Adult caffeine drinkers at American University and in Tenleytown said that coffee is embedded in their daily routines and many know there are both benefits and risks associated with the popular beverage.
“I drink every morning, which isn’t great,” said Erika Heddesheimer, 20.
Most interviewed this week on American University’s campus said they take their coffee the same way: With milk.
While most people caffeinated earlier in the day some choose other times.
“I drink it whenever I get into work,” said Emma Reeves, 21, who works at Georgetown Cupcake. She continued saying, “I don’t need it when I wake up.”
Reeves might not need it right away, but studies show other people rely on caffeine to motivate in the morning.
A study from the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee found drinking coffee increases dopamine levels in the body. That can lead to a feeling of happiness and energy, but the site said “caffeine does not fulfill the criteria to be described as a drug of dependence.”
However, according to research published in 2016 in the Journal of Caffeine Research, a majority of students sampled drank coffee or espresso daily but were unaware of the caffeine content that offers many a boost in the morning, according to interviews.
Others interviewed at a Starbucks in Tenleytown, a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., several said they don’t plan on giving up their caffeinated drink in the morning.
“I’ve being drinking coffee since I was a kid, since I was like 12,” said Liz Desio, 25. “And I work very early in the morning so I feel like it is necessary to get my day started.”