Between school, part-time jobs, activities, planning for their future, and navigating complex social and emotional situations, it's truly not easy to be a teenager. While they're trying to deal with all of those things, the one thing that almost always gets sacrificed is sleep. So instead of getting the good, healthy amounts of sleep their developing bodies need, they get far too little, and try to make up for it by ingesting too much caffeine.
Where they get their caffeine
Caffeine is a drug that stimulates the nervous system, giving a feeling of awareness and energy for a limited amount of time. It occurs naturally in many plants, but it can also be created synthetically and added to drinks, foods, and medications.
For teens there are two main sources of the caffeine they're ingesting.
?Sodas. Most sodas contain less caffeine than a cup of coffee, but more than a glass of iced or hot tea. The exceptions to this are clear sodas, like Sprite and Fresca, and most root beers (except for Barq's, which contains caffeine). ?Energy drinks. These drinks, such as Red Bull, Monster, and Venom, contain as much caffeine as a cup of coffee of the same size, but they also contain other stimulants such as ginseng and guarana in addition to the caffeine.
Other ways teens get caffeine include.
?Coffee ?Caffeine pills such as No-Doze ?Chocolate ?Diet pills ?Hot chocolate ?Tea and flavored tea drinks, like Snapple
How caffeine can harm them
There are two issues with teens and caffeine. One is that they aren't getting enough sleep, and the other is that they are ingesting too much caffeine.
A developing body needs sleep for many reasons. During sleep, the body repairs itself at the cellular level, mending the tissues and other areas that have been damaged simply through the wear and tear of daily living. Growth also takes place during sleep, as cellular regeneration adds to bone and muscle growth. Immune systems require enough rest to stay working, so those who don't get enough sleep are more prone to illnesses.
And of course, healthy sleeping habits are absolutely crucial to emotional and mental well-being; teens who struggle with depression or ADHD will find themselves more able to deal with those problems if their minds are well-rested. All people, teens included, think better on a good night's sleep, and so a lack of sleep can contribute to falling grades or conflicted relationships. And teens who haven't had enough sleep are also more likely to get in car accidents or get hurt at work.
As if lack of sleep weren't problematic enough, teens then drink sodas or energy drinks to make up for it. These things are so harmful to teen health that many schools have stopped selling soft drinks in their vending machines altogether. In addition to the caffeine, energy drinks contain herbal stimulants, whose safety has not been evaluated, as well as sugar and fat. The empty calories in sodas and energy drinks contribute to teen obesity, eating disorders, self-esteem issues, diabetes, and nutritional disorders.
Caffeine can speed up heart rate, causing palpations or even heart attacks. It is a diuretic, meaning it provokes urination, and causes sweating, so that the body is being leeched of its necessary hydration. Caffeine causes headaches, but so does caffeine withdrawal, so anything a teen does involving caffeine will be likely to make his or her head hurt. Caffeine can also keep teens from getting the sleep they so badly need.
Encourage your kids to get enough sleep. Help them organize their activities and responsibilities so that they aren't overwhelmed, and impress upon them that if they don't take care of their health, everything else will fall by the wayside, too. After all, we only get one body; we have to take good care of it.
Headache Triggers
Alcoholic drinks contain ethanol, which can contribute to headaches through various mechanisms. Headaches begin from blood vessel vasodilation and ethanol can prompt these changes. In addition, ethanol is a diuretic and prompts the urinary loss of several vitamins and minerals, as well as causing dehydration.
Headaches may occur shortly following consumption of alcohol or the next morning, with the infamous 'hangover.' Those occurring shortly after tend to indicate specific alcohol sensitivity and are more likely to occur in people who already experience migraines or other such headaches.
Cluster headaches, in particular, are triggered by alcohol. For some people, it is the precise type of alcoholic drink that causes a headache. A person may experience a headache from one glass of wine but find that he or she can drink several shots of vodka without suffering from a headache. Even within wines, for example, some may find that a glass of white wine causes no problem yet red wine leaves them with an excruciating migraine. Red wine contains tyramine, which is a known migraine trigger and so avoidance of red wine may be necessary for some people.
Hangovers
A hangover is essentially a toxic reaction to alcohol and can even be considered food poisoning. Alcohol is a diuretic, thereby flushing fluids from your body, and will generally leave you quite dehydrated as well as contributing to a headache. Many of the impurities in addition to the alcohol itself can leave your stomach feeling upset and uncomfortable. Symptoms of a hangover include:
There are several things you can do to avoid a hangover and the subsequent headaches that occur, with complete elimination of alcohol being the obvious one. Other tips include:
* Hydrate yourself prior to drinking with either water or sports drinks. * Limit the amount of alcohol you consume to one or two drinks. * Avoid those drinks that trigger headaches, such as red wine, for example. * Eat before you drink, with a focus on sufficient fat. Fat takes the longest to digest of the macronutrients, and will help to slow the absorption of alcohol.
Painkillers
Be extremely cautious the next day if taking any painkillers for your headache, as alcohol still in your system combined with painkillers such as acetaminophen can have dangerous effects. Be sure to drink water to combat the dehydration caused by the alcohol. Many people drink coffee the next morning but as coffee it also a diuretic, this will only increase your dehydration and may also further upset your stomach and intensify your headache.
Alcohol Safety
You are the one to decide how much alcohol you can safely consume before you suffer from a headache. You may need to make a note of which drinks seem to trigger your migraines or other headaches. If you are fortunate enough to normally be headache-free, taking a little extra care before, during and after drinking by eating a balanced meal, drinking sufficient fluids and avoiding excessive amounts of alcohol can help prevent a hangover headache the next day. With a little extra effort in looking after yourself, you should be able to enjoy a few drinks and your body will thank you the next day. You'll feel better for it and can avoid those painful headaches.
Both Rokai Kolam & Alien are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.