As a college student doing my best to make the most out of my experience at UF, I try to do it all. There are internships, extra-curricular activities like clubs, part-time jobs, and, of course, Greek life. Being Greek and going to school can be a large time commitment by itself, and Greek students tend to be involved in other pursuits as well. Now, this is no scientific study, but if I polled a group of my friends and coworkers whom I see every day, 8/10 drink two or more cups of coffee a day. That is a lot of us.
UF junior and Food Science and Human Nutrition major, Shannon O’Meara, says she drinks about two cups a day to help her focus and because she likes the taste. “One time I drank about 40 ounces of coffee in day, about five cups, and I had really bad jitters and shaking. I felt like it was my only way to stay awake so I could study for my exam,” she says. Shannon is pre-dental, has a chair position in Sigma Kappa, and is involved with Student Government Productions. Like many of us, managing her time becomes harder and harder during busy periods of the year.
While my perspective on caffeine is mostly limited to coffee (I’ve never had an energy drink, tea, large amounts of soda, or taken a caffeine pill), I know that many college students turn to these sources of caffeine, too. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know much about how caffeine affects the body, the best ways to consume caffeine, or how much is too much. With alcohol, it seems like we have some handier rules about how much alcohol affects you and in what ways, but with caffeine, I feel more in the dark.
Diana Rodriguez of Everyday Health and Tara Harwood, RD, LD, broke down the differences in the various sources from which we get our caffeine fix. Coffee and tea have some positive effects on our body, like providing us with antioxidants. Caffeine pills, however, have no benefits and energy drinks and soda just add unnecessary calories and sugar.
Most of us know that caffeine can have negative short-term effects like jitters, headaches, or restlessness. It can also have long-term effects on acid production, and result in stomach and abdominal pain. You should never drink caffeine right after exercising in the Florida heat, either.
Among all this bad news, there is a shining beacon of hope for us caffeine drinkers. While average caffeine intake is about three cups a day, you can actually drink up to six without negative effects. However, caffeine affects everyone differently. Shannon, for example, suffered consequences of too much caffeine after only five cups. So, the moral of the story is to make sure to monitor how much you're drinking, know yourself and your body, try to abide by the six cup rule, and we’ll all make it out of college alive and thriving.
