Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance

PPE 310: Health Literacy for Schools

Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance
Ashlie Comeau & Daniel Spalinger
Dr. Hesse
December, 2 2016

Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance

http://dspalinger.weebly.com
Introduction
This program is called, Caffeine Health Awareness. People everyday consume caffeinated
drinks and this program is designed to educate people on the negative and positive effects that
caffeine can have on a persons body so that they can make an educated decision when choosing
to consume this product.
Literature Review
Our topic for this research article is to focus on caffeine and its effects on the body and
on physical performance. Caffeine has a lot of different users, but can predominately be found in
college age students and older adults. In this article Caffeine Consumption Patterns and Beliefs,
it takes research from college students to see how it is affecting the body and physical
performance of those users. The purpose of the study was to determine the amount of caffeine
consumed by students, beliefs of caffeine consumption, perceived benefits of caffeine, reasons
for consumption, and predictors of caffeine consumption. They did this research by doing a
survey of a sample size of three hundred college students. Within that three hundred about fiftyone percent reported having caffeine withdrawals. They then went into discussing that caffeine
can cause a negative healthy concern for many different reasons.
The Second article is focused more on the athletic side of what caffeine does to the body.
This article is called the Effects of Caffeine on Athletic Performance. In this article they took five
hundred athletes and gave them caffeine prior to exercising. They did this with the thought that it
would be essentially upgrading the athletes similar to amphetamines and cocaine. With this
survey they found that caffeine can increase speed and power, improve length of training, and

Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance

assist in resisting fatigue. They found this happens because the caffeine helps stimulate the brain
to focus on the sport they are playing, and concentrate on clear thinking for the sports. They have
found such big benefits in this article that it talked about the Olympic committees have debated if
athletes should be tested for caffeine before the Olympic games. It is a very interesting article.
The third article is an article that investigated the use of caffeine and if it related to
depression and anxiety in students from fifth grade to tenth grade. They started this because
caffeine is currently the only licit psychoactive drug available to minors. The students in this test
were 135 children. After taking a pretest and then testing the students again after using caffeine
they found that depression was present in the students. They found that the caffeine withdrawals
had been causing the depression in students. On the other hand, they had found that it was not
causing anxiety for any of the students. They decided that since the students had experienced
negative caffeine related outcomes.
The fourth article I found is on adolescent caffeine consumption and behavior. In this
article they tested 3,747 tenth grade students ages fifteen through sixteen with an average of 50.2
percent being girls. The study took place in 2012 and found that girls are more affected by
caffeine than boys are. They found that it affects them more in violent behaviors and conduct
disorders. They believe that the market is targeting this age group a lot more compared to other
age groups. It also says that because of this age, their hormones could be taking over and the
caffeine could just be amplifying the characteristics. That was something they were unable to
determine on the account that adolescents hormones are always changing. So even if they tested
the hormones they could be different five minutes later. All these articles help create a different
age group affected by caffeine. It allows for a more in depth signature assignment, because we
can target all ages.

Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance

Synthesis of information
Caffeine is one of the most common drugs used by people everywhere and by every
age use as a way to help people wake up and stay more alert throughout their day. As college
student who often rely on caffeine, we wanted to see how this drug is affecting our bodies.
During our research we found articles that touched on caffeine and its affects solely on physical
performance, articles that looked at its affects on specific age groups and how they are affected
by caffeine, and if those age groups had any affects on their body from the caffeine. Caffeine
although legal, is still considered a drug and has proven to cause depression in adolescence, and
college students admit to having caffeine withdrawals. Teens, who also drink it frequently, are
subject to being affected even more by caffeine because of all the hormonal changes their bodies
are already going through. While the two articles are different they both focus on what we are
trying to focus on. We wanted to create an informative way to teach people about the facts of
caffeine and what it does to the body. Good or bad, it has an impact on the body which we can
see in these two articles. While it is up to the individuals to decide what they use the caffeine for
is entirely up to them. But, our conclusion is that although caffeine is proven enhance
performance physically, research proves that it can harm your body in more ways than one.
Practical Implications
Recognition
As a change agent working with Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical
performance you should know everything like the back of your hand. Once you have this
knowledge and background you need to decided how to support it and bring it to light. This can
be anything from showing your school to showing the community or even media attention. The
best way to bring it to school attention is to bring it up during health class or for the younger

Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance

students during science. They can learn about how caffeine impacts the body and after this to a
week where students do not drink caffeine. Then have them compare how they felt before and
after the week. It would be a fun way to show and bring some recognition to caffeine and the
body.
Scheduling: Timeline
This is the portion where you can talk about how long Caffeine stays in the body, and the
effects it has on athletic performance. For example, caffeine is burned off rather quickly with in
the day that you take it. Which is why people who typically drink coffee in the morning before
work get that two oclock feeling everyone talks about. Then you can change the topic to say that
studies show, Caffeine has been found to increase speed and power, improve the length of
training, and assist the athlete in resisting fatigue (McDaniel, Mclntire, Streitz 2010). A lot of
students will be interested in this because athlete use it before performing. While that can be cool
to students you can tell them caffeine harms the body and is very similar drug to cocaine and also
more addictive. Caffeine can also cause problems in concentration, staying aware, staying asleep,
and even with drawls. Then tie it back to how this can all happen within a couple of days of just
drinking caffeine.
Engagement
After just talking about athlete who drink or use caffeine, you can ask the students who
also uses caffeine. At this point, you can create a survey through google and ask questions about
how often they use it, how much they use, and other questions pertaining to caffeine and the
body. Once the results have been determined you can discuss them. Talk to them about how a
study found, 51% reported having at least one sign/symptom of caffeine withdrawal. Students
consumed three to five times the recommended amount of caffeine (Mcllvain, Noland. Bickel

Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance

2011). This can show the students that we are not using caffeine the right way. Students can learn
from this study and their own how to be successful and manage their caffeine intake through
proper learning. They in return can tell their friends and family engaging the community and
hopefully make an impact on those around.
Wellness Committee
The wellness committee will investigate the different symptoms of caffeine. Caffeine is
known to give symptoms such as depression and anxiety in users. Students can get into groups
for a group project that will involve them to research all the side effects of caffeine. Students will
then present their findings to the class. Since not all students take the same classes, students will
be required to share the information with their friends as well which makes them the wellness
committee so they can educate the whole school.
Marketing
During their project described in the wellness committee students will survey their
friends and families about their caffeine use. Students will integrate technology to create their
presentations and also create graphs that correspond to their surveys. Their assignment will
include having to do a section on healthy alternatives, and how to market them to their own age
groups! For example, eating healthy instead of drinking energy drinks will give you enough
energy to do your homework! They will include all the negatives of caffeine and create a poster,
flyer, or brochure to educate their friends and family about caffeine.
Teaching Behavior and Content Knowledge-ADMIN
We will hold professional development classes for our colleagues. We will teach them
about caffeine and how to give lessons about it and how to incorporate projects for their students.
Professional development will start with a survey of other teachers about their knowledge about

Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance

caffeine and how much they use it. Then will follow with the affects caffeine has on children,
teens, and young adults. Next we would then discuss how caffeine affects physical performance
but discuss the conclusion that its side effects are more detrimental than its positive affects for
physical performance. Lastly, the professional development will include the wellness committee
project and how students will do their own research and come up with a poster, flyer, or brochure
to give their friends and family to educate them about caffeine.
Conclusion
In conclusion, based on the research of Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical
performance seems to be up to the individual. While there is proof on one hand that caffeine can
improve the body. The other side is that it can be detrimental to the body. It is great to see both
side of what caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance. This allows the
individual to determine if using caffeine is worth it for what they are seeking. Whether that be
needing an afternoon pick me up, or using it before a physical performance. These are instances
where it appeals to almost anyone who needs that extra boost. It is encouraged to focus on what
you need and think about if caffeine is needed or wanted. Most people want caffeine to make it
through the day, but if it is not needed then it is highly recommended to not use it. The best
ending to our informative lesson on caffeine is to teach everyone no one can tell you what you
need or want.
Ultimately it comes down to the individual at hand to decide what is right for themselves.
Make your decision wisely and just remember caffeines effects on the body and on physical
performance before you drink it. Help teach others about the lessons and ideas behind caffeine
use. This can help the program staying open by spreading the word. It allows for people to hear
about it and come to the program flowing with people. The first year of the program focuses on

Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance

impacting employees, students and the community by teaching them what caffeine does to the
body. After that the focus changes on impacting the students and community to keep informing
them on new updates and finds that come to light every year about caffeine. Keeping the facts
and information updated will keep people interested, and coming back to learn more and more
about the topic every year. Which in return will keep the program growing in information, and
class size every year.

Caffeine and its effects on the body and on physical performance

Appendix

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References
Luebbe, A. M., & Bell, D. J. (2009). Mountain Dewor Mountain Don't?: A Pilot Investigation
of Caffeine Use Parameters and Relations to Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in 5thand 10th-Grade Students. Journal of School Health, 79(8), 380-387. doi:10.1111/j.17461561.2009.00424.x
Mcilvain, G. E., Noland, M. P., & Bickel, R. (2011). Caffeine Consumption Patterns and Beliefs
of College Freshmen. American Journal of Health Education, 42(4), 235-244.
doi:10.1080/19325037.2011.10599193
Mcdaniel, L. W., Mcintire, K., Streitz, C., Jackson, A., & Gaudet, L. (2011). The Effects Of
Caffeine On Athletic Performance. College Teaching Methods & Styles Journal (CTMS)
CTMS, 6(1), 33. doi:10.19030/ctms.v6i1.551810
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