Hannah Jones/Winonan
Every day, the morning grind; Mugby Junction is packed to the rafters, the C-Store has a queue a mile long, and in apartments and houses all over the Winona State area, coffee machines are spluttering and gurgling out those last tantalizing drops into a menagerie of mugs.
Coffee is a regular part of everyday life for most college students, from that crack-of-dawn cup to that 2:30 pick-me-up.
Some take it black, some take it with half-and-half and sugar and some go for broke and get some aromatic, English Toffee flavored goodness from the Smaug’s cappuccino machine.
Many do it simply because they find the experience of coffee, from the flavor to the hot, steamy vapors that arise from the surface, a luxurious comfort. Many, many more do it, however, to stay awake for their 8 a.m. classes. Arguably, most of us are not simply drinking a cup of coffee: we are also drinking our daily dose of caffeine.
Caffeine is the most widely acceptable legal drug our country has to offer. Like Popeye and his can of spinach, we glug down the magic bean juice any time we’re in need of an energy boost—which, for most of us, is every day.
My mug is a well-worn grail with happy snowmen on it, and I use it nearly every morning. I watch the rich, steamy stream of coffee twirl down from the mouth of the Keurig machine, in some places a chocolately brown, but where it catches the light, a gleaming amber, like a precious stone. I’m getting sentimental. But, can you blame me? Truth be told, it would be hard to start my morning without it.
Coffee, tea, chocolate and other key sources of caffeine have pepping us up down to a science. Caffeine works by binding to our nerve endings and blocking sleep-inducing adenosine from latching on and signaling us to get some shuteye. No adenosine, no sleep. We do tend to get a bit jittery, though. Only after the caffeine wears off can the adenosine grab a hold and sweep us off to dreamland.
There is a caveat, of course, to this solution. While coffee can successfully hold off adenosine for a while, if we habitually put off sleep using this method, our bodies will eventually catch onto our tricks. Determined to get adequate rest, they will manufacture still more adenosine, raising the amount of coffee necessary to keep us at the same level of alertness.
Eventually it gets to the point where we cannot be alert without coffee. If you find, more and more, that you are hopelessly drowsy until Folgers is in your cup, your caffeine tolerance may be on the rise. If you wake up every day at threat-level 10, ready and willing to murder the next unfortunate idiot who dares to say “good morning” until you’ve had a mug of the good stuff, you may have become a tad dependent on it.
“I have to have, like, at least three cups a day,” Danielle Stone, a junior, confessed. “Otherwise I can’t get anything done.”
Kara Eggers, a senior and an employee of Mugby Junction, is attempting to substitute her coffee ritual with apple cider or reduced espresso shots to curb her dependence.
The addictive quality of caffeine adds a flavor of controversy to our morning blend. Some argue that the physical strain of caffeine addiction, which has been linked to unhealthy blood pressure and a host of other problems, is simply not worth the brief pleasures of a cup of coffee. Some champion tea as a healthy alternative. Indeed, certain varieties of green tea produce a slow, long-lasting energy high that eliminates crashes or jitters. However, it’s still caffeinated, no matter its wholesome reputation, and therefore just as addictive. Some advocate apples as a more “natural” source of caffeine. In actuality, this is a myth. Apples do not contain any caffeine, and the 13 grams of sugar found in the fruit is what is giving us that extra rush of energy.
In the end, caffeine, like any other part of a balanced diet, should be enjoyed in moderation. Mayo Clinic recommends that the average adult consume less than 500 milligrams a day to avoid the headaches, restlessness and anxiety that sometimes accompanies cravings. I may enjoy a snowman-mug a day, but for me, the half-caf blend I buy is all I need. That is, of course, until it comes time to study for exams.
Hmm. Midterms are coming up, aren’t they?
Alright, if you need me, I’ll be at the cappuccino machine.
Contact Hannah at [email protected]
