According to the National Institutes of Health, about 63% of children ages two to five consume caffeine and 76% of teenagers drink caffeine.
Caffeine is a natural stimulant often found in coffee beans or chocolate, which blocks the brain’s adenosine receptors. These receptors are what make us feel tired as the amount of adenosine builds up over time.
However, too much caffeine consumption can lead individuals to become too heavily reliant, as increasing amounts of adenosine requires more amounts of caffeine to stay awake. When the caffeine wears off, people can feel so tired that they cannot function, a phenomenon known as “crashing.”
Over time, there has been an increasing number of caffeine addiction among young adults—and there are serious consequences.
One of the possible causes of caffeine addiction points toward parenting, in which prohibiting drinks has decreased over time.
Today’s teens are allowed, and sometimes even encouraged, to consume drinks to keep them awake.
“The first time I had coffee was around seven, because it looked tasty,” said Lucas Peña (11).
Lucas isn’t the only teenager who drank at an early age. There are many others who have been given permission to drink coffee or energy drinks before they reached the age of ten, kickstarting their caffeine addiction.
As a result, many individuals begin to rely on caffeine to stay awake and focused in school.
It isn’t just the taste that attracts young teens toward caffeinated beverages. It helps consumers remain alert for several hours, allowing longer focus on school and homework.
“I use energy drinks to give me that jolt of energy in the morning. They’re a great boost that helps me get started,” said Sam Harbour (11).
Perhaps these stimulating drinks aren’t such a bad thing. But we need to be careful about how we use them.
Caffeine addiction happens when someone becomes too reliable on coffee or energy drinks to simply function throughout the day. Without it, they don’t have the energy to remain awake or focus at all.
“With a lot of teens drinking, we can expect a whole lot of people to have sleep problems and anxiety. It’s definitely going to affect their schoolwork and mental health,” said Waseem Ghanem (12).
We shouldn’t stop drinking energy beverages entirely. However, we should be wary about the dangers of drinking too much.
First off, it’s best that parents restrict their children from becoming addicted in the first place, until they are at an age to understand the concept of moderation.
“We can raise our kids differently by actually caring about what our kids put in their body and making sure they go to bed on time,” said Harbour.
Even if we begin drinking early, there are definitely better options instead of allowing them to drink as much as they want, whenever they want.
“We should just avoid caffeine in the afternoon so it doesn’t mess with your sleep. It’s only meant for the morning to give you energy and focus during the day,” said Ghanem.
Caffeine isn’t necessarily a bad thing as a whole. However, we should really be mindful about how we use it, and avoid taking that trip to the coffee shop every day.
