Whether it’s a Five Hour Energy, soft drink, or iced coffee from Starbucks, it seems like college students everywhere are getting their daily doses of caffeine. With hectic schedules that place social functions and homework above sleep, it’s not difficult to see why caffeine plays such a major role in the college life. But what is it actually doing to our minds and bodies?
Caffeine is a drug classed as a stimulant that releases the neurotransmitter dopamine into the brain. Dopamine is associated with feelings of pleasure, heightened concentration and increased energy.
“At consumption levels up to 200 milligrams, the amount in about 16 ounces of ordinary brewed coffee, consumers [of caffeine] report an improved sense of well-being, happiness, energy, alertness and sociability,” Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine said in a 2008 New York Times article. “Although higher amounts sometimes cause anxiety and stomach upset.”
Studies show the connection between caffeine and dopamine may have even more important health benefits. In 2001, a study published in the journal Neurology suggested caffeine consumption could protect against Parkinson’s disease by preventing dopamine loss. In the same report, caffeine has been shown to reduce memory loss and cognitive decline, according to Scientific American magazine.
Other aspects of the caffeine molecule have been shown to possess many health benefits and even produce positive effects on patients with certain diseases. In 2009, a study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism showed that caffeine decreases pain associated with exercise.
Caffeine may also improve lung function in asthma patients, according to a study published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2007. According to the New York Times, “even a small dose [of caffeine] – less than the amount in a cup of Starbucks coffee – could improve lung function for up to two hours.”
Although caffeine itself has health benefits, the most common high-caffeine drink, coffee, appears to be especially valuable, according to studies done over the last 20 years. According to an article published in the New York Times in 2006, coffee – with or without caffeine – has the potential to reduce the risks of many diseases, including “diabetes, heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver.”
Another study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2011 showed that caffeine in coffee could improve cognitive performance in patients with Alzheimer’s.
Despite the overwhelming evidence generated by modern studies, there still seems to be a stigma surrounding caffeine implying that the substance is unhealthy. The New York Times reports that in the past, many studies suggested that caffeine led to dehydration, heart disease, hypertension, bone loss and even cancer but that current research disregards these concerns as myths.
In the case of cancer, The New York Times reported that a recent review suggests that people who drink caffeinated drinks have half the risk of developing liver cancer than people who do not consume caffeine.
As with all things, moderation is the key. Like other drugs, overconsumption of caffeine can lead to health problems. However, the health benefits associated with regular caffeine consumption (two to four mugs of coffee or 360-720 milligrams per day) make it possible to survive the chaotic college lifestyle without fear.
Jonathan Lee, a freshman at UA, said Five Hour Energy drinks help him start the day.
“It gets me up in the morning when I have to go to physical training,” Lee said.
Sarah Axley, a UA senior, said she relied on caffeine to get through each day.
“I basically need it to function,” Axley said. “I usually drink about three or four cups of coffee and a Diet Coke or two every day. I would definitely not be able to function as well on as little sleep as I get in college without it.”
