Caffeine Craze: Coffee or Energy Drinks?

Students, faced with rigorous and demanding schedules, often need pick-me-ups to keep them going during the day. 

Though both drinks share a common ingredient, coffee and energy drinkers have stern beliefs on which one is better. 

Coffee drinkers are common amongst our staff and student body. 

Junior Maddie Sherman explains why she is an avid coffee-drinker. “In the morning when I don’t have coffee I notice throughout the day that I’m tired [and I will] be waiting until after school [when] I can drink it,” she said. 

 For Sherman, drinking coffee has become a reliance, a necessity to her routine. 

She stated that without it, “my anxiety is higher, I’m shaky all day, I don’t want to eat [and] I don’t have the energy to do things, so I have to drink it.” 

For most coffee lovers, coffee gives them the jolt of caffeine and energy that they need, without going overboard on their caffeine intake. 

Though Sherman is already feeling like her relationship with coffee is an addiction, she refuses to drink any energy drinks in fear that her dependence on caffeine will become “even more intense,” than it already is.

Those who push for energy drinks argue that it provides them with a more intense energy boost. 

Many say that coffee doesn’t give them the jolt they require to get going in the mornings and doesn’t keep them energized for the whole day. 

Junior Samantha Lekawa explained that Celcius, a caffeinated and carbonated energy drink, is the only thing that will wake her up in times of need. 

“I feel more energized after drinking celcius than [I do after drinking] coffee. I’ll drink one at 7 AM when I’m feeling tired in the morning, or 11 PM when I need to stay up late to do homework,” Lekawa said. 

Lekawa reports that on those late nights, the caffeine in the Celcius will last her until almost 2 or 3 AM, which leaves her with questionable sleep and study habits.

This is something that all students here at PV High School should be wary of.