By Jamie Beecroft, Year 12
Caffeine. The key ingredient in many teenagers’ favourite drinks, whether it be in coffee, Redbull, Coca Cola, Monster, and many other lesser talked about products such as green tea and cocoa beans. A tool used by the majority of school professors (just to get through the day) and many students (to gain higher efficiency and motivation whilst studying), caffeine is an essential part of daily school life. Due to its soaring popularity, it is time to be concerned with its potential effects on the average student.
Although students under the influence of caffeine at school feel as though it improves their learning and thereby, hopefully, their grades; this has not been found to be the case. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite. A popular study done in the US (Best Mattress; Bennet Harrington) showed that the more caffeine a student consumed, the lower their grades became. The survey was conducted over 1’000 college students, who were asked how many cups of coffee they consume on a daily basis. Some said 0, while others said 1, 2, 3, 4 or five. The higher up the list, the lower the GPA sinks. Individuals drinking one cup had an average GPA of 3.14, those drinking two cups had an average of 3.39, while those drinking three or four cups had 3.38, and those consuming five coffees or more had an average score of 3.28. Despite the small sample size, this study shows a clear correlation. So, does coffee really lower your grades?
I doubt such a simple statement to be true. However, this study does shed light on a few issues that caffeine consumption can cause, such as afternoon crashes, anxiety, headaches, shakiness, dehydration, elevated heart rate and dizziness.
Not that this is the fault of caffeinated drinks, but students with a bad sleep schedule, or having been subject to a bad night’s sleep, will usually turn to caffeine as a simple fix to get through the day and focus on their classes. Such a situation can create a vicious cycle, where the extra coffee consumed to make up for a lack of sleep leads to difficulty sleeping the next night, and so on and so forth. This is precisely why it is recommended not to use such a substance to make up for fatigue. Instead, one should push back drinking their first cup of this beverage until 90 minutes after waking, so as to avoid the aforementioned afternoon crash. Eating healthy foods that will give long lasting energy will also help the next night of sleep to be as restful as possible to recover the hours of sleep previously lost.
As IB students we are no strangers to stress. As a Year 12 student, I feel the pressure of the many internal assessments in many of my classes, the TOK exhibition draft and the required show of progress on my extended essay. At first thought coffee may seem like a viable solution to attack this workload head on, which can be true. On the flip side of this, caffeine is known to increase symptoms of anxiety for those prone to it. Furthermore, if consumption is not carefully monitored, relaxing can begin to become more difficult, as the mind juggles different thoughts on upcoming work even in its off-time.
What might not have been considered by frequent consumers of caffeinated beverages is the toll that it takes on the wallet; especially if they are being bought from coffee shops and the like. However, I do not believe that this would be a major (or any type of problem at all) for the average student studying at LGB.
To sum up, consumption of caffeine comes with an equally long list of positives and negatives. As a student, you should use this tool at your own risk. Caffeine can be powerful , but can also lead you down the wrong path, and make you reliant on it for energy and concentration. In the likely eventuality that you do decide to use it, it is recommended for teenagers to limit themselves to 1-2 cups per day. I myself use it, but prioritise keeping my sleep, mood and academic performance in check, so as not to let it negatively affect my present and future quality of life.
Study Cited: “Exchanging ZZZs for As: How Sleep Impacts Academic Performance.” Best Mattress Brand. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://bestmattress-brand.org/exchanging-zzzs-for-as/.”
