I have a student that drinks coffee. A lot. The group expresses concerns about this apparently excessive coffee consumption, but what do we really know about the effects of caffeine on teenagers?
How much coffee is too much?
According to the Mayo Clinic
If you rely on caffeine to wake you up and keep you going, you aren't alone. Caffeine is used daily by millions of people to increase wakefulness, alleviate fatigue, and improve concentration and focus.
How much is too much?
Up to 400 milligrams (mg) of caffeine a day appears to be safe for most healthy adults. That's roughly the amount of caffeine in four cups of brewed coffee, 10 cans of cola or two "energy shot" drinks. Keep in mind that the actual caffeine content in beverages varies widely, especially among energy drinks.(we will talk about energy drinks in another blogpost)
Although caffeine use may be safe for adults, it's not a good idea for children. Adolescents should limit caffeine consumption. Avoid mixing caffeine with other substances, such as alcohol. .For adolescents, the maximum amount should not exceed 100 mg per day. This means, one cup of brewed coffee.
How does it affect brain development?
A new study in the journal PLOS ONE concerns caffeine consumption in pubescent lab rats. Researchers found that young rats who consumed the rat-sized equivalent of the caffeine in three or four cups of coffee daily experienced reduced deep sleep and delayed brain development.
Caffeine impacts development by disrupting the formation of key connections in the brain, said study author Dr. Reto Huber, a sleep expert at the University of Zurich, and others at the University of Zurich Children’s Hospital. During adolescence, your brain has the most neural connections it will ever have during your lifetime.
“The brain of children is extremely plastic due to the many connections,” Huber said in a statement accompanying the research. “This optimization presumably occurs during deep sleep. Key synapses extend, others are reduced; this makes the network more efficient and the brain more powerful."
Still have doubts? Ask your doctor. Psychotropic substances DEFINITIVELY have an effect on the brain. Science demonstrates it.
