Final Exploratory Essay

The Secrets of The Miracle Beverage

“Wake up and smell the coffee” is a quote that means that no matter how unpleasant the situation one must accept it. Coffee is a drink that uses roasted and ground seeds from a tropical shrub. These seeds contain the addictive drug called caffeine which is a stimulant for the central nervous system. This may explain why coffee is one of the most popular drinks here in the United States especially among students. Coffee gives people that boost of energy for another exhausting day of work. This is great for students who really want to be focused and awake for class. However, coffee may be giving people that boost of energy for a price as it may lead them to feeling more stressed and having poor sleep quality. Coffee is a double-edged sword with both its positives and negatives for a student.

First off, coffee affects many college students especially medical students who may be more academically stressed. According to the “Perceived Stress and Coffee and Energy Drink Consumption Predict Poor Sleep Quality in Podiatric Medical Students” by Sawah MA et al, college students in the medical field are required to contain a vast amount of information, and keep up with tight schedules causing them to lean toward coffee which has a lot of caffeine. These researchers conducted a study on 98 podiatric medical students who drink coffee to determine their sleep quality, sleepiness, and stress quality. According to their research, “A total of 68.3% of podiatric medical students showed poor sleep quality” (MA 431) which proves, in exchange for a boost of energy a person can receive poor sleep quality. Solutions that were mentioned in the article that can improve a student’s sleep quality is by managing their stress or by drinking less coffee. To conclude, coffee may produce a negative effect on a college student’s mental state.

Furthermore, coffee is a great tool to stay active, but there may be some side effects students are unaware of. In the article, “School pupils and university students surveyed for drinking beverages containing caffeine.” by Górnicka M and (et al) suggests that modest intakes of coffee are beneficial for your health. To support, “Modest intakes of caffeine (i.e. 200 – 300 mg) are beneficial to health through being a stimulant of the central nervous system (CNS), muscle activity, heart and kidneys” (M 114). These results reveal that the CNS, muscle activity, heart, and kidney are being stimulated, which in effect would help students be more focused and alert. However, “Excessive daily intakes above 400 mg may cause agitation, sleep disturbances, anxiety, irritability, nervousness” (M 114). Also, children are more likely to be affected more drastically because they are still in a developing state for both their central nervous system and metabolism, and caffeine can over-stimulants these areas. Countries such as Canada “... have maximum daily intakes of caffeine been established for children aged below 12 years” (M 114). This reveals that Canada understands that caffeine if taken excessively can be dangerous especially for younger people. Overall, moderate intakes of coffee for students is helpful by giving them the energy they need, but if taken excessively can be harmful to their brain and body.

Likewise, coffee affects a student's’ memory both positively and negatively. In the article, “Effect of the volatile coffee components on memory in sleep deprived students” by Raquel et al a research was conducted on how coffee affects a student’s short-term memory and long-term memory. Their research shows that coffee stimulates the “cortical structures that regulate the short-term memory, like the frontal areas of the cerebral cortex, are more sensitive to the effects of volatile components of coffee” (Raquel 46), which is the part of the brain that are responsible for our short term-memory skills. On the other hand, coffee does not affect “the structures that regulate the long-term memory, like the hippocampus” (Raquel 46), thus coffee does not help students remember things for a prolonged period. In short, coffee improves a student's’ short-term memory, but their long-term memory may deteriorate.

Despite the mental strains caused by coffee, it can also be beneficial to a person's overall health which can translate into better studying and learning habits. In the article “13 Health Benefits of Coffee, Based on Science” by Kris Gunnars, he explains how coffee helps fight against depression as well as solve personal concerns a student may have. One of the points is that coffee helps burn fat as “Several studies show that caffeine can boost the metabolic rate by 3-11%” (Gunnars 2017). The higher the metabolic rate the faster people digest their food so the amount a person may eat does not necessarily have to be proportional to their weight. This is important because many students care about their appearance causing them to gain unnecessary stress and their weight can become a distraction to their studies. Thus, coffee is a solution for students who can now stay more awake and lose weight. To continue, in another study shows that coffee helps fight against depression as “In a Harvard study published in 2011, women who drank 4 or more cups per day had a 20% lower risk of becoming depressed”(Gunnars 2017). Depressed students would not be able to unleash their full potential for their academics, so coffee would improve student’s mental fortitude and academics. In brief, coffee is useful for students by not only improving their body’s health, but also their mental state, which are essential for a student to lead a fulfilling life.

Also, in another article titled “Effects of Caffeine on Study Habits”, it includes both the positive and negative effects coffee can cause on a person’s overall health. The article first introduces the positives by showing that,” Having a strong heartbeat will help college students stay oxygenated and more awake because of the high concentration of oxygen in their blood flow” which helps people study better. However, some cons are when a student drinks an excessive amount of coffee causing an over-stimulation and having effects such as “...restlessness, jumpiness, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, irregular heartbeat, twitching of muscles and excess amount of acids in the stomach, which can lead to abdominal pain and nausea". Students who may drink more than the standard amount for a test or homework can be in a lot of discomfort due to these symptoms and would not be able to complete their academic work properly. Therefore, for students who wish to study with a more concentrated behavior must use coffee moderately.

Ultimately, coffee has its share of pros and cons, but it mostly depends on the student's’ control over coffee. An adult should take a maximum amount of 400 g of caffeine, but many people do not follow these guidelines. Such guidelines are placed because caffeine has many unforeseen effects such as affecting the central nervous system negatively for students. Also, caffeine can cause poor sleep quality and other negative behaviors such as anxiety, agitation and others. However, all these effects are due to an excessive amount of caffeine. If caffeine is used on a moderate level, it can good for one’s health as it stimulates the brain to help improve short-term memory, and may improve one’s mood with the extra energy. To conclude, by controlling the amount of coffee the student’s drink, the students can reap its benefits.

Citation page

●       “Coffee | Definition of coffee in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/coffee.

●                   MA, Sawah, et al. “Perceived Stress and Coffee and Energy Drink Consumption Predict Poor Sleep Quality in Podiatric Medical Students A Cross-Sectional Study.” Health Source: Consumer Edition [EBSCO], 13 Dec. 2016,

●                   Raquel. “Effect of the Volatile Coffee Components on Memory in Sleep Deprived Students.”Health Source: Consumer Edition [EBSCO].

●                   “Effects of Caffeine on Study Habits (with Image) · Thomsocl.” Storify, storify.com/thomsocl/affects-of-caffeine-on-study-habits.

●                   M, Górnicka, et al. “School Pupils and University Students Surveyed for Drinking Beverages Containing Caffeine.” Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition [EBSCO], 2015.

●                   Gunnars, Kris. “13 Health Benefits of Coffee, Based on Science.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 15 June 2017, www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-13-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee#section1.