Zachary White

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

English (1102)
2/13/2014
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. T.S. Eliot
When a paper is due and in a matter of hours and you havent even started,
when youve got a big presentation tomorrow that you need to rehearse, or simply you
have to get up at the crack of dawn and you need a little more focus before you get
behind the wheel, there is one substance that students, teachers, and businessmen
alike turn to, and that is caffeine. Research done at the University of New Hampshire
showed that 40% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 consumed coffee
every day, backing up the fact that a campus coffee shop here at UNCC is the last
place you want to get stuck in between classes (Olsen 2013).
Other than fueling all-nighters, can there be a benefit to drinking caffeine?
Numerous professionals and scientific journals say yes. Across the board, researchers
agree that caffeine can cause an increase in mood and cerebral performance (Smith,
2002. Haskell, Kennedy, Wesnes & Scholey, 2005). As a fervent consumer of coffee, I
was very intrigued as to how caffeine could, for instance, improve my performance in an
academic setting.
Nearly 80% of the adult populations in the United States ingest caffeine every
day, in amounts equaling neatly 4 cups of coffee (Stromberg 2013). Thats almost 213
Comment [J1]: Since this is a formal paper , do
not use conjunctions
Comment [J2]: This is a really long sentence.
Consider splitting or shortening?
Comment [J3]: Maybe add more to this
paragraph because this consists of only 2 sentences
Comment [J4]: Consider combining the first and
second paragraphs
million people! If those tired masses are anything like me, they have been simply
knocking back cup after cup in the hope that they can stay awake through the day.
However, if drinking coffee and ingesting other forms of caffeine has real world practical
benefits, it could completely change the populations views of that mermaid branded little
white cup that they make time to pick up every morning, which is currently that of a
mystical substance that is capable of staving off the most severe of case of sleep
deprivation and can focus the mind to razor sharp levels.
Although throughout this exploratory piece, and many of the research articles
and websites cited, coffee is used interchangeably with ingestible caffeine, this simply is
because of coffee's mass use and relatability with the common reader. Although much
less common for the most part, there are many other alternative medians through which
one can acquire their daily dose of the country'sies number one psychoactive drug.
Exposed by the FDA and reported by USA Today, there are a growing number of food
products with added amounts of caffeine, especially targeted towards youth, including
waffles, jelly beans, gum, nuts, and other foods, enough to trigger an investigation by
the FDA into the matter. Another recent and interesting trend in older peoples aged
around 20 is the advent of energy drinks, which in 2000 claimed zero percent of the
market, and just 14 years later, has jumped to over ten percent.
Scientific studies have shown that the ingestion of caffeine does indeed have
positive effects in certain situations. When a participant was placed in low alertness
situations such as working late at night, early in the morning, or on a sleep deficit, the
ingestion of caffeine showed a measurable increase in the alertness and focus of the
subject, observations that easily conform to societys views of beverages such as
Comment [J5]: Try to add some of your side of
the argument to this paragraph because most of
this is just facts
Comment [J6]: Add citation here to add validity
because I don't see the FDA in your sources or use
the specific author of the USA Today author
Comment [J7]: This definitely needs a citation
coffee. But focus is not the only improvement that can come from ingesting caffeine. It
was shown that improvements to mood and attitude can also be found in participants
(Smith, 2002). Although not directly related to performance, a good mood may
encourage someone to be more active in an academic setting, which ultimately could
lead to better results. A personal recount of my own high school experience reveals
many a teacher who wouldnt allow coffee in their doors, or any open beverage for that
matter. Taking the information Ive discussed so far into consideration, it may be wise
for teachers to start allowing students to enjoy there morning coffee in class.
According to Joseph Stromberg from Smithsonian Magazine, caffeines effect on
your mental state is due to its chemical resemblance to another molecule naturally
present in our brain, adenosine. Stromberg states, Structurally, caffeine closely
resembles a molecule thats naturally present in our brain, called adenosine (which is a
byproduct of many cellular processes, including cellular respiration)so much so, in
fact, that caffeine can fit neatly into our brain cells receptors for adenosine, effectively
blocking them off. Normally, the adenosine produced over time locks into these
receptors and produces a feeling of tiredness, (Stromberg 2013). This action allows
other chemicals in the brain such a dopamine, a natural stimulant, to run wild
unhindered. Additionally, the buildup of adenosine flips on your adrenal gland, pumping
adrenaline into your blood stream (Stromberg 2013).
However, caffeines seemingly magical effect doesnt keep its kick for
long. Following a few weeks of your ritualistic morning cup of joe, your brain begins to
adapt. Since youre routinely blocking your adenosine receptors, your brain responds by
growing more. Therefore, the longer you prolong your habit, the more caffeine it takes to
Comment [J8]: Try not to use "I" in the paper
you could say "that was" here instead
Comment [J9]: You dont need to cite him again
if you quoted him
Comment [J10]: Maybe try to transition to the
next paragraph here
reach the desired effect and thats a little effect weve come to know as tolerance, but
can also be what some frequent drinkers label a caffeine addiction ( Stromberg 2013,
DiSalvo 2012). The acknowledgment that caffeine is an addictive substance has been
recognized since 1994. However, only recently, thanks to a publishment in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, caffeine addiction has been
officially recognized and labeled as a mental disorder (Stromberg 2013). It also has
another major drawback, putting it farther away from the cure-all reputation it has
earned in our society.
That drawback comes in the form of caffeine withdrawal. Not only can caffeine
get you hooked, but if you stop youre regular intake, it can have some pretty nasty
effects. In most cases, withdrawal brings out the opposite effects in participants that
ingesting caffeine did. Headaches, decreases in mood, cognitive abilities, and increases
in drowsiness and agitation levels are all common among research subjects (Smith,
2002). The chemistry behind caffeines withdrawal symptoms is still misunderstood, but
can be boiled down to a simple principle. As explained by Stromberg, your brain is
used to operating in one set of conditions (with an artificially-inflated number of
adenosine receptors, and a decreased number of norepinephrine receptors) that
depend upon regular ingestion of caffeine. Suddenly, without the drug, the altered brain
chemistry causes all sorts of problems, including the dreaded caffeine withdrawal
headache. Luckily its only takes about seven to twelve days to break a caffeine
addiction, as the brain naturally reduces the amount of adenosine receptors, the ones
that it created in response to the caffeine in the first place. Once that happens, youll be
completely reset back to your original state.
The research I uncovered on this topic furthered my initial assumptions, that
there had to be more reasons as to why Americans drink coffee so frequently, even if
those reasons werent consciously known to the people themselves. It is obvious that
coffee is a double edged sword. On one hand, it has the power to raise masses from
the dead every morning and allows the hordes of students and businessmen to buckle
down on projects and papers alike., hHowever, on the other side, it can become
extremely addictive, and cripple even the best of us with a vengeful fury if they try and
turn their back on it. The knowledge I have uncovered for myself throughout the course
of this research has left with a single question, one that will keep me intrigued in this
topic for decades; where does the future of caffeine lead, and how will it continue to
affect the performance of billions worldwide as technology and food continue to forge an
ever closer relationship?


