The ‘student grind’ is a constant battle between sleep deprivation and not getting enough done. For many students, a cup of coffee can be the difference between a successful day and an unsuccessful one. To get the day started with a kick, studies show it is safe for kids to start drinking coffee around age 12. However, drinking too much coffee can lead to a lifelong coffee addiction.

Recently students have moved away from drinking coffee to other forms of caffeine such as energy drinks and sweet teas. Local coffee joints such as Atomic Coffee Bar and Coffee Hound have led this trend by providing separate menus dedicated solely to energy drinks.

Caffeine addict and loyal Atomic customer Abbey Hancock says, “There are lots of different choices between coffee and energy drinks. Atomic is much cheaper than Starbucks and the extra energy helps me to survive a full night of dance and work.”  Like many students at PVHS, Abbey has a full schedule that does not allow for a moment of downtime or much sleep.

Atomic Coffee Bar employee and aficionado, Laurin Baker, is another big fan of the booming coffee joint. “We have a wide variety of the Rockstar drinks and we’re able to be creative when people ask us to ‘surprise’ them or make our favorite drink. As for the coffee, most of them are very sweet, which I like the best.” The vast array of flavors and colors is part of the reason Atomic has attracted so many tired eyes.

At Pleasant Valley, the study hall snack bar has also introduced its own version of energy drinks. The Mountain Dew Kickstarts have become a popular energizer for many students’ mornings. Kickstart fanatic Susan Anil, says, “I’m not a huge fan of coffee, so Kickstarts really help me to wake up during my morning classes when I haven’t gotten much sleep the night before.” Are the caffeine effects of these addictive drinks really worth the health risks?

Pam Cinadr, the PVHS school nurse, disagrees with the students’ opinions about these addictive drinks. She sees the more detrimental health effects they can have on students. However, her first focus is not on what one would think, “The first problem to me is not the sugar, it’s the caffeine. Caffeine is addictive and the students are drinking coffee frequently. Drinking one energy drink now and again is okay, but drinking an energy drink every day becomes addictive and the problem that we see is that kids will drink more than one.”

Sugar remains a big health deficit as well. According to Cinadr, “When kids drink all this sugar, they get a big energy boost because of their blood sugar. When the sugar becomes digested, their energy drops to lower than it was before they drank the energy drink, thus making them feel worse.” Although the combination of sugar and caffeine help create a temporary energy spike, in a couple hours the cons begin to outweigh the pros.

Even if they may take the place of morning coffee or help with that afternoon slump, the high sugar and caffeine content of the drinks makes them extremely unhealthy. Rather, opting for unsweetened tea or some cold water may be a better option to fighting the week’s unending to-do list.