Sixty-six percent of American adults drink coffee every day, with an average daily consumption of three cups, according to the National Coffee Association’s 2025 National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) report. High consumption of the drink has led many to wonder: Is coffee and its caffeine healthy to drink so frequently?
While the 2025 NCDT report did not collect data on child or teenage coffee consumption, the beverage’s popularity among students can be observed when walking through Urban’s halls. On a typical weekday morning, one will likely spot students holding coffee cups from cafes across the city.
Students purchase coffee from a variety of places, including Urban’s food service, FLIK; neighborhood coffee shops such as Mellow Coffee, Coffee to the People and Flywheel Coffee Roasters; and local grocery stores such as Gus’s.
Ari Wayne ’27 began drinking coffee after noticing its popularity among strangers, friends and family. “There’s a culture of drinking coffee pretty much everywhere. … My dad drinks coffee, and out on the street, I see everyone with a cup,” she said. “So I thought, ‘If everyone drinks coffee, then maybe I should — maybe I’ll get some benefits.’”
One possible benefit is the community some have found through coffee. “[Coffee] is definitely a thing that I [share] with my family,” Harper Lind ’27 said. “I enjoy [it] with friends when I’m able to go to a coffee shop and … get a little drink and do some studying.”
Others have connected with people in their neighborhoods through coffee. “Going to a coffee shop is a good way to bond. I have this local place that I love, and it’s called The Coffee Movement,” Wayne said. “The people in there [are] the nicest people — they’re always asking me about my day. … I see a lot of people that wouldn’t normally talk to each other bonding through coffee.”
Anand Gupte ’26 has enjoyed experimenting with his coffee beverages — but that has increased his expenses. “I definitely like trying different coffee shops … and buying different beans,” he said. “One of the big [drawbacks] for me is how much I spend on coffee. It’s just really racked up a lot of costs.”
Since Lind began drinking coffee four years ago, the effects its caffeine has on them have changed. “It used to make me very jittery and queasy, but I would drink it because it would [give me] energy,” they said. “[But] I’ve kind of become desensitized, and a lot of caffeine makes me feel a normal level of energy.”
Wayne sometimes uses caffeine to make up for missed sleep. “I stay up late doing homework, and then the next morning, I feel the need to be awake and make up for that sleep with coffee,” she said. “Even though coffee isn’t the best solution to poor homework planning, it gives me a little bit of energy for the day.”
A 2023 study published in ScienceDirect found that caffeine decreased consumers’ total sleep time by an average of 45 minutes and negatively impacted their overall sleep quality. The study also found that drinking coffee close to bedtime can decrease overall sleep duration.
Nare Sargsyan ’27 stopped drinking coffee about a year ago due to its effect on her sleep. “Caffeine was definitely impacting the quality of my sleep because I would drink it throughout the day. When it was time to go to sleep, I didn’t feel like I could go to sleep most of the time,” she said. “Because I don’t drink caffeine anymore, my body can recognize when it starts getting tired.”
A 2024 study published in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) found that low daily caffeine doses — less than 400 milligrams, or about four cups of coffee — moderately increased people’s risk of anxiety, and consuming any more than 400 milligrams significantly increased people’s risk of anxiety compared to no caffeine. There is no widely agreed upon scientific explanation as to why caffeine has this impact, but some suggest it has to do with caffeine’s properties as a chemical stimulant.
Because caffeine is a stimulant, it influences the central nervous system — the system that sends information out to the body through the brain and spinal cord. By impeding adenosine, a relaxation and sleepiness neurotransmitter, excess caffeine consumption can lead to a rise in adrenaline levels that might make people feel nervous or energized.
Caffeine can also increase dopamine levels in the brain, resulting in increased energy and attentiveness. “It’s made me a lot more productive in the morning, so that’s when I spend the most time studying,” Gupte said. “I get a lot more work done in the mornings, … [but] if I don’t have coffee, it definitely decreases my concentration.”
However, caffeine’s effects can be unpredictable. “Sometimes [coffee] helps me learn better because I’m awake, but other times I almost feel too hyper, where my hands get shaky, and I feel like I could run circles a million times,” Wayne said. “When I’m trying to lock in on my homework, [coffee] … won’t help me very much.”
People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to not experience these side effects, as they have lower natural dopamine levels. As a result, it takes more caffeine for them to reach the point where they experience the anxiety and agitation that many people feel when caffeine raises their dopamine levels too high.
“People who have ADHD sometimes use coffee as a way to manage [their ADHD] as well. … It’s a stimulant, like ADHD medications,” health teacher Jenn Epstein said. “Where [coffee] might have a stimulant effect [on me, for] a person who has ADHD, it might help them focus.”
Coffee affects everyone differently — and everyone has different limits. “I always want to have more coffee, and I don’t, because I start to feel really icky [when I do],” Epstein said. “I think it takes discipline to have whatever amount is best for you.”
People often incorrectly correlate coffee — and more generally, caffeine — with a variety of negative side effects, such as stunted growth or dehydration. Scientists have disproven many of these misconceptions and even found that coffee may have positive impacts.
According to a 2025 study published in the NLM, consuming three to five cups of coffee daily — caffeinated or decaffeinated — can reduce one’s chances of developing a variety of serious medical conditions. These conditions include cardiovascular diseases, some cancers, stroke and cognitive decline. The study attributes these effects to a variety of factors, ranging from coffee users’ improved lung function to lower inflammation.
Another 2024 study published in the NLM found that coffee consumption can potentially lower one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as reduce the disease’s severity. However, the same study found sugary drinks — such as sweetened coffee beverages — have the opposite effect.
“It’s so popular for teenagers to be drinking a lot of coffee and caffeine,” Lind said. “That wasn’t the case for a lot of our parents — or at least mine. … It’s new to have it so available, … good-tasting [and] sugary.”
According to the previously mentioned 2025 NCDT report, 46% of American adults drink specialty coffee. The category includes traditional coffee made from premium coffee beans, any espresso-based beverages, and non-espresso-based beverages such as frozen blends or cold brew. This statistic is an 18% increase from the NCDT’s 2020 report.
Lind believes the high sugar content in many coffee-based beverages poses a greater risk than caffeine. “A lot of people unintentionally have coffee as a sugar vessel, maybe because they like the caffeine but not the flavor,” they said. “The real health consequence of coffee reliance becomes the amount of sugar in it.”