As final exams roll around, the amount of coffee cups stacked in trash cans and laid out across desks increase. 

Often through films and the media, consumers are exposed to coffee advertisements, which usually include important professionals drinking a certain brand’s coffee or assistant editors going on coffee runs for their bosses. Our culture has popularized coffee to the extent that holding a cup of Starbucks or Espresso Royale almost automatically makes one seem busy — because the whole reason for drinking coffee is usually that you are a busy person who needs to stay up and finish important tasks.

Students on campus have bought into this notion that coffee is an energy reserve and, thus, indulge in coffee.

This caffeinated beverage seems to be an essential component to the functioning of our daily lives. Most college students thrive on coffee as their essential source of fuel. In fact, more than half of the people in the United States over the age of 18 drink coffee everyday.  

Even as I am typing this very sentence, I am drinking a cup of coffee.

However, this habitual process of drinking cups of coffee in the morning to keep us awake in class or consuming them at night to keep us alert enough to finish our work can be replaced by healthier habits.

But the fact of the matter is that coffee culture is engraved into our society. For students, coffee drinking is an easy way to keep themselves engaged in work, such as writing essays or studying for final exams. Moreover, our University makes coffee convenient.

Coffee has become so popular among people on campus that a new Starbucks was built in the Illini Union Bookstore, despite there being a Starbucks merely a few minutes away from that same bookstore. Not to mention, most of the snack shops, such as 57 North in the Ikenberry Commons, have coffee readily available. There are even specific locations that serve as miniature coffee shops such as The Caffeinator and Busey Beanery, which are located in campus buildings.

This convenience leads us to think, “If it’s there, might as well drink it.” And at places such as 57 North, you don’t even need real money to buy coffee, but, rather, you can obtain it through University dining credits.

Drinking coffee also boosts our mental morale. By sipping the warm drink, we are able to feel mentally stimulated, as the caffeine in the drink reacts with our brains to make them more alert. Coffee is an easy way to get an energy boost, especially during the night when you don’t feel like drinking a cold energy drink but would rather have a warm cup of black or flavored coffee.

However, this coffee culture has harmful short-term and long-term effects. One problem with coffee is that it causes a crash a few hours after drinking it. 

In other words, though you may feel alert and productive for the first few hours after drinking coffee, later, your adrenal glands burn out and stop producing the adrenaline that initially gave you that coffee high. And soon you feel exhausted. 

Thus, coffee isn’t a good solution for all-nighters or for writing final papers that will take a while. Its effects are only short term. 

Instead of relying so heavily on coffee, there are many alternatives that can give us similar energy boosts that will last longer. For one, getting enough sleep allows us to focus attentively during classes and during the day when we’re trying to complete school work. 

Moreover, aerobic exercise such as yoga also allows us to focus more. Finally, coffee substitutes such as natural herbal teas provide us with energy but do not cause a crash.

As a student, I understand what it’s like to feel as though you’re going to fail in the face of assignments and exams. 

But by giving this one caffeinated drink power, we succumb to coffee culture and fall victim to crashes. By choosing alternatives methods of obtaining energy, we’re better off in the end. 

Now excuse me while I throw out this coffee and replace it with tea. 

Simran is a freshman in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].