APRIL 2022 // OPINION
11
No Coffee, No Life RPTD // Renz Bautista
A
re you “in” with the milk tea craze? Or a regular customer of cafes and tea shops? Or are you someone who always drink 3-in-1 coffee? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you may brand yourself a caffeinated drink consumer. Caffeine has been a part of our diet and consumed in various types of food and drinks such as coffee, tea, energy drinks, soft drinks and sometimes in products containing cocoa or chocolate. People drink these because of different reasons, which sometimes become the motivators for drinking such beverages. Caffeine is one of the most consumed psychoactive drugs and are used for many reasons. It is used in the medical industry as it is an ingredient for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. In the Philippines, coffee consumption nearly doubled as 3.3 million bags of coffee is consumed annually, compared to 2.2 million bags from 2011. Fitch Solutions also forecasted that Filipino’s love for coffee will increase for the next five years, adding a report in which each Filipino drink 3.05 kg of coffee per capita during 2020 and is expected to drink 3.78 kg of coffee every year by the year 2025. This was the main topic of my research paper for the past school year and I and my research team finished the research manuscript during the month of April. We believe that there are many reasons for people to consume caffeinated drinks. Although the research was conducted in the confines of the school, it gives a realistic result for similar demographics as caffeinated drinks are already part of Filipino students’ lives, especially those taking up high school or collegiate studies. Additionally, we also investigated that if sleep quality affects caffeine consumption as caffeine is frequently used for stimulation and energy provision. Studies show
CARTOON | JOHN CZAR SALAGUINTO
that caffeine intake may lead to insufficient sleep quality and quantity. Previous literature mentioned that there are six significant factors that motivate caffeine consumption. These were sensory, alertness, social, energize, mood and habit. However, our research found out that seven factors motivate caffeinated drink consumption. These were mood, alertness, relaxation, habit, sensory, social and relationship. The statistics and fieldwork were tiring. But once we have gathered the results and produced the tables, it was a huge relief as our sleepless nights came into an end. From the results of our study, majority of the surveyed population (of 199 students) drink soft drinks and others, followed by coffee, tea and energy drinks. The average caffeinated drink frequency was 3.19 for all respondents, 3.09 for males and 3.28 for females. Times for consuming caffeinated drinks were equally spread out. The study also found that different demographics by age and gender differ in caffeinated drink preferences. The study also found that relaxation is a significant motivation factor for coffee and tea consumption, and sensory factors significantly motivated soft drinks and others consumption. Grade levels also show significant factor comparisons, such as mood for Grade 11 and 12 students. Moreover, sleep quality which composed of seven factors namely, subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, sleeping medication and daytime dysfunction, was also considered. The computations show that caffeine consumption was not
significantly driven by sleep quality. Additionally, sleep quality significantly differed by gender with males having a higher sleep quality than females. Other factors such as nicotine consumption were not investigated because it does not apply to the population studied. It is important to understand the caffeine consumption phenomenon in the Philippines as caffeine affects our economic, social, and agricultural performance. Additional knowledge and research will be valuable in reinforcing caffeine consumption information given and available to the public. Many expectancies were derived from drinking caffeine such as reducing fatigue, enhancement of physical performance, increase of energy, mood improvement, reducing stress, and improving cognitive performance (particularly information processing and reaction times). Caffeine is considered a toxin and there are limits to intaking the said substance. Too much caffeine is not good for your body. People, including me, drink caffeinated drinks every day. We need to remember that there are motivations, reasons, and preferences for drinking these drinks. As Catriona Gray said once in a Miss Universe pageant, "everything is good in moderation.” [R]
