Do you like energy drinks? How many do you drink a day? Energy drinks can and will do a lot of damage to your body and brain if you overdo it. It can also affect you in school, due to lack of sleep or sleeping problems.

            Adults have been drinking coffee and looking to caffeine to help them wake up and stay focused at work or school for centuries now. However, teens are now looking to caffeine for the same effects; however, there is a big difference between consuming adult and teen caffeine consumption. This is because as teens aren’t fully grown yet, so their brains and bodies are still developing and an excess of caffeine can lead to a lot of problems or even disorders, including insomnia and anxiety. These disorders can end up affecting you for the rest of your life.

            At Drexel’s College of Nursing and Health Professions, Dr. Christina Calamaro did a study in 2009, which showed that teens some teens end up relying on caffeine. Teens should only have 150- 200mg of caffeine a day, but even that can lead to becoming addicted to caffeine, because it only takes 100mg. However, most teens can drink more and be fine. But when most energy drinks have 160mg in just on can or bottle this can become very problematic, because most teens aren’t just drinking one energy drink a day they tend to drink two or more. This can lead to addiction and even withdrawals. Some of the withdrawals include: headache, achy muscles, fatigue, sadness, vomiting, or even impaired mental focus.

            Caffeine may help at times, but it definitely should not be used over long periods of times, especially since the use of caffeine takes away a lot of the nutrients that we all need to stay healthy and strong. Not only that, but caffeine can cause loss of sleep, lack of deep sleep, or trouble falling asleep. This can be dangerous, because sleep is crucial to our bodies and mind. So, when drinking an energy drink or coffee, check to see how much caffeine is in it and keep track of how much you are drinking. Everything in moderation.