Every year, more and more people are becoming addicted to caffeine, whether that is energy drinks, soda, or just simple caffeine. This addiction affects all people no matter weight, gender, or age. People you know may be addicted to the second fastest-growing addiction in the U.S.
Caffeine addiction is when people are addicted to things that have caffeine in them. The caffeine allows people to stay awake for much longer which causes them to be able to do more things on a daily basis. It is a stimulant that makes the people taking it more alert and active for the duration of the caffeine.
It can take as little as three days of having caffeine for someone to get addicted to it. This has a dramatic effect on teens and adults who have caffeine through coffee that they have been drinking for years. Many teens start drinking coffee from a young age. This causes their bodies to be dependent on coffee.
“I started drinking coffee at the start of the school year,” sophomore Kyla Heithier said. “ I don’t drink on weekends unless I really have to. I drink probably about 2 cups of coffee per day.”
There are many effects of having caffeine, especially coffee, in your system. These effects can either be negative or positive depending on the person who drinks it. Since caffeine is a stimulant, it has to activate your body. This activation can cause things to happen to your body such as having the need to use the restroom or as simple as just becoming more hyper.
“Caffeine affects me positively but it does have a few downsides,” sophomore Jess Haney said. “ Caffeine makes me feel more energized at the cost of some caffeine immunity. Because of that, I try to only use them if I have to now..”
While older people may choose to get their caffeine through coffee, younger generations tend to drink more energy drinks and non-coffee caffeinated drinks. That is due to the marketing of energy drinks throughout all platforms of social media, peer pressure, and because energy drinks provide more caffeine in a shorter span of time. As one person drinks an energy drink, more and more people start to drink it as well. Soon enough, the energy drink is going to be popular and people will get addicted to it.
“I drink two energy drinks once a day,” sophomore Taven Apicella said. “In the morning before coming into school I will drink a raspberry acai Celsius, and then halfway through the day I will drink a watermelon wave Alani Nu. I usually don’t get too much sleep at night, so drinking these drinks will help me stay up throughout the day. I know they aren’t the best for me, but I would rather drink these than sleep in class.”
Drinking an energy drink, coffee, or anything that has caffeine in it every once in a while is not so bad for you. When you start to rely only on caffeine to help you, then that’s when it becomes an addiction. While some may think caffeine is good for you, others can have a different view on that argument.