Over all I would say it is a pretty good paper. There are some sentences that could be
shortened, and there are other parts that become too casual for a formal research
paper. I liked some of the examples you used from your research to expand upon your
investigation. I was glad that you elaborated on some of the technical jargon that related
to studies that you used.






Works Cited
DiSalvo, David. "What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 26 July
2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/07/26/what-
caffeine-really-does-to-your-brain/>.
Haskell, Crystal F., David O. Kennedy, Keith A. Wesnes, and Andrew B. Scholey. "Cognitive
and mood improvements of caffeine in habitual consumers and habitual non-consumers
of caffeine." Psychopharmacology 179.4 (2005): 813-825. Print.
Healy, Michelle. "Young people finding new sources of caffeine." USA Today. Gannet, 10 Feb.
2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/10/caffeine-coffee-energy-
drinks/5255453/>.
Olsen, Nicole. Caffeine Consumption Habits and Perceptions among University of New
Hampshire Students. Durham, New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire Scholars'
Repository, 2013. Print.
Smith, A.. "Effects of caffeine on human behavior." Food and Chemical Toxicology 40.9 (2002):
1243-1255. Print.
Stromberg, Joseph . "This Is How Your Brain Becomes Addicted to Caffeine." Smithsonian
Magazine. The Smithsonian Institution, 9 Aug. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/this-is-how-your-brain-becomes-
addicted-to-caffeine-26861037/?no-ist>.