During a survey sent out to all students, 75.6% of student respondents said that they use caffeine to get through the day. 40.2% of respondents drink caffeine on a daily basis. There were many reasons that respondents reported for using caffeine. Some use it to help with headaches, to stay awake, in order to maintain a better mood, to help with ADHD, and some use it “because it tastes good.” 

One of the students who drink caffeine daily is Garret Vanhorn, a sophomore here at AHS. Vanhorn drinks five to six Dr. Peppers a day. His parents buy him his pop. He said that they buy three, 12-packs each week of varied pops. When he is going to be on his own for the week, they get him a 24-pack. Vanhorn started stringing caffeine at the age of five. He said, “I know it’s unhealthy but it’s the only thing that I like to drink.” If he does not get Caffeine he gets a headache and becomes cranky. “It’s like an addiction, which is bad,” Vanhorn said.

15-year-old Gabriella Porter was also interviewed on the topic. The AHS sophomore has been drinking caffeine since the fourth grade. She drinks one medium Casey’s fountain, Dr. Pepper, every morning. “It helps me get through second period because it’s boring,” Porter said. If she doesn’t have caffeine, she “needs a nap and gets moody.” Porter reported that drinking Caffeine makes her school day better and that she feels happier when using caffeine.

Brady Wagner, 15, is a sophomore at AHS and uses caffeine on a daily basis. She drinks one monster a day starting this year. “It sometimes makes my ADHD act up,” Wagner said. She uses it to get more energy. When she doesn’t have caffeine, Wagner feels “pretty tired but mostly the same.”

According to WebMD, caffeine can actually help people who have ADHD. Caffeine is a stimulant that can help you feel calmer and more focused. “Stimulants, including caffeine, raise the amount of specific chemicals that your brain uses to send signals. One of these is dopamine. It’s linked to pleasure, attention, and movement,” said WebMD. While there are benefits to using caffeine, it can also have a negative effect as well. If one has more than 400 milligrams of caffeine the chances of having migraine headaches, insomnia, irritability, and an upset stomach are all more likely. It also may not work for everyone with ADHD and results can vary.