Coffee Can’t Give You More Hours In A Day

Good morning everyone!

I’ve never been a big coffee drinker; I don’t love the natural taste, I don’t like relying on caffeine to keep my energy levels going throughout the day, and I was never a big Starbucks fan in the past *everyone gasps*. However, one fateful day at yearbook camp where I was running on around 5 hours of sleep, I decided to head to the on-campus Starbucks and get a pick-me-up. I tried the iced caramel macchiato for the first time and kind of fell in love. Ever since then, I’ve been making semi-frequent trips to Starbucks to fuel this new mini-addiction.

I know I’m a bit young to drink coffee regularly which is why it’s more of a treat for me, but surprisingly, a lot of my friends do drink it almost daily. I even came across a Time article titled “Should Parents Worry About Kids Drinking Coffee?” that stated the percentage of Americans ages 13-18 who drink coffee every day has risen to 37%, according to recent studies. For every day consumption, this seems like a huge number. This left me wondering what was responsible for such a large jump in numbers.

I did a little bit more research and there wasn’t a clear-cut answer, but the same things were repeated throughout the articles I read: students having a lack of sleep from staying up to do homework/other work and needing energy throughout the day. Why are students being so overworked? Well, it’s all the same reasons I’ve previously discussed on my blog. Pressure from parents, self-pressure, and competitive college admissions all cause teens to take on a little too much regarding hard classes and lots of extracurriculars.

Coffee/caffeine seems like a way to bring more hours into the day, to get more time for students to get everything done. However, this is obviously not the case. Coffee is definitely a nice treat that we can all enjoy indulging in once in a while and may use from time to time for an energy boost, but it’s dangerous to rely on it. Becoming caffeine dependent at such a young age isn’t a favorable position to be in, especially when it still won’t solve the common problem of not having enough time.

I understand the productivity struggle; we’re all going through our own time-management issues. However, there are better solutions. Yes, of course you can still get your Starbucks drink for a treat- I know I will- but it’s important to know that coffee and staying up late isn’t always the answer. If you’re looking for productivity tips, read the last couple things I’ve posted on this blog! Hopefully that helps you all out- have a wonderful and productive day.

-Brooke