activity in the brain. This is due to the fact that caffeine blocks the adenosine receptor in the brain, which is the primary function that makes the brain and the body sleepy.  

“I stay up a lot later than I should and I think that’s because of caffeine,” said senior Luke Hanley. 

With all factors taken into account when it comes to caffeine, it seems that, when used diligently, caffeine can actually give many benefits to the brain and the body. However, when abused and overused it can lead to many negatives, with some appearing sooner than others. 

Cutting out caffeine from your diet is not necessary, but monitoring your consumption is in your best interest to stay healthy.