 "Photo: Steevens Alconcel | Daily Trojan")
Caffeine is one of the essential ingredients of a normal cram session, and huge amounts are ingested during finals week.
Getting by on a combination of too much Red Bull and too little sleep is practically a college requirement.
While energy drinks, soft drinks and coffee might be a staple of the student diet, many experts believe that taking in too much caffeine might lead to addiction, heart irregularities and even an overdose.
Caffeine has positive effects in normal doses of 100 milligrams, or one cup of coffee.
It can increase alertness and physical stamina, enhance performance and even decrease or slow the effects of alcohol.
But according to Dr. Cheruvathur Thomas Peter, a staff cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, more than half of adults in the U.S. consume more than 300 milligrams per day, in the form of energy drinks, sodas, coffee and over-the-counter stimulants such as No-Doz.
This statistic reflects the caffeine habits of some USC students, such as Jessica Kapadia, a junior majoring in print journalism.
"If I have to go out, but I've just finished a big shift at work, or I have a lot of homework, I like to drink Tab Energy," Kapadia said. "It really works; sometimes Red Bull just doesn't work as well."
Caffeine is absorbed through the stomach into the blood, and takes from 15 to 30 minutes to stimulate the nervous system with the level of caffeine determining the level of stimulation.
The normal adult body eliminates the total amount of caffeine in about six to eight hours.
The chemical works by slowing cell activity, which stimulates the release of adrenaline to increase heart rate, blood flow and muscular activity.
The levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that produces feelings of enjoyment and reward, also increase dramatically.
The negative effects of caffeine include an increase in anxiety and tension, and a decrease in sleep and reaction time.
The effects of caffeine are short-lived in normal doses, and often depend on an individual's metabolism.
But a regular intake allows the individual to develop a tolerance for caffeine that might cause headaches when they skip a dose.
Drinks such as Red Bull contain 9.64 milligrams of caffeine per ounce, or around 80 milligrams per serving. Mountain Dew, which has higher caffeine content than other sodas, contains about 38 milligrams per cup. And one cup of brewed coffee contains from 56 to 128 milligrams of caffeine.
When taken in large doses (about two to seven cups of coffee), caffeine can cause restlessness, nausea, dizziness, insomnia and heart irregularities.
Huge doses can lead to caffeine intoxication, which can cause diarrhea, convulsions and even hallucinations. A lethal dose for an adult is considered to range from 13 to 19 grams.
Dr. L. Julian Haywood, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, said chronic use of coffee might increase the risk of atherosclerosis, or the thickening of arterial walls that reduces blood flow.
"The body responds to the stimulant - caffeine - by raising blood pressure," Haywood said. "If you drink too much, the heart may develop an abnormal rhythm, possibly resulting in a heart attack, or worse."
"My friend in high school was dared to drink 12 cups of coffee," Kapadia said. "He lost his sense of balance, couldn't walk and was out of commission for three days."
Experts still disagree over whether caffeine can be considered an actual drug. A removal of caffeine from the diet might cause withdrawal symptoms in the form of headaches, an inability to focus and tiredness.
These symptoms are relatively mild compared to withdrawal from other drugs such as cocaine, so doctors are unwilling to label caffeine an addictive drug.
Marcello Figueroa, a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism, said he drinks a lot of soda, but hasn't experienced any withdrawal symptoms.
"I drink about a liter of soda per day," Figueroa said. "I stopped for a while when I felt that I was drinking too much, and started drinking water instead. I didn't get any headaches."
Instead of the term "caffeine addiction," many simply use the words "caffeine dependence." Most people can stop regularly ingesting caffeine fairly easily, unlike most drugs.
"When people stop drinking sodas and coffee, they don't have actual withdrawal symptoms," Peter said. "They may have cravings, but those are psychological, while withdrawals have physical symptoms."
Others still agree that caffeine can be dangerous to the public in such high amounts.
In France, the sale of Red Bull as a normal drink is prohibited. And Canada requires all cans to carry a warning label cautioning against the sale of these drinks to children and pregnant women, and mixing with alcohol.
Mixing energy drinks with alcohol is especially popular with college students, as it prevents sleepiness while becoming intoxicated.
Doctors have warned that combining a stimulant with a depressant can cause heart arrhythmia and future health problems.
"The heart is very sensitive, so the effects can vary from person to person," Peter said. "There are people who can run up a mountain, but others whose hearts just can't take it."
Since the effects of caffeine vary from person to person, a general, all-encompassing study is almost impossible to conduct.
But most people consider the benefits of caffeine to outweigh the negative effects, and continue to ingest it as a regular part of their diets.
