Caffiend!

Alex Park, Managing Editor

I haven’t been drinking coffee for that long. It’s been almost a year since I had my first cup. It was a jolt of energy that I couldn’t believe I was missing out on. It felt like someone flipped a hidden switch in my body to energize me.

Then, I did the exact thing I told myself I wouldn’t do: became a regular coffee drinker.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. A lot of people drink coffee … A LOT. The average adult (we’re sort of like adults, right?) drinks three eight-once cups per day, which equates to 382 million cups of coffee drank in America EVERY DAY.

That’s a lot of coffee. Well, at least there are some benefits of it. Coffee drinkers apparently have a much lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Don’t believe me? Google it. It also has protective effects on the liver!

THIS DOES NOT MEAN GO OUT AND TEST THE CAPACITY OF IT THIS WEEKEND!

Saves your liver and saves your health. Coffee is also considered to be one of the best sources of antioxidants in the world! Coffee means being healthy and being healthy means more time to panic about all the assignments you neglected to start until the last possible second.

Even without all that coffee, let’s be real, you probably neglected to start your assignments anyway — but how much coffee is too much?

Surprisingly, according to Mayo Clinic, 400 milligrams is the safe amount of caffeine to drink, or about four eight-ounce cups of coffee. I always stick to the rule of two, which means any number of cups of coffee after two means you’re having a bad day. Remember to keep things in moderation.

While four cups of coffee may be the safe line, all it takes is two energy drinks to reach that same amount of caffeine.  You can opt to drink ten cans of soda, but I don’t think you need that much sugar in your life. While coffee may be the wonder-drink of college students everywhere, this is the time when we are more susceptible to caffeine overload.

You can overdose on caffeine and while the symptoms may not seem too serious at first, it can develop to more troubling symptoms. They may sound like another day in college (dizziness, diarrhea, dehydration, insomnia, headaches, etc.), but the other symptoms of caffeine overdose such as trouble breathing, hallucinations, chest pain, irregular heartbeat, and convulsions need immediate attention. Be aware of your health.

Caffeine overdoses can normally be treated but it can lead to long-term health problems. I’m not saying stop drinking caffeine; I’m saying be conscientious when drinking it.