Let’s be honest, mornings are the worst. From the screech of an alarm clock to the sour taste of morning breath, there is absolutely no redeeming those first few hours of the day. After gathering the motivation to get dressed and ready, most people need some kind of pick-me-up to get them ready for the day, especially students.

Caffeine is something that has become more and more common if you want to achieve academic success. With our screwed up sleep schedules on top of early waking hours, it would be a miracle if students managed to keep their heads up without any extra help. 

According to the CDC, teenagers from 13-18 need 8-10 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. When this information is presented to students, most can’t help but scoff or laugh because very few students actually get close to the required amount. Continuing, my lack of sleep has made six hours of sleep the ideal amount for weekdays, when that is 2 hours less than how much sleep is actually needed for basic functioning.

With all the sleep in the world, a lengthy school day  is still hard to get through, so of course students turn to caffeine to keep them aware enough to process the information they’re supposed to be learning. This would be alright, however, regular caffeine consumption causes an addiction to caffeine and is considered a drug in . According to Medical News Today, 83.2% of teenagers consume caffeinated beverages regularly. That’s a lot!

Spreading awareness of caffeine addiction among teens is important, because it helps bring awareness to how teens are suffering. They wouldn’t have to drink all that caffeine if they got enough sleep or ate good meals, but with all of the pressure put on them to succeed, this is hard to come by. So yes, mornings are disagreeable at best, but hopefully in time, mornings can become something to look forward to instead of fear.