Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
placeholder article
placeholder article

For the Starbucks Obsessed

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Allison Day Student Contributor, Emory University
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Jessica Leigh Student Contributor, Emory University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Emory chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

You have a 10-page paper due tomorrow. You also have volunteer work, a shift at Wonderful Wednesday, and a date party to attend tonight. And somewhere in between you want to fit in a workout.

What do you turn to? If you’re like tons of college students, your best friend in this situation is
 caffeine! Your solution is found in coffee, energy drinks, soda, tea, or that horrifically disgusting five-hour energy stuff. Sometimes those Espresso Doubleshots are necessary for getting us through the day—and they sure are easy to access between that first Starbucks in Emory Village and the even bigger Starbucks in the Oxford Road Building. You may have only gotten six hours of sleep last night, but with that Venti soy latte (with two extra shots of espresso) in hand, you can easily stay up until the Emory clock tower strikes three a.m.! Sometimes you have to wonder though
 is your caffeine consumption healthy?

Caffeine is the most widely consumed mood-altering drug in the world, according to the John Hopkins University School of Medicine. Caffeine functions by stimulating the central nervous system, giving you the energy to make that long trek from Woodruff to class and contributing to that wired feeling at night provoking your Perez Hilton-stalking habit.

However, like all drugs, a lack of caffeine in “addicts” can cause withdrawal. According to Web.md, side effects of going without that daily Starbucks include anxiety, headache, fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and a depressed mood. Furthermore, Starbucks drinks and non-diet energy drinks and sodas have a ridiculous amount of sugar. Being physically dependant on something likely to cause a cavity any minute is not fun
 but how do you know if you’re addicted?

If you consume two or more cups of coffee a day, there is a good chance you will experience some of those nasty side effects upon missing your daily dosage, according to Web.md. The average 6-ounce cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams of caffeine. A 12-ounce Coca Cola only has about 34 mgs
 but some energy drinks have well over 300 mgs, like the one appropriately named “Rage Inferno.” Monster Energy drinks contain 160 mgs of caffeine per 16 ounce can, but I was surprised to learn that Einstein Bros Coffee actually contains a good amount more, with each 16 ounce cup containing 206 mgs. That means going a day without your Einstein’s coffee will likely result in a headache. (Mental note: get more Dooley Dollars!)

Of course, everyone responds to caffeine differently, explaining why you might guzzle down the Joe without blinking an eye while your roommate gets buzzed off of Diet Coke. Surprisingly, this could be due to birth control—oral contraceptives can double the amount of time it takes caffeine to leave your body. This means a single cup of coffee could leave you wired all day! On the other hand, if you’re a smoker and indulge in Starbucks it might take only three hours for your body to metabolize the caffeine, so it affects you less. And of course, if you regularly drink caffeinated beverages you will have a higher tolerance.

Health studies for caffeine basically show that a little is good for you and a lot is terrible for you. Consuming caffeine before exercise can boost your metabolism and your performance 
but consuming too much caffeine can contribute to anxiety, jitteriness, upset stomach, and insomnia.

So now it’s time to reassess your caffeine habits: what caffeinated drinks are you consuming regularly? How many drinks per day? Do you smoke or take oral contraceptives? Is there a chance you may have a slight bit of insomnia? These questions can help you figure out what is ‘too much’ for you; then you can decide if you might want to hold back on all those Caramel Macchiatos (warning: serious will-power may be needed!) and go for the caffeine-free Tazo Red Tea Latte! And good luck with all your studying, volunteering, club participation and partying!

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Allison Day

Emory

Allison is a senior at Emory University studying Journalism and the rather complicated major of Interdisciplinary Studies: Visual Studies and Contemporary Cultures. She is slightly obsessed with magazines and has written and edited for Her Campus since its start at Emory her freshman year. At Emory she can generally be found giving tours to prospies, hanging with her ADPi sisters, DJ-ing with WMRE and om-ing in yoga classes. Allison enjoys music, drawing, and fashion, and like most college students she is completely addicted to coffee. After graduation she wants to work in public relations or marketing, but her secret dream is to become Lena Dunham. Follow her on Twitter: @alldayallison
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Jessica Leigh

Emory

Jessica lives her life at several speeds. She talks too fast, eats too slow and over-analyzes too much.  When she’s not telling long-winded stories, sitting alone at the dinner table, or staring off into space, Jessica loves all things creative. Screenwriter, play director and poet at age 9, songwriter and choreographer at age 16, now, at 23, all she really wants to do is write, help others, and post Instagrams.  As a social media coordinator for multiple fashion brands, and a post-grad writer for Her Campus, she gets to do just that. Jessica is a Midwestern girl from the suburbs of Chicago, but she fell in love with city living during a summer internship in the Big Apple, and now calls NYC home. Jessica loves chocolate milkshakes, dance parties, Chippewa Ranch Camp, Friends re-runs, Chuck Bass and of course, spending time with her fans (read: family and friends).