Droopy eyes, short fuse and slow movements are all signs of the common problem, exhaustion, but there is a reason for it all. Below are the stories of teachers and students who share the common love for energy. 95 percent of teachers wake up and get their daily dose of caffeine along with one of every four students. This energy boost is what gets them through their day.
Caffeine is known for being an early morning picker-upper, but not many know what it really does. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, so it blocks the part of the brain that keeps you calm. This blockage causes the body to release adrenaline, which causes the heart rate to increase, and glucose to be released into the blood stream to give you that extra boost of energy one craves. Yes, many feel with their dose of caffeine they are more alert and less tired, but the truth is the exact opposite. Caffeine actually causes a lack of mental alertness and will eventually cause one to crash.
With a full pot of coffee ready in her room, Kim Foster, art teacher, is always prepared for a fun and energized day. Foster’s daily dose of coffee is what keeps her going, and focused. Without coffee she said she would end class early, and she would not feel totally awake.
“Without coffee, my pistons just aren’t firing,” Foster said.
Although she finishes a pot of coffee each day, she does not do it alone. David Spiguzza, art teacher, depends on Foster to have coffee ready each morning.
“He comes into my room every morning and yells ‘Foster! Do you have my coffee made?’” Foster said. “It’s turned into a joke all my classes know about.”
Addiction to caffeine does not just come from a mug for Michael George, science teacher. George drinks an average of two cups of coffee each morning and six cans of Diet Pepsi each afternoon and night. He drinks his first can at lunch and does not stop until bed. George insists on drinking Diet Pepsi at room temperature.
“I am compulsively addicted to drinking Diet Pepsi,” George said. “Its constant.”
Although Diet Pepsi is George’s first choice, he has a sweet tooth for coffee.
“If I didn’t drink Diet Pepsi, I would probably be a chain smoker,” George said.
Cutting down on the caffeine dosage can be a challenge, but Paige Calhoun, sophomore, knew she made a change for the better. Calhoun had a craving for a Red Bull every other day and a soda every day but decided to cut all the way down to one energy drink a week and one soda a day.
“I always drink Diet Coke, but I will drink Pepsi when I’m feeling really unhealthy,” Calhoun said. Once Calhoun started facing terrible stomach and head aches, she knew the Red Bull had to go.
