A perspective on the unsettling reality of caffeine addiction
Caffeine has been in my life for as long as I can remember. I drank sweet tea when I was young and Coca-Cola/Coke sparingly until I got into my teenage years when it became the only thing I imbibed. Sweet tea is only 1 milligram (mg) of caffeine per ounce, but there is 2.83 mg of caffeine per ounce in Coke. When I drank sweet tea, it would be an 8-ounce glass; when I drank Coke, it started with a 12-ounce can and turned into 16-ounce bottles.
Caffeine is physically and behaviorally addictive and, since it is not advertised as such, many people struggle with it. My mother just began drinking water just last year; I did not catch up with her progress until after I made it one of my New Year’s resolutions.
I realized and embraced my addiction to Coke my freshman year in high school (2017-2018) when I experienced headaches every single morning for over a week unless I started my day with it. I went to the hospital in 2019 in the middle of the night due to extreme abdominal pain as a result of dehydration. I still could not bring myself to drink water until I made the conscious decision to better my long-ignored health.
With that being said, it was by no means easy for me to quit. After Jan. 1, I forced myself to drink at least one glass of water a day and several Cokes. Coke dehydrates, so I was virtually never thirsty and if I was, it was for Coke, not water. During February, I had unpredictable, paralyzing headaches where I could feel the blood pulsing in my superficial temporal artery. In March, I started drinking one Coke a day and several glasses of water and the headaches gradually stopped.
I have not noticed much of a difference aside from being alleviated from the financial burden of purchasing several six-packs of Coke a week. I was on a path to high blood pressure, even early-onset diabetes and heart attack.
Junior communication student Shad Stowers shared that he drank Coke from when he was only 10 years old in 2006 to 2019 when he switched to Starbucks Strawberry Refreshers for his caffeine fix when he realized that the Coke was counteracting his antidepressants, going from a beverage with 2.83 mg to 3.5 mg of caffeine per ounce.
Stowers and I were lucky to have been addicted to Coke and not energy drinks or coffee. Each ounce of Monster Energy is 5.38 mg of caffeine and each ounce of black coffee contains 12 mg of caffeine. Bang Energy drinks are even worse, containing a whopping 18.75 mg of caffeine per ounce.
Lauren Baker, a graduate student pursuing her master’s degree in business administration, reflected on her addiction to Monster between the ages of 16 and 18. Not only is Monster packed with caffeine, but it has also led to heart failure in young, otherwise healthy people. She experiences “jitters every now and then … and headaches,” if she goes without it, but she still allows herself to enjoy one from time to time.
Another alum, Joshua Lee, stated that he had been addicted to Monster as early as the 7th grade. Similarly to Baker, he also experiences the jitters and a loss of focus without a Monster but is thankful to have been able to reduce the amount he consumes. He emphasizes that caffeine is “just as bad as being addicted to a drug if you’re not careful with how much you drink.”
Julie Reibsome, a senior business student, defines her relationship with coffee as one more of reliance or dependence rather than an addiction. She did not consume caffeine when she was pregnant but quickly relapsed after the birth of her son. Thankfully for Reibsome, coffee can be found pretty much anywhere so she does not have to experience withdrawal and she has not developed a resistance to it so she still gets the benefits like increased focus, energy and mental dexterity in the morning.
Others are not as lucky. Similar to Lauren and Joshua, a freshman fitness management major was addicted to energy drinks because it maximized their physical performance, but their favorite was Bang. It got to the point where they were purchasing one every day, but they are thankful to be able to occasionally enjoy one in moderation now. Withdrawing, they experienced some stomach aches, but they noted that the headaches were especially unbearable.
It baffles me that the jury still seems to be out on whether caffeine is addictive when it has an effect on the very chemistry of your brain. According to Healthline, “your brain cells may start to produce more adenosine receptors as a way to compensate for the ones blocked by caffeine,” which results in a resistance that requires more caffeine to overcome and result in withdrawal symptoms as aforementioned.
Caffeine can be used in moderation, but the substance’s side effects should be seriously considered. They include “insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, nausea, increased heart rate, headache, anxiety, chest pain, irregular heartbeat and even death.” Caffeine differently affects children, impairing their concentration and ability to sleep and slowing the maturing process in the brain.
It is important to consider the effects that caffeine has on us and our children. Tobacco has been required to be labeled as addictive after the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 while alcohol and caffeine are free game although they are both just as addictive if not more so. There is a modern stigma against people who smoke cigarettes profusely or drink alcohol excessively because of their health implications, but I would argue that caffeine is even more dangerous because its consequences go unnoticed and untreated.
