She compiles a list in her head: meet with math professor, grab dinner with roommate, film footage for Phoenix14 package, finish textbook chapter, write international relations paper, study for bio test, throw laundry in wash, watch news at 11. Like many typical Elon students, sophomore Meredith Gulley has a packed schedule, and can run out of energy easily.

Calculating all she has to accomplish for the afternoon, she makes a pit stop at Acorn for a grande mocha, her favorite drink. Even though she is trying to cut down of her coffee intake, she hands over her phoenix card to swipe meal dollars and bustles out the door to her last class of the day.

“Mocha is the gateway coffee,” she said. “Really, [my] caffeine consumption depends on two things: money and homework. There was a point in time where I drank coffee every day.”

With the pick-me-up in hand, she is prepared to keep trucking. And even though she stays away from soda and energy drinks and never mixes caffeine with alcohol, Gulley said she is attempting to decrease her dependency. She is only drinking coffee about four times a week now, due to the impact high-caffeine intake took on her body.

“When I drank coffee every day I would get headaches if I skipped out one morning. Sometimes, if I don’t drink it, I feel like there’s something missing from my daily routine,” Gulley said. “But then again I could be a chain smoker or an alcoholic. It’s just caffeine, and I can still climb stairs without wheezing.”

But for many students like Gulley who regularly pump caffeine in their bodies to get that extra boost, stay up late to study or who are just trying to make it through the day, they may not be aware of the potential hazards consuming too much of this miracle drug may have.

According to Elon’s Medical Director Jim Hawkins, the R.N. Ellington Health and Counseling Center treats about two students for caffeine-related health concerns weekly.

“While it’s not as bad for average people, problems usually surface when [students] are overusing multiple things to counter effect the other,” Hawkins said. “If you drink to relax, take caffeine to get going and pop an Adderall to concentrate, there’s a lot of things cycling around in your body.”

Referred to as the most popular drug in the world, caffeine is a cardiac stimulant that targets the central nervous system and raises blood pressure and heart rate and can be found in coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts and cacao pods.

But even though it is natural and ancient, it has confirmed addiction and withdrawal symptoms from heavy users.

“People do a lot to stay up late and finish things, and college lifestyles are not very healthy to begin with,” Hawkins said. “But if you quit drinking caffeine for a day and get a headache—and they are nasty headaches—that means you’re addicted and need to back down off it slow.”

Addiction can be stronger than ever now that companies are cramming caffeine into larger soda bottles, stocking shots of espresso on store shelves and packing energy drinks with several servings, making it easy to guzzle down and exceed the recommended daily maximum intake of 300 milligrams without even realizing it.

According to a voluntary online poll of 82 students conducted by The Pendulum Sep. first through third, 71.6 percent drink some form of caffeine daily, with 14.8 percent consuming more than three servings daily.

Even though it would take around 80 to 100 doses of caffeine, depending on weight, time-span and personal tolerance, to kill an adult, deaths have been reported and an acute overuse can result in muscle twitching, confusion, loss of consciousness, fever, breathing trouble, vomiting, diarrhea, irregular or rapid heartbeat, dizziness, convulsions or hallucinations, according to Web MD.

Some other studies even link excess caffeine to high blood pressure, high blood sugar and decreased bone density.

The same Elon survey reported only 24.4 percent of the students surveyed were concerned about consuming too much caffeine, while 54.9 were not.

From his work, Hawkins said he doesn’t think many students on Elon’s campus are aware of the mental and physical drains excess caffeine can have on the body.

“People do anything to try to catch up, and can start getting in trouble with energy drinks and other ways to try and get energy when you should be sleeping more,” he said. “Your body likes it better when it is energized with sleep, not jacked up with caffeine.”

According to the 2005 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System, there were 4,656 reported caffeine overdoses, 1,933 of which occurred in people over 19. While no deaths occurred, 2,345 were hospitalized and there were 22 severe cases. The same report from 2003 confirmed two deaths due to caffeine overdose.

While severe overuse affects a small percentage of the population, Hawkins stresses the importance of knowing how much caffeine one is taking in on a daily basis.

“If you have increasing heart rate, anxiety or pounding headaches, you’re probably overdoing it,” he said.

However, not all caffeine is bad. According to the U.S. News & World Report, studies have proven coffee does store some antioxidants, and can help reduce liver and colon cancer, gallstones, type two diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease.

While Gulley has worried about drinking too much coffee, she loves the café social atmosphere, taste and boost it has to offer and doesn’t see the trend going anywhere soon.

“It’s always available, especially on Elon’s small campus where I can walk three minutes and get whatever form of caffeine I want,” she said. “I don’t see myself stopping. As long as I have work to do, or have a nice café nearby, I’ll always drink it.”

Special Features Editor: Andie Diemer - 09/05/07