Anxiety in a Cup

This first blog is dedicated to a subject that is very near and dear to the hearts of most college students: COFFEE. I hate to break it to you all, but the gut wrenching anxiety most students go through on a regular basis is most likely not entirely due to the massive workload you might have. Many recent studies have begun to show a strong connection between frequent panic attacks and drinking coffee. That heart-racing, energetic feeling one typically gets after sipping a cup of joe can be elevated to extreme levels if too much caffeine is taken in, or if the person in question is already prone to anxiety. While caffeine has been proven to increase alertness and ward off fatigue, people need to be more aware of how much they are drinking, and of how their body responds to certain dosages. Too much caffeine, and its positive effects can be reversed, replaced with a flighty, nervous feeling, making it impossible to concentrate or get anything done.

There is hope however, and it does not involve giving up your early morning pick-me-up. There is nothing wrong with drinking coffee as long as you follow a few basic guidelines.

1. Watch your cup size. Technically a "cup" of coffee is 8 oz. Most mugs and cups of coffee today however, range anywhere from 12-20 oz.

2. Spread out your intake. Rather than drinking a 16 oz cup in the morning, drink 8 oz early on then another 8 oz 2-3 hours later. This supplies your body with a more consistent energy supply, rather than a massive spike, which only leads to a crash later on.

3. End early! Have your last cup of coffee at 3 pm at the very latest, or preferably a noon if possible. Caffeine takes about 12 hours to get out of your system, so the later on you drink it, then the more trouble you'll have sleeping. (Which often leads to restless sleep, resulting in grogginess the next day, leaving you unable to get work done which will make you... yep, you guessed it.... anxious!)

As hard as it may be at first, do yourself a favor and wean off the coffee addiction. If you feel yourself getting tired in the late afternoon, hit the gym, or even walk some laps around your room. A vigorous 10 minute walk has been proven to stimulate the mind for up to 2 hours. And if you start to feel that unavoidable wave of stress hit you, take deep breaths and reach for a glass of cold water. Chugging those 20 oz of java at 10 pm, hoping to stay up until 4 am doing work really won't work out very well in the long run.