Kathy Egan news@greenepublishing.com
According to a recent Gallup poll (news.gallup.com), 57 percent of American adults say they don't get enough sleep. For the first time ever, more than half of us admit to walking around in a sleep-deprived state. The statistics get even worse when it comes to teens and the amount of sleep they are getting. According to the National Sleep Foundation's 2024 Sleep in America Poll, about 80 percent of American teenagers don't sleep enough. With shockingly high numbers such as these, it is no wonder that energy drinks, coffee, and other stimulants have become huge industries, as so many people are trying to work, go to school, raise families, play sports, maintain households and all the other daily necessities of life. So, we want “a little boost.” It seems almost inevitable that we would turn to ingestible products to help us get through life without catching enough z's, but is it really a good idea to get your daily dose of energy by gulping gargantuan amounts of caffeine? Is there an acceptable amount of caffeine? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that about 400 milligrams is okay for adults, 200 milligrams is all right for most pregnant or breast feeding women, but when it comes to children and teenagers, the American Academy of Pediatrics says they should not have caffeine. Adults have long been susceptible to relying on coffee, and although coffee used to be taboo for youngsters, some teens are hopping on the coffee bandwagon. Not only are more teens hitting up the household's coffee pot or stopping in for a latte on the way to school, they are also popping into the convenience store to grab a quick canned energy drink before first period. The number of indulgers varies, and knowing how many teens are downing one or more of the multitude of high-caffeine products available in stores relies on self-reporting. Therefore, it is probable that there are actually more adolescents drinking them than studies show. This is no harmless behavior. Consuming these drinks can have negative consequences. Kids can feel nervous or jittery, show increased levels of agitation or aggression, get diarrhea, suffer dehydration, become anxious, develop abnormal heart rhythms and even have high blood pressure, something usually thought of as an older person's ailment. Caffeine-related trips to the emergency room (ER) are becoming more common. Epic Research (epicresearch.org) conducted a study that indicates childhood ER visits tied to caffeine are increasing at an alarming rate. They more than doubled for children aged 11 to 14 and increased from 7.4 to 13.6 of every 100,000 visits for students aged 15 to 18. Of course, a major (and not-so-innocent) reason for using caffeine to overcome the daily slump is lack of sleep. As such, even if major health problems don't come about, consuming the Americano or Red Bull may just result in the most ironic health consequence of all: the inability to get healthy amounts of sleep, which was the reason for consumption in the first place. When it comes to caffeine, it is best to focus on prevention. Monitor your kids and warn them of the dangers of too much caffeine, just like you would the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and use caution in your own reliance on caffeine as well.