Is Coffee Bad For Teens?
Does your teen love coffee? Does she wake up to her morning cuppa every day? Is coffee good for teenagers? Do you wonder whether it is healthy for her to consume coffee? If you can relate to the situation or you know someone who can, read our post. Here we look at some of the side effects of coffee on teens.
Why Is Coffee Bad For Teens?
Coffee contains a drug called caffeine, which stimulates the central nervous system. As with adults, coffee has many side effects on teenagers. Studies show that the teenagers, who consume more coffee in their teenage, run a higher risk of turning into nervous adults. The effect of caffeine lasts up to 6 to 8 hours in the body. As teens have a slower rate of metabolism, they face a greater risk of side effects. Thus, in spite of few health benefits that coffee offers, it is in no way the healthiest beverage for your teen.
Side Effects Of Coffee For Teens:
Now that you know coffee is unhealthy for teens, you might want to know what coffee can induce, well some of the side effects of caffeine on teens include:
1. Lack Of Sleep:
Deep sleep is important for brain development as it helps build neural connections with the brain. During puberty, the maximum number of neural connections develops. Coffee induces sleep disturbances and reduces sleepiness. As coffee consumption interferes with deep sleep and leads to sleep disturbances, it limits the neural development of the brain.
[ Read: Protein Shakes For Teens ]
2. Calcium Deficiency:
Calcium is essential for the bone growth of not only kids, but teenagers as well. Coffee contains a large amount of caffeine, and it causes calcium loss in your teen’s body. The calcium loss turn results in bone loss over time and impacts bone density. She may even risk developing osteoporosis.
3. Headaches:
Coffee provides instant relief from headache, but it is also one of the most recognized sources of headaches or migraine in teenagers. Excessive coffee consumption by teens is the most common cause of headache. Sometimes coffee can also lead to severe withdrawal headache once you stop consuming it.
[ Read: Migraine In Teenagers ]
4. Poor Performance:
Large doses of coffee affect your teen’s attention span at the school. Though small amounts of coffee can sharpen your teen’s mental focus and help him concentrate at school or college, too much of coffee can have a detrimental effect. It not only reduces his attention span, but also causes muscle tremors and nervousness. These tremors reduce her ability to interact effectively at school or college.
5. Under Nourishment:
Coffee increases your teen’s metabolism rate while suppressing her appetite. Children who have too much coffee fill themselves with empty calories and miss getting enough nutrition from other food and suffer from stunted development. Excess coffee also leads to low iron and calcium absorption, which is essential for strong bones and teeth.
6. Fast Or Irregular Heartbeat:
Coffee can aggravate certain heart problems and even trigger sudden heart attacks in teens. Coffee stimulates a hormone called adrenaline, which speeds up the heart rate and elevates blood pressure. Excess intake of coffee may also trigger Palpitations, i.e. fast or irregular heartbeat.
7. Dehydration:
Caffeine is a diuretic and makes the body produce more urine. Consuming huge amounts of coffee makes your teen urinate more, which results in a loss of sodium and water and causes dehydration. Therefore, it’s always better to avoid coffee in hot weather and after heavy workouts, etc.
[ Read: Symptoms Of Dehydration In Teens ]
8. Jitters:
Coffee is a stimulant for the central nervous system, and it affects the brain and its functions. While moderate coffee intake increases oxygen supply to the brain and awakens the mind, excess coffee intake causes the body systems to move slightly faster. The situation can lead to jitters i.e. your teen is jumpy or nervous all the time.
9. Anxiety:
Coffee is a stimulant, and it boosts energy and induces anxiety as well. Though coffee makes you feel active and alert for a while, it has the most insidious effect. It may worsen your anxiety and trigger anxiety attacks. If your teen suffers from panic disorder, depression and social phobia, you need to regulate how much coffee she drinks and possibly even look for alternatives.
[ Read: Side Effects Of Energy Drinks On Teenagers ]
10. Hallucination:
Teens who consume coffee are more prone to mental disorders in the later stages of life. A regular cup of coffee interferes with his brain and can also lead to hallucinations. The hallucinations occur as coffee leads to nervousness in teens.
With all these side effects, we suggest you reevaluate whether your teen needs her daily morning cup of coffee. If she simply can’t do without it, make sure she doesn’t consume more than 100 mg coffee in a day.
Hope now you are clear is coffee bad for teens or not. Does your teen suffer from a coffee addiction? What have you done about it? Share your tips with other mommies here.
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