Effects of caffeine consumption among college students

Introduction

In the U.S, a high percentage of college students consume caffeine on daily basis to stay awake and alert and, increase strength. In general, 80% of individuals globally consume caffeine on daily basis to increase alertness. Caffeine is readily available and it is extracted from various sources such as coffee beans, tea leaves, energy drinks, energy waters, pills and more.  Today, people are consuming energy drinks and research has shown that the drink contains caffeine.  Recent research has confirmed that consumers of energy drinks are young adults aged 18-43 and there is a need to find out the effects of caffeine on these young people. The purpose of this research paper is to study the effect of caffeine on college students. Authors such as Campsen & Buboltz (2017), Kerpershoek, Antypa & Van den Berg (2018) and Chaudhary et al, 2016 have reported that caffeine consumption is associated with insomnia and short sleep duration.  However, it is important to figure out whether the poor sleep quality affects the student's academic performance. My concern in this research is to figure out the caffeine consumption and mental health, especially on college students. To begin the research, I will conduct a literature review to understand the history and current trend in caffeine consumption. I will research the health benefits (some studies such as the article by Capek & Guenther (2009) report that caffeine has memory-boosting effects) and harmful effects (some study report that caffeine decrease memory performance).The hypothesis of the research paper is that caffeine affects the students' performance in that it is associated with poor sleep quality which then affects the learning abilities, depressive symptoms, negative moods, physical illness, and lower academic performance. By reviewing the literature and research from recent journals, the paper will come up with a conclusion to support or refute the hypothesis.