Caffeine is a substance that stimulates your brain and your nervous system. It can have both positive and negative effects. In the past few years, caffeine consumption in high schoolers has increased. What is causing teenagers to drink more caffeine more frequently? The answer, unsurprisingly, is high school.

“School makes you stressed and most of the time I’m tired and need caffeine for me to stay awake during the day,” said Catalina Bopp, a freshman at BWHS.

Stress and tiredness are some of the main reasons that high school students drink coffee. In most teenagers’ lives, the pressure of high school is the source of these feelings.

“High school has me drinking more caffeine especially because of the sports after school,” said Ryleigh Skretta, a freshman and an athlete at BWHS.

Long days working on homework late at night or early in the morning, whether or not you are  an athlete, lead to less sleep resulting in more consumption of caffeine to stay awake during the school day.

“I feel like I drank coffee or soda for fun when I was in high school,” said Isha Jadhav, a college graduate.

Now, teenagers drink caffeine, especially coffee, as a “necessity” rather than occasionally for fun. A common belief is that coffee “cures” sleepiness, causing many high schoolers to resort to drinking coffee.

“The caffeinated drink I see high schoolers drinking the most is coffee,” said Nimagni Mummaneni, a freshman at BWHS.

But coffee and caffeine in general aren’t all good for you. According to the website Better Health Channel, caffeine has negative side effects too, such as anxiety, restlessness, and dehydration.

“I have actually never had any type of caffeine before, and I’ve noticed that my friends crash after the caffeine wears off, whereas I have more constant and stable energy,” said Caitlin Sikora, a sophomore at BWHS.

Caffeine isn’t the only way that you can stay awake and energetic. There are many other alternatives to drinking caffeine that won’t result in negative effects. For example, doing more exercise, relaxing your body, or even other drinks could be better than caffeine.

“I feel like Gatorade would be a good alternative drink because it has electrolytes to energize you,” said Caitlin Sikora.

Caffeine can help you get through the day, but it will slowly and unnaturally drain your energy. Even though high school can be hard, stressful, and tiring, try healthy alternatives to drinking caffeine.