Alex Eben Meyer
More than 65 percent of Americans aged 12 to 19 used caffeine on a given day in 2021–2023, according to the CDC. Energy drinks—a group of highly caffeinated, and often sugary, beverages sold under labels such as Monster and 5-Hour Energy—are an especially popular way for teenagers to get their caffeine fix. “Compared to other substances like alcohol, caffeine is very much underexplored. There needs to be more attention to it when it comes to research, clinical practice, and even policy,” says Jennifer Park, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, whose research focuses mainly on behavioral addictions, including those involving video gaming.
In an analysis of national adolescent data, Park and colleagues found that caffeine partially accounts for a well-documented link between gaming and disrupted sleep. An analysis published recently in Pediatrics found fewer teens reported getting adequate sleep in 2021–2023 than in any period going back to 1991. And, although sleep disruption is one of the best-documented problems stemming from caffeine use, it’s not the only one. Pediatric medical experts warn that too much caffeine can cause increased heart rate, palpitations, high blood pressure, digestive problems, and dehydration in teens. Heavy use has also been associated with depression, anxiety, and earlier and more intense alcohol use.
So why are young people leaning into caffeine? In addition to the marketing of energy drinks as gaming performance enhancers, some young people turn to caffeine hoping to sharpen academic performance. But heavy use has been associated with the opposite—reduced cognitive flexibility and working memory in young adolescents. “Since caffeine is such a socially accepted stimulant, I think people forget that it can have these mental health and physical consequences,” Park says.
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