Areeta Faiz || STAFF WRITER
AHS sophomore Jiya Jotwani has perfected her beloved Starbucks order: a grande iced sugar cookie almond milk latte, or perhaps a peach iced green tea. She says they keep her chronic procrastination in check, in addition to being a sweet treat to enjoy after a long day.
The sun has barely risen when sophomore Adelaide McLean stops by Dunkin’ before school for her daily 20-ounce mocha latte. She had managed a good rest the night before, but the threat of a midday headache keeps her routine alive morning after morning.
Junior Lex Malsky, with a soft spot for energy drinks, reflects on his former addiction that led to a whopping four hours of sleep each night during his formative years. The 2020 “alternative” culture that was in reality quite popular featured Monster Energy, bearer of an infamous 160 milligrams of caffeine per can.
No matter who you are, the typical Andover High student is no stranger to late nights, heavy eyelids, and promises to oneself to “lock in” on sleep, only to get pushed back week by week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), caffeine seems like the holy grail that would keep 73% of U.S. adolescents from slipping into despair.
Billions of people around the globe are drinking coffee each day, and dangerous doses of caffeine are hardly ever consumed in one sitting. Still, the world’s most popular drug is far from harmless, and AHS feels its effects every day.
“One cup in the morning can help give you some energy throughout the day, but that’s really not what’s happening,” said health teacher Candice McVeigh. “That’s not how adolescents tend to use it.”
“I probably see a handful of students buying the same drinks every day, which isn’t many considering the population of the school,” said AHS cashier Pamela Anderson. “Overall, these drinks are very popular.”
According to Anderson, AHS began selling coffee to get students to class on time. “They were often tardy since they would go to Dunkin’ or Starbucks to get their coffee before school.” Taylor Pirog, the Andover Public Schools Assistant Director of Food Services, is concerned, however, that students may be buying too much in a day and it is not being regulated.
It’s no debate that often, caffeine is the only realistic way students can maximize the little time and energy they have. Of course, students aren’t drinking caffeine just for fun. Between study sessions, concerts, tech weeks, and early morning practices, coffee and energy drinks feel like survival tools more than anything.
It’s a vicious cycle: when people become reliant on caffeine, it becomes part of their routine, and consistent use is exactly when it becomes harmful. “You’re going to sleep later, so you want to wake up later, yet you really can’t because you have priorities,” said McVeigh. “And the cycle keeps going because you use the caffeine to stay up the next night.”
Getting addicted doesn’t even always involve academic pressure or the caffeine itself; sometimes it just tastes good. The CDC reports that the growing popularity of energy drinks may be increasing caffeine intake among children and adolescents. Consumption of sweetened coffee drinks has also increased.“Especially with some of the larger drinks that people order, people don’t know how much caffeine is in there,” said McVeigh.
“I’m not sure how many milligrams there are,” confirmed McLean when describing her daily order. “It’s a 20-ounce drink, but there’s other stuff in there.”
On top of this are the mimickers of caffeine. Many energy drinks have products in them that do equally as much as, if not more than, what caffeine does. “Whether it’s taurine or guarana or other additives. Even just sugar,” added McVeigh.
But perhaps one of the most costly consequences of the drug is simply how detrimental it is to your wallet. The school offers a few choices, ranging from a dollar-fifty iced coffee to a three-dollar Uptime. Some of the more intricate Starbucks drinks can end up being upwards of seven or even ten dollars.
“In the last five to ten years, more and more of these refreshers have been popping up. They’re expensive, first of all, which is a waste of money. And it becomes a habit,’’ said McVeigh. Often, three dollars a day quickly turns into a sum much greater than necessary.
Headaches, moodiness, and fatigue are all well-known side effects of caffeine withdrawal. McLean, for example, gets eight hours of sleep every night. Even so, “if I don’t have coffee in the morning, my head starts to hurt later in the day,” she said.
“When I started drinking [Monster Energy] very often, it caused me to sleep even less, and I was very irritable at the time,” recalled Malski, demonstrating how the drug ultimately creates a routine that does the opposite of what it’s supposed to.
So, how do we become more cognizant of our intake and break the cycle? McVeigh suggests herbal teas, water with fruit, and things that are hydrating to help keep you more alert. Exercise and putting screens away before bed are both things that can help get into a better sleep pattern.
Lattes, refreshers, and energy drinks are undeniably delicious. More importantly, they feel like the easiest solution to remain motivated on days it’s hard to stay awake. These beloved beverages are the reasons so many of us take trips to coffee shops in the mornings and vending machines between classes. But as coffee culture continues to grow, students may want to ask themselves: Are they really in control of their caffeine habits, or is caffeine in control of them?
