According to Le Sabre, studies have shown that 83.2% of teenagers consume caffeinated beverages regularly. The appeal of caffeinated beverages has increased in the lives of many high school students over the course of the last few years.
For senior Madison Patterson, caffeine has just become another step in her daily routine.
“I mean I normally have it only during certain times of the day, which is usually in the morning and during lunch. I think for me at least it’s just become a bit of a habit,” Patterson said.
Patterson is not the only one who feels strongly about her caffeine intake. Other students explain how much caffeine is needed in their day today life.
Dillan Ancheta (10) explains how much caffeine is needed in his day-to-day life.
“I probably drink around 2-3 Alani’s a day, it’s something I need to function,” Dillan Ancheta (10) said.
Coffee addiction is something that many high school students deal with and the feeling of not being able to function without it.
Smoky Educator Wael Amara, has been dealing with his dependency on coffee since he was 12.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it an ‘addiction’, but yeah I do drink coffee every morning. When I wake up it’s probably the first thing I do,” Amara said.
While the caffeine intake may be great within the Smoky Hill community, the caffeine drinks are various.
Energy drinks such as Red Bulls, Celsius, Alani’s and Monster tend to be the main source of caffeine intake. While some also use coffee as their source of caffeine, some student’s preferences are different.
“I mean only old people and teachers really drink coffee,” Cora Oliver (9) said.
The intake of energy drinks compared to coffee is a vast amount. According to the CDC, around 30-50% of high school students drink energy drinks on a regular basis compared to 14.8% of high school students drinking coffee daily.
The culture of drinking caffeine regularly has become a normality, which is why especially due to finals week, organizations are offering free coffee such as Sources of Strength which is currently offering coffee to all students.
“I mean it makes it’s nice having places to get free coffee especially right before finals week, it makes my life easier,” Rachel Kim (10) said.
This shows how easy the availability is for students and staff to get coffee.
As said by Nordic News, studies show that around 83% of students started drinking coffee once they entered high school.
This is what many students ranging from 9th to 12th-grade feel was a common pattern when they started drinking coffee.¾ students interviewed explained how at the beginning of high school, they started drinking coffee.
“Honestly I hadn’t had [energy drinks] before high school, but I saw a lot of people drinking energy drinks and then I started drinking them,” Oliver said.
Throughout her couple of months in high school, her caffeine intake went from zero to having 1-2 red bulls on a daily basis.
“It was everyone else drinking it, I’ll say that, but it was also the stress of school and having to stay up late,” Oliver said.
The intake of caffeine in high school students has slowly increased over the years due to many reasons, which is why many students feel that having caffeine is just another part of a daily routine.
