In a world ruled by marking periods and deadlines, adults and even students seek energy drinks and coffee to find the energy needed to go to work or stay up completing homework. Coffee, in particular, has become synonymous to the modern city life or the drink of scholars.

However, while caffeine provides a temporary lift, it can induce nausea, vomiting, and other tediously painful sensations. In the long run, individuals who use caffeine require higher dosages in order to experience a satisfying lift. Ultimately, individuals, especially growing students, should watch their intake for sake of their health.

It’s no shocker that caffeine helps people fight against their desire of sleep. However, the human body requires a certain number hours of sleep to allow the individual to perform a task with concentration and in good spirits. Although many drink coffee for pure enjoyment or as a refresher, countless students abuse their access to caffeine by dosing high amounts to pull an all nighter to finish that project or study for that test. On a more common scale, excessive consumption of coffee can prevent students from falling asleep at a healthy time. Such disruption to the body’s circadian rhythm can offset the student’s conditions for school the following day.

The fact that students resort to coffee to stay up and even embrace caffeine reflects on the students’ culture. With phrases claiming that “sleep is for the weak,” some students take pride in having the ability to go with only a few hours of sleep.

Not only the school environment but also the general social pressure has allowed unhealthy competition to dominate progress. Adults and students alike have felt the need to work extra hard and sacrifice valuable sleep and health in order to please their boss or achieve an A+.

All in all, individuals should be compelled to limit their intake of caffeine out of concern of their own bodies. Likewise, people must understand the true value of sleep. With such recommendations in mind, perhaps individuals will be able to sleep more and thus be able to function more productively in the workplace.