””Should we drink coffee?”” That’s the question that sparks the on-going caffeine controversy among researchers, scientists and of course, students.

“I drink coffee sometimes just because I like the taste,” sophomore Genessis Montecino said. “I don’t think it actually helps you stay awake to study or anything.”

Many students simply drink coffee without caring about caffeine’s effects, which include irregular sleeping patterns and possible development of caffeine addiction.

“I drink coffee everyday,” senior Kaelin Bernard said. “I drink my coffee black so it’s just like a warm drink, especially for the winter time. In the summertime, I’ll drink something like iced coffee. So it’s not because it helps me stay awake but because it tastes good.”

According to studies of P. Quinlan, J. Lane and L. Aspinall retrieved from MEDLINE, consuming 100mg of caffeine leads to improvement in mood and a decrease in anxiety.

“When I first drink coffee, it usually makes me really hyper,” sophomore Duchess Solomon said. “It

””Should we drink coffee?”” That’s the question that sparks the on-going caffeine controversy among researchers, scientists and of course, students.

“I drink coffee sometimes just because I like the taste,” sophomore Genessis Montecino said. “I don’t think it actually helps you stay awake to study or anything.”

Many students simply drink coffee without caring about caffeine’s effects, which include irregular sleeping patterns and possible development of caffeine addiction.

“I drink coffee everyday,” senior Kaelin Bernard said. “I drink my coffee black so it’s just like a warm drink, especially for the winter time. In the summertime, I’ll drink something like iced coffee. So it’s not because it helps me stay awake but because it tastes good.”

According to studies of P. Quinlan, J. Lane and L. Aspinall retrieved from MEDLINE, consuming 100mg of caffeine leads to improvement in mood and a decrease in anxiety.

“When I first drink coffee, it usually makes me really hyper,” sophomore Duchess Solomon said. “It makes me happy for a moment.”

The journal ””Human Brain Mapping”” shows that the cerebral blood flow is proportional to the amount of consumed caffeine, which boosts the efficiency of neurotransmissions involved in the cerebral cortex. As a result, there are improvements with concentration, decision-making and neuromuscular coordination.

“I drink coffee a lot, like everyday because it helps me stay awake to study,” junior Sandhya Dotel said.

After consuming caffeine, there is a withdrawal state which includes difficulty to sleep and concentrate, stomach and joint pains.

“[Coffee] does keep you awake but then you have the crash later,” Solomon said. “Usually, you’d be awake for a couple of hours, then you feel really tired.”

According to the article “Adolescent Substance Use, Sleep, and Academic Achievement: Evidence of Harm Due to Caffeine” of Jack E. James, withdrawal could also lead to fatigue or headaches, resulting in poorer academic performance.

Many researchers debate about the negative effects of caffeine; however, the negative effects aren’t significant enough to have a fixed limit on how much coffee should be consumed. Students will not suffer from any damaging effects as long as they do not drink 80-100 cups of coffee a day according to the journal “Health Effects of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults” retrieved from MEDLINE. With that said, avid coffee drinkers should still take caution as an overdose of caffeine could be as damaging as any over-the-counter drugs.