It’s a classic image, the sleep-deprived student that chose to turn to coffee in order to keep awake in a long-standing cycle of classes, work, and more caffeine. However, the preconceptions of caffeine use may shed light on its use and why so many students have turned to it. In a South African study performed by medical students on their peers, they found that over 26% of self-reported regular coffee drinkers, all third-year exam-taking students, assumed caffeine was an acceptable substitute for sleep.

Another study done at the University of Waterloo in Canada determined that more and more students were turning to not just coffee, but also quick-use energy drinks, like Red Bull, in order to keep up with work. They also found that those who did turn to these higher caffeine alternatives were more susceptible to depression and other “problem behaviors” in the wake of their usage. Furthermore, a survey piece done by the Indiana University Bloomington found that regular caffeine drinkers who used coffee and energy drinks as a substitute for sleep were found to study less and had a significant drop in grades.

However, students who had taken caffeine in the morning were less likely to suffer the same effects. This, according to the study, showed a relationship between the increase in grades and those who had chosen not to abandon sleep in favor for what may have been considered a substitute. It has undoubtedly, however, become a staple of the student routine, and some see it as a boost for their academic routine.

“If I didn’t drink coffee I would be upset and that would make my academic life worse, therefore coffee equals good,” said Millennium Brooklyn senior Jack Micoli.

The rise in consumption may be attributed to the increase of workload being doled out to students. The aforementioned South Africa study cited the increase of coffee consumption being linked to their university’s testing policies, and that the students were losing sleep because of it. While caffeine is linked to a decreased risks of dementia and depression, the use of it as an insomniac is costing an important factor in good health, especially for students, REM sleep.

A lack of “rapid eye movement” sleep often cancels out the benefits given to students by caffeine consumption, leading to a lack of memories being properly consolidated in students and causing dissonances in focus. Further health risks of this lack of REM sleep for adulthood can range anywhere from unhealthy increases in weight to increased stroke risk, according to the National Institute of Health.

Jason Otto, Millennium Brooklyn High School’s resident Health teacher, says that some negative effects of too much caffeine can include “tremors, increased blood pressure, and nervousness,” and that while he didn’t know if higher workloads were the cause of students drinking more coffee, he did recall “drinking a lot of coffee in high school and college to get my work done and my older brothers doing the same.”

While it’s next-to-impossible to overdose on caffeine, which would require consumption of the drug in its raw, pure form, the Mayo Clinic has some warnings for anyone who drinks closer to 500 milligrams of caffeine in any form. These warnings include insomnia, nervousness, irritability, and muscle tremors. Adolescents, according to the Clinic, should refrain from going over 100 milligrams of caffeine per day for risk of these side effects as well as being careful on cutting back. Withdrawal symptoms of caffeine include lethargy, headaches, and sleepiness, so when cutting back on total consumption one should do it slowly by decreasing the amount of caffeine consumed slowly over a period of days.

Once again, the Mayo Clinic mention avoiding drinking caffeinated beverages late in the day. An NPR report cites a toxicologist from the University of Florida, who explains that caffeine remains in the system for roughly ten hours and that half of it’s potency wears off only after roughly five. In the end, later coffee consumption is not really worth it for anyone, student or otherwise.