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	Vol.7, No 5, September 7, 1999
	All-nighters endanger some By Sarah LaVoie Daily Forty-Niner To pack their brains with facts or pound out papers, students are doing more than sipping coffee or popping pills. But regardless of the weapon used to slay the sleep enemy, all-nighters seem to have negative effects. After taking a grueling test, groggy, sleep-deprived students returning home from school can become dangerous drivers.  "One time I was driving in the far left lane, and the next thing I knew I was in the far right lane and swerving toward the curb," said senior Victor Arellano. To stay awake all night, students use many traditional and even unusual ways to stay alert. "Sometimes, I study standing up -- seriously, it keeps me awake," said senior Ubaldo Franco. Students even pick out the study environment to beat the sleep enemy.  These tactics include sitting in a well-lighted room with uncomfortable chairs, letting in cool air and staying away from couches. The most popular eyelid opener is caffeine.  Truck drivers, medical residents, graveyard-shift workers and military personnel all use the substance to stay awake.  The most common form is coffee, and other forms include soda (Mountain Dew and Dr Pepper seem the most popular), espresso drinks, chocolate, caffeine tablets such as Vivarin or No-Doz, caffeinated water and tea. Sophomore Alex Ramirez said he likes to load up on mochas and Mountain Dew. Chronic high-dose caffeine intake can lead to nervousness, irritability, anxiety, trembling, muscle twitching and insomnia.  A recent study performed by Kaiser Permanente found no link between coffee consumption and death risk. Another study found that caffeine improved cognitive performance, objective alertness and self-ratings of mood, according to Web sources. Another study found that two cups of coffee at 1 a.m. preserves alertness throughout the night.  Another two cups at 7 a.m. helps alertness the following day. Some students even take herbal energy enhancers to pull off the all-nighter. Metabolife and popular herbal energy enhancers, such as Ripped Fuel, contain the recently popularized stimulant ephedra, which comes in several forms and is often listed as ephedrine. Ephedra is closely related in structure to methamphetamines, although its effects on the central nervous system are less potent and last longer than those of the amphetamines. High doses of ephedra can cause restlessness and anxiety, dizziness, insomnia, tremors, a rapid pulse, sweating, respiratory difficulties, confusion, hallucinations, delirium and sometimes convulsions. Many instances of psychosis, clinically similar to amphetamine psychosis, have resulted from chronic high-dose abuse. Individuals under the influence of stimulants become easily confused and lose the ability to concentrate or think clearly for any length of time. Stimulants also may impair the userís ability to perceive time and distance. The Journal of the American Medical Association states that stimulants affect "areas of the brain involved with attention, alertness, short-term memory, arithmetic and sensory processing, as well as such complex mental operations as reasoning and problem solving."		Student voice grows All-nighters endanger some Students need MMR shots to enroll Honor society opens doors to new members Maxson to appoint investigator to board University Police, athletic department available online Parents not laws must secure guns Bookstore policy bites students in wallet Limp Bizkit's sound critiqued Singin the Blues Volleyball team remains undefeated Coach looks for results from men's team Cross country teams come up short on 1st test Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.