Oh the Irony...

So, over the last few days I have been working hard... kind of... well not really, due to procrastination, on an assignment. And yes this post is just another means for procrastination, but I thought I might share a little something that I found ironic.

Currently this paper is on the affects of caffeine on the youth of today, and I guess for that matter tomorrow and yesterday. The irony lies in the fact I am consuming unhealthy amounts of caffeine so I don't get penalised for a late submission. Some of the facts are astounding though in the amount of caffeine youths are taking today, one in five kids take over 200mg! DAILY! Now recently this year I have weaned myself off a dependency on caffeine. I used to take maybe 75mg a day on average (1 1/2 cups of coffee), with some days where I would take up to 250mg (2 coffees and a Rockstar). Now my daily average would probably be about 25mg, only due to about a coffee every 2nd day or so.

So, why am I telling you all about my diet, well lets start with the fact that when I went about a month with no caffeine at all I felt great. I woke up every day feeling fresh and energetic. My head was often clear and it wasn't too difficult to concentrate. It was wonderful. Then, uni started back up, and I am one hell of a sucker for the taste of coffee, and before long Rush, Rush 2 and Out to Lunch were getting my patronage (these are places to get coffee on campus FYI, and they server great coffee). What hit me though, in particular while working on this assignment is how unhelpful my recent falling back in love with coffee has been. 

I am a procrastinator, I like leaving things to the last minute and I thrive under the pressure of the looming deadline. What this does however, is require an intake of stimulants as my night drags on; and caffeine is there to bail me out every time. What turned out to be unhelpful though was that after I dosed up, I found it difficult to concentrate on my work. My mind was abuzz. Focusing was next to impossible, and as the night dragged on, I realised that my once old friend coffee was now an enemy. My head was muddled, unclear. It was hard to concentrate, and all I want to do in the morning is laze about in bed.

This is a far cry from what life was like caffeine-free, when getting out of bed was easy. Something this assignment has done though, it has made me acutely aware of the other affects of caffeine I never thought of, from its ability to be a performance enhancer in terms of working out, to something that leads to a whole plethora of other problems. While caffeine might not be directly responsible for heart disease for instance, someone who suffers arrhythmia might find themselves in dire straights after taking a large dose of caffeine (200mg+). Don't even start me though on how regular caffeine affects your brain chemistry, that's a whole other can of worms.

Anyway, I feel I have made my point. It is ironic I am consuming caffeine whilst being made so acutely aware of its dangers, and maybe... just maybe, I will save $3.50 every time I am at uni and call it quits on my old pal.

FYI, I still love coffee, and always will, I shall just learn to live apart... for both our sakes.