Spring Break
Caffeine
Disturbing the sleep: Catching a buzz to survive Finals Week
Jamie Killen
Issue date: 12/1/08 Section: Inside WCC
"We sell a ridiculous amount of coffee during finals," said Kate Imes, Bakuzio's employee and WCC student. "People are in the café a lot later in the day, after 6 p.m., drinking lattes while they study.
"One student came into the cafe and bought three RedBulls and chugged them all right in front of me. He was shaking; I would die."
Student Activities offers a service called "Stress Relief," when free coffee, tea, and other snacks are made available for students in the library.
"We try to do anything we can to help the students out while they study for finals," said WCC librarian Andrea Hemp Hill.
Caffeine molecules closely resemble adenosine, a chemical created in the brain that acts as a natural sleep and calming agent. Once absorbed into the bloodstream, caffeine interferes with the binding of adenosine to its receptor sites, preventing the drowsy and calming effects of adenosine.
For students cramming at 4 a.m., it's no surprise that they would use large doses of caffeine as a way to ward off sleep. But according to a 2004 study at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, volunteers were given either a caffeine pill or a placebo each morning for 29 days, and were tested on high-concentration tasks. The researchers concluded that caffeine is much more effective in stimulating cognitive performance when taken frequently in smaller amounts, rather than one large dose.
Scientists and health advisers have suggested possible health risks and problems associated with caffeine consumption; however, there has been no conclusive evidence that moderate caffeine consumption is dangerous. Healthcare experts recommend that users try to limit their intake to no more than 300 mg a day.
On the other hand, habitual users of caffeine should be wary of how much they consume. Depending on their caffeine sensitivity, some will develop a tolerance to the drug requiring more and more to produce the desired effect, and in more extreme cases, addiction can occur. This is often known to cause problems in users while studying and performing other functions without it.
"You end up drinking more and more, but the energy just doesn't seem to last," said Donavin McQuillen, 20, a WCC student who has developed a high tolerance to caffeine from frequently drinking RedBull.
Excessive use of caffeine in high amounts can cause a variety of negative effects including nervousness, irritability, anxiety, muscle twitching, and heart palpitations.
"Drinking Redbull is a guilty pleasure of mine," said McQuillen. "I know it can be bad for me, but I drink it anyway."
"One student came into the cafe and bought three RedBulls and chugged them all right in front of me. He was shaking; I would die."
Student Activities offers a service called "Stress Relief," when free coffee, tea, and other snacks are made available for students in the library.
"We try to do anything we can to help the students out while they study for finals," said WCC librarian Andrea Hemp Hill.
Caffeine molecules closely resemble adenosine, a chemical created in the brain that acts as a natural sleep and calming agent. Once absorbed into the bloodstream, caffeine interferes with the binding of adenosine to its receptor sites, preventing the drowsy and calming effects of adenosine.
For students cramming at 4 a.m., it's no surprise that they would use large doses of caffeine as a way to ward off sleep. But according to a 2004 study at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, volunteers were given either a caffeine pill or a placebo each morning for 29 days, and were tested on high-concentration tasks. The researchers concluded that caffeine is much more effective in stimulating cognitive performance when taken frequently in smaller amounts, rather than one large dose.
Scientists and health advisers have suggested possible health risks and problems associated with caffeine consumption; however, there has been no conclusive evidence that moderate caffeine consumption is dangerous. Healthcare experts recommend that users try to limit their intake to no more than 300 mg a day.
On the other hand, habitual users of caffeine should be wary of how much they consume. Depending on their caffeine sensitivity, some will develop a tolerance to the drug requiring more and more to produce the desired effect, and in more extreme cases, addiction can occur. This is often known to cause problems in users while studying and performing other functions without it.
"You end up drinking more and more, but the energy just doesn't seem to last," said Donavin McQuillen, 20, a WCC student who has developed a high tolerance to caffeine from frequently drinking RedBull.
Excessive use of caffeine in high amounts can cause a variety of negative effects including nervousness, irritability, anxiety, muscle twitching, and heart palpitations.
"Drinking Redbull is a guilty pleasure of mine," said McQuillen. "I know it can be bad for me, but I drink it anyway."
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