MARY WISNIEWSKI
Assistant Living Editor
Sometimes class seems like Starbuck’s without the easy listening music, somewhat comfortable chairs and perpetual traffic of people. After all, most students have a plethora of coffee within reach of their textbooks or at least a soda or energy drink to prevent them from turning into Rip Van Winkle.
Students juggle life and school and having caffeine to stay awake through it all can be as vital as breathing. Consequently, students are becoming vignettes from “Coffee and Cigarettes.”
HAWC barista Leticia Perez said that in a given day, about two 5-pound bags of espresso and eight bags of 5-oz. coffee are used to meet the student caffeine demand.
“Some of their eyes look so tired,” Perez said.
Senior Susan Wooten is one such student who depends on caffeine. Wooten said this addiction began in college. Now, she usually drinks a Coke and a cup of coffee a day and increases the intake if she has to stay up late.
“It makes me feel alert and wonderful,” Wooten said. At times, she has tried to cut back but suffered from headaches.
Senior Shiloh Walton is in a similar situation and said she drinks two large cups of coffee a day.
“I like the taste,” Walton said. “It makes me feel more motivated. I live by it. That’s why I’ve been dead this week — I’ve been laying off of it.”
Pepperdine nutritionist Katherine McCune said she thinks more students are drinking coffee because of the heightened selection of the types offered and using them as meal replacements.
“Instead of cereal, students go to Starbuck’s and get a frappuccino or mocha that fuels them in calories, sugar and caffeine,” McCune said. “It would be better to use healthy snacks like peanut butter to keep awake.”
The caffeine fix does not just end at the coffee shop. It can also be found in tea, chocolate, some nuts, energy drinks and soda.
Junior Kate Causey said she rarely drinks coffee but will drink the occasional soda.
“Sometimes I just need to drink something to get me going,” Causey said.
Others stick to Rockstar, Red Bull, Monster Energy and every other energy drink offered in Ralph’s refrigerator. However, they are not the healthiest choice. In fact, France banned the sales of Red Bull, and McCune said drinks like it contain no nutritional value.
“All you are getting is caffeine and sugar,” McCune said.
However, associate professor of nutritional Dr. Susan Helm said energy drinks are mostly innocuous.
“They harm your wallet but not necessarily the person,” she said.
Whatever the caffeine poison, it all translates into reducing fatigue and helping with migraine headaches since it is a diuretic as well as a central nervous stimulant.
“It makes one feel they can focus and stay up late,” McCune said.
However, like all things in life, it has some downsides and can lead to nausea, fast heart rate, anxiety, depression, tremors and trouble sleeping. McCune said it can also make a student go from a high to a low meaning sometimes a spoonful of sugar makes more than just the medicine go down. For those who do feel dependent on caffeine, McCune said it is important to wean the addiction off gradually. For example, mix decaf coffee with caffeinated coffee.
Luckily for caffeine-crazed students, McCune said that when drunk in moderation, caffeine is fine and can be beneficial. Translation: Three 8-oz. cups (300 mg) of coffee is healthy. That is enough to at least get through the 8 a.m. class.
Additionally, Dr. Helm said there are no long-term consequences in taking caffeine except for an occasional withdrawal period for chronic caffeine drinkers. Perhaps this is why it is hard to pass someone without a container holding some form of caffeine.
And it is not just a fad like UGGs. In fact, in the year 2005, over $11 billion dollars was spent on coffee retail at various cafes, kiosks, carts and retailers, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
Although class may be a coffeehouse nowadays, at least people are more or less awake for it. For more information about caffeine concerns, visit the Counseling Center’s Web site, mystudentbody.com.
09-21-2006