Walking into an average high school, it won’t take long to spot someone with a coffee mug in their hands, drinking to keep awake and focused.  Teachers, students, other staff, it doesn’t matter, as caffeine addiction in schools doesn’t hold to a specific demographic.

According to sleep expert Dr. Reto Huber at the University of Zurich, caffeine affects the mind’s development and potentially “disrupts the formation of key connections in the brain”.

Sophomore at Governor Thomas Johnson High School, Angel Workman, has been drinking coffee every morning for about a year. He states that he feels “absolutely groggy…I definitely cannot go without it”.

“One time, I tried to go to school without having coffee beforehand, and I couldn’t comprehend the project in my class that I had done so well on the day before.” Angel explains that, without a doubt, he’s addicted and needs it to function on a day-to-day basis.

Many students have explained that they convince themselves that the coffee is helping their productivity more than it actually is, like the placebo effect. They drink caffeine in the mornings because they are trying to believe that they function better with it than without.

“I drink it before school and after school everyday, I’ll go through withdrawal if I don’t,” states Alyson Flora, a junior at Oakdale.

Seeing the effects on students and staff who drink coffee every morning, there are common results. Almost every person swears they go through caffeine withdrawal if they don’t drink it in the morning, and it is necessary for them to perform in school.

The conclusion to caffeine consumption on students and developing minds is undefined. Whether it really helps or not, many people rely on it to merely be able to read, while some people can’t stand it at all. We may never know if it really helps or if it is all just one big placebo effect.