Caffeine poses risk for addiction, still popular stimulant

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Caffeine is a stimulant that causes alertness and an increased feeling of happiness or well-being. Too much can lead to physical and mental side effects. It’s a drug, and it’s addicting.

According to an online article from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center at www.caffeinedependence.org, caffeine is the most commonly used mood-altering drug in the world and there are plenty of MSU students who have an addiction to it.

“I’m definitely addicted. I drink coffee, sometimes tea, and lattes. I used to be addicted to Diet Coke but I quit drinking it. I have the occasional Monster but try to limit myself,” said Lauren Quinnett, a telecommunication, information studies and media freshman. “I have four or five cups of eight-ounce coffee a day, maybe more … it’s probably the main thing I spend money on, and I buy like one a day.”

Caffeine is found in a number of foods and beverages, like coffee, tea, chocolate, energy drinks and soda.

Kelly Mattran, kinesiology senior and MSU Coffee Club officer of public relations, said coffee is her primary source of caffeine.

“I wake up, and before I brush my teeth or get ready for class I start brewing coffee. I drink a mug or two while I am at home and fill my travel mug to take to class. Weekends are slightly different because I often visit a local coffeehouse to meet with friends or work on homework while I sip my coffee beverage,” Mattran said.

Mattran also said caffeine helps her complete daily tasks such as schoolwork and that without it she experiences fatigue and feels out of sync.

“I feel that my daily doses of caffeine intake help me focus and increase my motivation for productivity in the day,” Mattran said.

Moderate caffeine intake, even on a daily basis, is relatively harmless, yet too much can cause increased tolerance and eventually lead to harmful side effects and addiction.

More than 500 to 600 milligrams of caffeine a day — the equivalent of about four to seven cups of coffee — can cause restlessness, anxiety, muscle tremors, sleeplessness, headaches, nausea, diarrhea and abnormal heart rhythms, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“I’ll find myself like, well my hands aren’t shaking, but I feel it in my legs. Then my foot starts to tap and I don’t realize it,” Quinnett said. “Actually caffeine doesn’t even keep me awake anymore because I’ve built up such a tolerance to it.”

Chris Bryner, barista at Espresso Royale, 527 E. Grand River Ave., said 90 percent of the coffee shop’s clients are MSU students and that some people who come in order up to 10 coffees.

“It’s usually the morning crowd,” Bryner said. “Most people who come in here drink four or five coffees in two hours because they’re studying. I’m sure it tweaks them, but they don’t notice because they’re sitting down and they’re not getting as much blood flow as they would if they were moving.”

According to www.caffeinedependence.org, the addiction develops when an individual is unable to quit or to reduce his or her caffeine use and continues to use caffeine to avoid experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Typical side effects of withdrawal, the Web site said, are moderate to severe headaches, fatigue, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, work difficulty, irritability, depression, anxiety and flu-like symptoms such as nausea and muscle aches and stiffness.

Mattran said her symptoms vary.

“I do have a few physical symptoms of withdrawal but much more emotional symptoms because I look forward to the calming time period when I get to enjoy my coffee beverages,” she said. “When I have a week or so of increased coffee intake, or consume more than one beverage in a day, I have experienced withdrawal a day or two later if I don’t get caffeine. The worst are the headaches, but more frequently I experience less severe symptoms related to extreme fatigue or tiredness when I don’t start my day with coffee.”

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