Science teacher, junior combat caffeine habits

Last year, junior Nick Turpin attended an after-school science lecture. Everything was going reasonably well, until the speaker turned off the lights to use the projector. Within minutes, Turpin was passed out on his desk.

“I knew something was wrong,” Turpin said. “I don’t usually fall asleep during class.”

A day earlier, Turpin had tried to cut back on his previous daily intake of 400 milligrams of caffeine. Turpin achieved this quantity by either drinking eight Mountain Dews, taking two caffeine pills or drinking one Venti Bold coffee at Starbucks. Whenever he did not have caffeine, Turpin experienced powerful exhaustion. He wanted to eliminate this nasty side effect.

“It kind of sucks if you don’t get caffeine because you’re just tired for the rest of the day,” Turpin said. “That’s why I thought I should cut back and not have so much.”

Dr. Suzanne Yokoyama, a physician of internal medicine at Kaiser San Jose, said caffeine has some temporary benefits like mental alertness and improved athletic performance. The stimulant, however, creates many long-term problems, such as heart rhythm disturbance, dehydration, inflammation of the stomach lining and decreased bone density, among other medical issues.

“Caffeine withdrawal can lead to headache, fatigue, declining alertness and irritability,” Yokoyama said. “All the reasons you chose to use it in the first place will be accentuated with continued use and withdrawal.”

Yokoyama emphasizes that students find alternatives to better deal with the pressures of school.

“I would highly recommend instead that students participate in cardiovascular conditioning as a means to increase their mental focus and physically vent the stresses of academic life,” she said.

Despite its negative side effects, Turpin said that the stimulant did help him get through school from time to time.

“I think it really does make you more awake [and] more alert, especially when you drink a lot,” he said.

However, even though caffeine did help him when he needed those extra few hours to study, Turpin said he felt some negative side effects.

“If you drink too much at night, it really is hard to fall asleep,” he said. “It’ll take an hour or two.”

Turpin is not alone. About 90 percent of adults consume caffeine regularly. Whereas Turpin’s caffeine reliance peaked in his sophomore year, science teacher Jenny Garcia experienced a dependence on caffeine as an adult, just after her children were born. Her reasoning was simple.

“I like the way it tastes,” Garcia said.

Although she only had a few cups of coffee a day, Garcia still felt negative side effects—mainly headaches—when she did not drink coffee. These consequences eventually drove her to quit.

“I knew that it was a problem and I tried to quit, because it was nasty,” Garcia said. “There are times when you can’t drink it, if you’re traveling or you’re sick and you can’t have food. Then it becomes a problem.”

While she agreed that caffeine has some potential uses, Garcia agrees it only creates problems over time.

“You do become dependent on it, so it doesn’t help you in the long run,” Garcia said. “After you’ve had it for a while, having it is no different from not having it before you were addicted to it.”

Despite making the big decision to quit, it took time before she felt like she was finally over the addiction, Garcia said.

“I would say it was probably a couple of weeks before I didn’t notice being tired anymore,” Garcia said. “I [quit] during the summer, when I didn’t have to get up in the morning and be at school so I could sleep more.”

Garcia does not consider herself dependent on caffeine anymore. Turpin, however, said that he still drinks caffeinated beverages.

“I definitely drink caffeine less, but I still drink a fair amount of it,” Turpin said. “Last year, I’d make it a point to have caffeine.”

Ultimately, Garcia, Yokoyama and Turpin agreed that caffeine really isn’t necessary, despite its short-term benefits on late-night study sessions.

“I wouldn’t [recommend caffeine],” Garcia said. “Why put yourself in that position if you don’t have to? If you’re tired, get some sleep.”