Staying Up Late

Every student has stayed up late at one time or another to do a problem set, finish a paper, or even go to a party in the Currier "Ten Man." Somewhere around the 16th waking hour, your eyes start to glaze and your attention span evaporates. But going to sleep would mean kissing your grade, or your date, good-bye.

So what's to be dine? For many students, including philosophy and math concentrator Alp T. Aker '95, the answer is caffeine, which works by stimulating the central nervous system.

Aker, who stays up late studying during the week, says he needs the extra time to get all of his work done. "I drink about three cups of coffee a day," he says.

Although students have been known to use Sudafed, amphetamines (speed) and even cocaine as stimulants, the most popular choice is still caffeine in all its forms.

The average cup of coffee contains about 100 mg per cup, while tea has about half that amount. A can of Coke has 100 mg also, while a can of Jolt has 200 mg. Smaller amounts of caffeine can also be found in chocolate.

An alternative to drinking caffeine is taking it in pill form. Caffeine pills like Vivarin and No-Doz are available over the counter. Vivarin and Maximum Strength No-Doz contain 200 mg of the drug per tablet, while Regular Strength No-Doz has 100 mg.

Representatives from Vivarin warn the public against overuse of the product.

"We cannot recommend more than one tablet every three to four hours," their recorded hot-line message says. "Caffeine can be addictive and Vivarin is only intended to be used for short term purposes, like a long distance drive or to stay late writing a paper."

The primary danger posed by caffeine is that it can overstimulate the body's systems when taken in large doses, resulting in kidney damage and stomach irritation.

And those who become addicted to caffeine experience severe headaches when going through withdrawal from the drug.

Also, external stimulants like caffeine can cause a backlash effect. Though performance level increases in the first 24 hours of use, after that it drops off dramatically.

Hope for the Sleepless

For others, the problem is not how to stay awake but how to fall asleep.

Sleeping pills a temporary solution for some, but ultimately only cause more problems since they inhibit Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, during which dreaming occurs. Lack of REM sleep results in decreased emotional control and thinking ability.