The Caffeine Balance: Tips for Students During Exams

By Chloe Jacob

I love coffee. Iced coffee, lattes, espressos – put it in an IV drip for all I care! Coffee is an integral part of my morning and is seemingly one of the least harmful vices to get through a busy student day. According to the National Institutes of Health, 64% of students surveyed had consumed caffeine in some form in the prior 30 days [1] with consumption varying between coffee to energy drinks. Between early morning classes (anything before 11.59AM) and late night “study sessions” (Double Vodka red bulls), caffeine is institutionalised as a staple in most every student’s life. The term moderation and caffeine are often bandied around in the same sentence with warnings regarding the overconsumption of caffeine that tends to fall on deaf ears when it comes to young people. Today we shall discuss whether you should heed these warning, or pretend you never heard them in the first place and pour your third cup of instant coffee for the day!

As exams begin to creep upon us, I think it important to really evaluate – is coffee a help or a hindrance to the studying process?

Many a study has been conducted about caffeine consumption and its impacts on cognitive function – however, it is rare for each study to be conducted under identical conditions and thus conclusions can often vary from study to study. So, lets start off simple:

Caffeine works by blocking a neurotransmitter called adenosine in your brain to create it stimulating effects. Without coffee, the body naturally produces adenosine, which then causes drowsiness and tiredness. The longer you stay awake the more adenosine is produced. Now let’s introduce caffeine, a somewhat sneaky chemical due to its similarities to adenosine. These chemical similarities cause the caffeine to bind to adenosines receptors without activating it, blocking the tiredness from occurring, and thus increasing dopamine and endorphins. Caffeine has a half life of 4-6 hours meaning that after this time, its ability to block receptors is much weaker and tiredness will begin to seep back in [2].

In line with the aforementioned inconsistencies between scientific studies on the impacts of caffeination, research regarding the impact caffeine has on studying and academic performances all garner different results. There are however, some commonalities between studies that we will discuss.

On one hand:

1. Students who consume caffeine during study sessions less then 6 hours before bed suffer with lower sleep time and quality, thus negatively impacting cognitive ability [3].
2. Students who consume caffeine in excess to their normal amount prior to examinations or assessment can suffer with increased heart rates and anxiety [4].
3. Students who overconsume caffeine will create a tolerance to it, with findings demonstrating that these students will feel normal with caffeine, but significantly worse without it. They no longer experience a positive energy boost from the caffein but instead feel a negative effect of not consuming it [5].

On the other hand:

1. Some studies demonstrate that caffeine can increase short term memory [6].
2. The increase in dopamine and endorphins can alleviate the stress and lack of immediate reward from studying, assisting some students with their motivation to study [7].

One of the most interesting findings across a multitude of studies is that students who consume caffeine will consistently overestimate their cognitive function while drinking coffee or energy drinks. Results demonstrating that students believe caffeine is assisting in their study, when often it results in lower results then their counterparts without stimulants.

The most relevant takeaway to extract from this information is that we cannot definitively dictate whether caffeine consumption surrounding exams is entirely negative or positive. So instead we will circle back to the dreaded word – moderation.

From my research, my recommendations are:

1. Only consume approximately 50-200mg of caffeine a day (1-2 cups of coffee) [8]
2. Do not consume it within a 6-hour window of sleep
3. Plan your study so that it is within the 4–6-hour window of consuming the coffee but after the 45 minutes it takes for the caffeine to take action
4. Do not use caffeine as a substitute to sleep! Studying while experiencing exhaustion mitigated by the assistance of caffeine does not mitigate your brains exhaustion, merely your bodies experience of it

In conclusion, while caffeine is a staple in my life, I have had to learn how to utilise it correctly. I have had many an experience of caffeine jitters before a presentation, or late-night study sessions on quantum mechanics fuelled by coffee whose information is merely a blur come the next morning. Learn from my mistakes and use coffee to your advantage, don’t allow it to be a hindrance!

Sources:

[1] National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Caffeine.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, last modified August 2020. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/caffeine.

[2] Riesenhuber, M., and R. D. de Wit. “Caffeine, Sleep, and the Brain.” Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews 35, no. 2 (2011): 330–338. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2010.242.

[3] Drake, Christopher, and Robert A. Pillar. “Caffeine and Sleep: A Systematic Review of the Literature.” Sleep Medicine Reviews 5, no. 3 (2001): 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1053/smrv.2000.0130.

[4] Juliano, L. M., and M. R. De San. “Caffeine Use and Dependence.” Journal of Clinical Psychology 57, no. 2 (2004): 233–237. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10149.

[5] Rogers, P. J., and M. R. McCann. “The Effects of Caffeine on Cognition, Mood, and Sleep.” Psychopharmacology 111, no. 1 (1993): 141–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02244204.

[6] Haskell, C. F., et al. “Caffeine and Cognitive Performance: A Review of the Literature.” Psychopharmacology 118, no. 3 (1995): 198–209. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245332.

[7] Lane, J. D., et al. “Caffeine as a Cognitive Enhancer: Effects on Memory and Mental Alertness.” Psychopharmacology 137, no. 2 (1998): 234–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002130050666.

[8] Temple, J. L., and M. A. Dewey. “Caffeine and Health: A Review of the Literature.” Food and Chemical Toxicology 58 (2013): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2013.04.010.