Caffeine, a crystalline compound that is found especially in tea and coffee plants and a stimulant of the central nervous system. Addiction, the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. Together, it becomes a caffeine addiction that can end up being harmful to the human body. Teenagers often times before, during, or after school sometimes go off and grab some coffee, or tea. They held over to places like Starbucks, The Coffee Bean, and Creme Sugar to grab their source of caffeine. The average cup of coffee contains 98 mg. of caffeine according to Adda Bjarnadottir in How Much Caffeine is in a Cup of Coffee. Starbucks drinks can sometimes end up causing problems later in life due to the caffeine amount. With all this caffeine intake, people can end up addicted to the substance. Some teens can’t go without it; there are sometimes when teens don’t realize they are indeed addicted.

Caffeine is normally not a problem to the human body, but too much can in fact kill someone due to high blood sugar. It’ll be hard to die from too much though, they would have to drink from 15 to 30 cups of coffee according to Kendra Pierre-Louis. People believe the caffeine in coffee is better than having one energy drink like Red Bull or Monster. Except, some energy drinks contains less caffeine than coffee. There is about 74 mg. of caffeine in that Monster, but Red Bull has about 111 mg. of caffeine in one can. Coffee and Red Bull don’t have much of a difference in caffiene amount. The limit of caffeine should be up to 400 mg for the average person. If someone takes in 500-600 mg. they can end up having insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, an upset stomach, and more. Always watch out for how much caffeine is taken daily.

There are some research that debunk the fact that no one can truly be addicted to caffeine. Caffeine does enhance dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that helps control some movements, motivation, and emotions, this also makes the person more awake and alert. Although, caffeine doesn’t produce a major enhancement in dopamine and it doesn’t affect the brain power to where it’s noticeable. Someone can in fact be addicted to caffeine though. Symptoms of going with caffeine can be headaches, having destructive behavior, or being self-destructive. Always know before it becomes a problem, too much can be harmful.

In the end, caffeine addiction can be like any other. It’s harmful, a problem, and destructive if taken often. Not many people talk about this problem because it’s not as serious as the other addictions, but addiction is addiction and needs to be talked about.