It’s not a secret that college students often turn to copious amounts of coffee to get them through the school year. However, there are many advantages and disadvantages to weigh out when going about your daily “grind.”

According to the National Coffee Association, 54 percent of Americans over the age of 18 drink coffee with an average of 3.1 cups per day in 2010.

“Because coffee is generally an acquired taste, most students that I know have to ease into it,” said Jasey Rebarcak, junior in psychology and assistant manager at Café Milo. “It usually starts off as a sort of caffeine dependency, as a result of the changing lifestyle and sleeping habits.”

It is common for people who are new to coffee to start off with some of the more sugary items, like a flavored mocha. Rebarcak clarifies that these drinks are not usually consumed in order to actually taste the coffee.

However, it’s not unusual for frequent coffee drinkers to try and stray away from the more sugar dense drinks. They try to minimize the calories they consume, aware of how much they intake throughout a single day.

Layne Bessa, senior in biology, chooses a healthier route when grabbing her morning boost of energy.

“I used to drink my coffee with cream and sugar,” Bessa said. “But since I drink it all the time, I decided to start putting almond milk and cinnamon in to make it healthier.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day appears to be safe for most healthy adults, which is around four cups of brewed coffee.

If more than 500-600 milligrams are consumed during the day, some may suffer from restlessness, fast heartbeat, muscle tremors and nervousness.

On the other hand, research by the Harvard School of Public Health has shown that caffeine raises one’s blood sugar and contains antioxidants that can improve sensitivity to insulin. Results also found that long-term coffee consumption may reduce one’s risk of stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

So as long as people remain conscious of their caffeine intake throughout the day, they should make it out alive.