Many students may find themselves in a rush to make up for lost studying time, and they might choose caffeine as their energy booster when an all-nighter is the only option.

Although the side effects of caffeine are minor, Frank Schabel, assistant professor and coordinator of the health studies program, said it is still not recommended for students to consume large amounts of caffeine.

“The most common side effect is simply that students lose concentration,” he said. “I have had students come into my classes so excited they have a hard time writing. They are going bonkers.”

Madhu Gadia, registered dietitian at the McFarland Clinic, P.C., 1215 Duff Ave., agreed with Schabel that caffeine causes the consumer to “lose focus, which is what is needed most when trying to study.”

Caffeine takes 30 to 60 minutes to get into the blood stream. Activity peaks about two hours after consumption, Schabel said.

“People think it happens immediately, but that is only psychological,” Schabel said. “What caffeine does is it blocks the effects of adenosine, which normally makes you relax and slow down. So basically, caffeine stimulates by blocking rather than as a direct stimulation.”

A “toxic effect” can be experienced after 1,000 mg is consumed in a day, Schabel said.

Although it is not lethal, it can cause extreme nervousness.

Schabel said a caffeine overdose is extremely unlikely. He has only heard of a couple of stories involving a caffeine fatality.

“A nurse accidentally gave a patient a syringe full of caffeine thinking it was something else. A fatal dose for adults would be about 3.2 grams,” Schabel said.

On average most adults consume about 400 mg of caffeine a day. Only 11 percent of people consume no caffeine, Schabel said.

Some people consume enough caffeine to develop a tolerance for it. These people usually develop a “physical addiction” to caffeine.

When they are deprived of caffeine for a 12-hour period, those “addicts” can experience headaches, drowsiness and become irritable, he said.

Some people will even have muscle aches and flu-like symptoms.

“Most people don’t become addicted over four cups of coffee or pop a day. All these people are doing is developing a tolerance for it,” Schabel said.

There are long-term effects of high caffeine intake as well.

People who consume large amounts of caffeine every day for long periods of time are more likely to be affected by osteoporosis.

“One study showed that if people average five or six glasses of tea or two to three cups of coffee a day, they have a 69 percent higher chance of osteoporosis,” Schabel said.

Schabel recommended taking short breaks during study sessions, taking a cold shower, doing exercise or going for a walk to wake up.

Gadia also recommended one to two minutes of stretching, hot cider with lemon and herbal teas to perk people up naturally.

“Students should study small amounts over a longer period of time anyway. Information isn’t remembered as well when it is all learned in a cram session the night before,” Schabel said.