The amount of teenage caffeine consumption has many health and education professionals worried.
The National Coffee Association reports teens and young adults are one of the fastest-growing demographics in consumption, growing from 24 percent in 2001 to 37 percent in 2007. The numbers represent the percentage of people ages 18 to 24, who drink coffee.
For many upung people, coffee consumption is limited to a single cup each day, or an occasional caffeinated treat from popular stores like Starbucks. However, Dr. Steven Jones, a pediatrician with Pediatric Partners of Augusta, fears the regular caffeine habits of many teens is not only dangerous to their health, but also to their academic and social success.
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"Caffeine mainly interferes with your sleep cycle, so if you drink too much caffeine, you may not get enough sleep. Then, you are more tired when you wake up, which can cause you to take more caffeine and so on and so forth," said Dr. Jones. The lack of sleep caused by this cycle has detrimental affects on concentration levels and emotional states.
Adding the mounting research regarding caffeinated energy drinks to these numbers regarding coffee consumption may give educators, parents and youth workers pause about the examples they set and habits they encourage about caffeine.
Discussion Starters This article speaks about the relation between caffeine consumption, sleeping habits and academic performance. What ties might you make between caffeine consumption, moral choices, and spiritual formation? Do you think our diets have anything to do with our relationship with God? If so, why and how so?
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