Is it really a big deal? Well, caffeine probably doesn't cause any harm in small to even moderate amounts, but it is addictive and consuming caffeine late in the day can mean a sleepless night for many teens - not a good idea during the school year. Large amounts of caffeine can also make a person jittery and may even provoke anxiety-like symptoms in some caffeine-sensitive people.
Wondering how much caffeine is in the cup of coffee or bottle of soda your kid is drinking? A cup of coffee has about 100 milligrams of caffeine, a can of Diet Coke has just under 46 milligrams and a can of Mountain Dew has about 54 milligrams. Caffeine is also found in chocolates and tea.
A little caffeine is not going to cause a problem for most teenagers, but if yours is struggling to get to sleep at night, check out what he or she is drinking, and switch them to caffeine-free.
More About Caffeine
When I was in high school, I drank coffee once or twice a day just to keep me going through the 6 hours of school, 3 hours of homework, and still attempting to keep a social life.
Teens pretty much have it rough. An 8 hour work day is easier than what some of them have to go through.
I drink 4 sometime time 5 extra lge coffee triple triple 3sugars 3 creams i can still sleep but i am starting to worry about all the fat in the sugar and cream.
Barb – you should get your heart checked out for murmers and stress. That is an unhealthy amount of caffeine, not to mention that the sugar and cream doesn’t do any good. Try slowly decreasing the amount of coffee, and maybe integrating tea or other sources of energy that have less caffein per mg.
Caffeine is not the problem here, its the sugars and additives that come with it, it has been proven that caffeine actually helps the mind concentrate better and improve short term memory. so by having creamed coffee with no sugar or just straight up black coffee or tea (in moderation.) is great for you. but you do have to watch out for your calcium levels due to the fact caffeine (in large amounts) lowers it. so drinking creamed coffee will nullify the calcium change and so will drinking milk.
Cited from: “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine”
“http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/drugs/caffeine.html”