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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1998)
spring i 9 g S WELL NOW Are you the type of person who wakes up to at least a couple strong cups of coffee, grabs a pop with your lunch, or drinks a cup of tea to relax in the evenings? If so, you are probably attracted to the caffeine content in these drinks. Think you're the only one who can't function without coffee or some sort of daily high dosage of caffeine? Think again! You'd be surprised how many people are "wired" on caffeine. Many people ask whether their obsession for caf feine is harmful to their health or inhibits their per formance level. This article provides answers to some of the questions we insane caffiene drinkers commonly ask. Stop by the Peer Health Education office to obtain further analysis of your caffeine intake, and how it may be affecting you. It's part of a free computer ■ analysis of your diet available to all students. f What is caffeine? Caffeine is the world's most widely used drug. It is one of a group of stimulants called mathylxan thine, or xanthine, that occurs naturally in plants. There is no one way to determine the "optimal level of caffeine," since people differ greatly in their sensitivity levels. What are the effects of caffeine ? Many caffeine drinkers show common effects to caffeine intake. Because it stimu lates the central nervous system, it has shown to help people feel less drowsy, less fatigued, more capable of rapid and clear thought, and better able to per torm some manual tasks, (i.e. typing) However, studies have also shown that caffeine can decrease reaction time to visual and audi tory tasks such as driving, and can decrease muscular coor dination and accurate timing. To make it clear, caffeine may help you stay awake, but it doesn't necessarily improve your intellectual skills. for us college students working late into the night on papers, or rising at the crack of dawn for an 8a.m. lecture, caffeine's ability to merely keep us awake may be good enough. How does caffeine affect athletic performance? By stimulating the central nervous system, caf feine can temporarily prolong the amount of time a person can perform physically exhausting work When the work is constant rather than increasing (such as in long-distance running, cross country ski ing, and cycling), this effect is more pronounced. Is there a harmful level of caffeine intake? Research suggests that moderate intake of caf feine is relatively harmless for most people. "Moderate" means about 600mg a day. You can obtain this from 5-6 cups of coffee a day. This may seem like a lot of coffee, but realize that caffeine is found in many other things you may have in your daily diet. For instance, an FDA panel reviewed caffeine containing over-the-counter stimulants and found that doses of l00-200mg were okay every 3-4 hours. (That would be the equivalent of I -2 NoDoz, or I Vivarian). Check on the tables to see how much caffeine you get on average. Caffeine does not accumulate in the bloodstream or body and is normally excreted within several hours following consumption. The widespread belief that foods and beverages with caffeine in them will help you "sober-up" is not true. How much caffeine am I really getting? The charts below are from the National Food and Drug Administration: COFFEE(5 tv cup) Drip method Percolated Instant Decaffeinated Instant Decaffeinated TEA I minute brew 3 minute brew 5 minute brew Instant tea Iced Tea (12 oz cup) SOFT DRINK Jolt Mountain Dew Coca-Cola Diet Coke Mr PIBB Dr. Pepper Pepsi-Cola Diet Pepsi caffeine content (mg) 110-150 64-124 40-108 2-5 2 9-33 20-46 20-50 12-28 22-36 72.0 54.0 45.6 45.6 40.8 39.6 38.4 36.0 -—Susan Gi Ibaugh relax one Wnen you think of a stereotypical college student, you may think of someone who drinks every Friday night, or every night. You may see a person in your mind who is not that concerned with their education.They may not care if they get A's or C's.You may be thinking to yourself, “I wish I could be so laid back.”Believe me, I know how that feels.We constitute a group called the High Achievers. You know you are a part of this group if:You start studying for the midterm a day after the first class meeting. You write any papers due the day you get the assignment. You are concerned with two grade mediums, A or F, meaning that nothing but an A is going to satisfy your drive.You are anxious about every test, — ;inH ta<;t hut not Ipast vnu arp ctrPQCPrll ^trpcc ic I ana last dux not least, you are sxressea! stress is one of the most prevalent aspects of a high achiever's life. It is hard to balance all those A's and a social life at the same time. As a matter of fact, it's practically impossible, without the want l to change it. L Since I began to notice my stress, I have I begun to look into ways to deal with it and ft have decided to share those ways with you. I B went to a drop-in appointment at the Counseling Center located in the Health ■ Center and talked to a counselor there , about some issues of high achievement and i stress. Jared Horibata, Counseling Center & intern, was very helpful in bringing every ft thing into perspective, and he also told _ ■ me some ways that will help allevi ate short-term stress.These include "deep breathing, mus cle-relaxation, and taking care of your body". Jared also suggested "scheduling fun activities", not related to academics, in order to ease some overly placed stress. One suggestion I have used is to make a long-term calendar of my academic career, and find a way to take my required classes over a longer period of time. This will decrease my credit load, which will allow me to continue to high achieve without the extra stress.These suggestions are important and should be looked at with careful consideration. Jared maintains that if stress is not alleviated in some way, other complications could come about like depression and anxiety. If these complications arise and the person does not have a strong sup port system, like friends or family, these complications could become very serious. Along with being a high achiever comes an excess amount of stress, stress that although good sometimes, in the long run, will be detrimental to our health. As a high achiever I understand that being overly stressed is not helping my acad emic situation or my health, and may in the long-term, decrease my achieving abili ties. If you have any concerns about this issue, don't be afraid to go see someone in the Counseling Center at 346-3227, or make an appointment with a peer health educator at the Health Center (346-4456), if you just want more informa tion on the subject. Call if you have any further questions, and good luck! Just remember, that you are not alone in your stressful struggles! —Sara Terheeeen FABULOUS FACTOIDS © Barbie’s eyes looked down and to the right until 1971. © Barbie is based on German doll called “Lilli" which is sold as a sex toy for men. © In 1992 the average American girl owned 7 Barbies. © 96% of women tell their doctor they want to lose weight to look good. © A woman can get pregnant while menstruating. © I in 12 college men admit to acts that meet legal definitions of rape. © I in 5 men say they know little or nothing about contraception. Vital Statistics magazine May/June 1997 © 11,700,000 people used illegal drugs in the last month. Vital Statistics magazine Mayljune 1997 © 154 minutes per day is the amount an average person spends watching T.V. Vital Statistics magazine May/June 1997 © 15 minutes is the average time spent exercising. vital Statistics magazine May/June 1997 © One in six 25-29 year olds still live at home. Vital Statistics magazine May/June 1997 © Regular exercise leads to psycho logical changes such as lessening anx iety, tension and fatigue; relieving depression; and increasing vigor and self-esteem. © Breakfast boosts blood-glucose levels, which run low after a night’s sleep.That’s good because the brain needs glucose; people do better on memory and attention tests after eating a good breakfast. Sweet foods such as fruit or juice work best. July/August I996 Health © America’s favorite snacks: Microwave popcorn, nuts, party mix, Kitzels, and tortilla chipsl. /August 1996 Health © Resting heart rate (60 seconds) for... (Beats Per Minute=bpm) Trained athlete (runners): 40 bpm Active (physically fit): 55 - 60 bpm Normal: 70 bpm Inactive: 80 - 90 bpm © The highest percentage of regular exercisers are in Oregon, New Mexico, Wyoming,Vermont and Conneticut, and the lowest number were in West Virginia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Maine, and West Virginia. © 95% of alcoholic beverages are consumed by 1/3 of the nation. © Going to an indoor tanning bed before going on a vacation some where sunny does not give you any more of a base tan and does not prevent you from burning.
