The infamous radar alarm pounds through the speakers of teens’ phones at dreadfully early hours in the morning. Droopy exhausted eyes pry open as mentally drained high schoolers slowly roll out of bed. After school jobs, sports and long hours of homework keep everyone extremely busy. Not to mention the oh so necessary time needed to scroll through social media and watch TV at night. All of these things keep the average teen awake and disrupt essential sleep time. 

When the sun begins to peek from behind the clouds the next day, many teens may find themselves reaching for that morning boost of caffeine that has quickly become part of their daily routine. Some people prefer a classic cup of coffee, others a cold brew, maybe a flavored latte or possibly even a canned energy drink. Caffeine may make people feel alert and awake in the moment, but what are the lasting effects? Is it harmful to people? Are there any benefits tied to it? And how much caffeine is a healthy amount for the average teen to consume? 

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Caffeine is not a multitude of health flowing through people’s bodies while they drink it and there are some concerns to consider.  Caffeine may cause your blood pressure to rise, increase your heart rate and make you pass more urine. If you consume larger amounts of caffeine, 600 milligrams or more, you may experience these effects, shaking, feeling agitated, trouble sleeping, a fast irregular heartbeat and feeling more irritable(Myhealth.alberta.ca.com). Caffeine does cause blood pressure to rise and this may not be good for people if it is happening over and over(https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/pros-and-cons-caffeine-craze). Researchers also worry about boost in blood glucose levels caused by consuming caffeine. 

Are there actually any benefits to drinking caffeine? The benefits of caffeine are that it can improve memory, decrease fatigue, improve mental functioning, improve short-term memory and speed up your reaction times (https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/pros-and-cons-caffeine-craze).

Getting that buzz of energy from a caffeinated beverage may have a few health risks attached, but they do not outweigh the pros. As long as people do not go overboard and are staying within the range of 200-400 milligrams of consumption, they should be perfectly fine to keep on enjoying their caffeine.