Eight O Clock Research Paper

Eight o’ Clock: The Effects of Dependence on America’s Most Popular Drug Each year, countless money and time is employed in educating American children about the dangers of drugs. They are taught about their prevalence, as well as the risks involved with their uses and abuses. One of the most prevalent drugs on the market is a certain psychoactive drug, a stimulant classified with cocaine and nicotine for its properties. Largely imported from countries like Brazil, Indonesia, and Colombia, thousands of locations, if not more, are dedicated to the distribution of its organic form alone. Although the statement, “Caffeine is a drug” evokes thoughts of aunts or neighbors trying to tell you the right way to diet, it is a correct one, and is being …show more content…
Caffeine is found both naturally occurring, in food and beverages like chocolate and coffee, and is often added chemically to enhance soft drinks, energy drinks, and even some foods and candy with the same energetic buzz. According to a research report conducted in 2006, Americans drink roughly 145 milligrams per day per capita, with caffeine intake peaking around the ages of 40-60, at 225 milligrams for females and 295 milligrams for males. (Somogyi 48) Often, consumers joke around about “coffee addiction”, that joke has a little bit of truth to it, and many Americans are living with something called “caffeine dependence”. These amounts of caffeine are by no means close to the lethal limit, but as little as one cup of coffee a day can lead to dependence in a short …show more content…
Small, irregular amounts of caffeine will work again, and with a regular sleep schedule, sleep rhythm will leave the body just as refreshed as shortly before quitting habitual caffeine. Staying properly hydrated will provide the same alertness boost as caffeine, and blood sugar will no longer fluctuate based on the times of caffeine intake. The average working American coffee drinker that buys coffee during the week spends $1092 dollars per year (Morran), and that much more cash can be saved be saved by not buying coffee for everyday consumption. Caffeine may be a staple of the American diet, but we shouldn’t be depending on a chemical substance for energy. Perhaps all of the long-term effects of habitual caffeine are yet to be discovered, and research is still being conducted, but the choice is left to the user. Caffeine isn’t nearly as harmful or potent as other substances, but like with any drug, use it