What Are the Effects of Caffeine on Teenagers？咖啡因對青少年有什么影響？

胡楊

Caffeine is a drug that naturally occurs in the leaves and seeds of many plants. Its also produced artificially2 and may be added to certain drinks and foods.

咖啡因是一種天然存在于許多植物的葉子和種子中的藥物。它還可以人工生產，或用于添加到某些飲料和食品中。

Its common for teens to reach for energy drinks before a soccer game or to turn to coffee to help them pull an all-night study session. But， drinking too much caffeine could be bad for a teens health.

對于青少年來說，在足球比賽前喝功能飲料或者喝咖啡幫助他們通宵學習是很普遍的現象。但是，喝太多的咖啡因對青少年的健康有害。

Up to 400 mg of caffeine per day appears to be safe for most healthy adults. Its suggested that teens caffeine consumption3 be limited to no more than 100 mg of caffeine per day and children under 12 not be given any caffeine.

對于大多數健康的成年人來說，每天攝入400毫克的咖啡因似乎是安全的。建議青少年每天咖啡因的攝入量不要超過100毫克，12歲以下的兒童不要攝入咖啡因。

Research on caffeine confirms that small doses of caffeine can enhance alertness4， increase information processing speed， awareness， attention， and reaction time. But most of the research has been conducted on adults， not children.

對咖啡因的研究證實，小劑量的咖啡因可以提高警覺性，提高信息處理的速度、意識、注意力和反應時間。但大多數研究都是針對成年人而不是兒童。

Caffeine can cause a number of unwanted side effects in both teens and adults. Some people are more sensitive5 to caffeine than others and just a small amount may produce unwanted effects.

咖啡因會對青少年和成人造成一些不利的副作用。有些人對咖啡因更敏感，而咖啡因則可能會對一小部分人產生不利的影響。

Caffeine may stunt6 childrens development. A study found that young rats who consumed7 the rat-sized equivalent8 of the caffeine in three or four cups of coffee experienced reduced deep sleep and delayed brain development.

咖啡因可能會阻礙兒童的發育。一項研究發現，當汲取了成年老鼠量的三到四倍的咖啡因劑量的時候，幼鼠會減少深度睡眠，大腦發育延緩。

Caffeine has great effect on a teens sleep. Every 10 milligrams of caffeine a 13-year-old boy consumes decreases his chances of getting 8.5 hours of sleep by 12 percent. It can affect teens education， mental health， and physical health.

咖啡因對青少年的睡眠有很大的影響。13歲的男孩每攝入10毫克咖啡因，會減少8個半小時睡眠的幾率的12%。這會影響他們的學習和身心健康。

Caffeine may also cause the body to lose calcium9. Consuming too much caffeine could lead to bone loss over time. Drinking soda or energy drinks instead of milk may also place a teen at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis10.

咖啡因也可能導致身體鈣流失。攝入過多的咖啡因會導致骨質疏松。飲用蘇打水或功能飲料代替牛奶也可能會增加患骨質疏松癥的風險。

Many people report feeling “addicted11” to caffeine because they have trouble quitting or cut-ting back on their caffeine intake. Some people continue consuming it even though they experience unwanted psychological12 or physical side effects.endprint

許多人認為咖啡因能讓人“上癮”是因為他們很難戒掉或減少咖啡因的攝入量。有些人即使體驗過了咖啡因引起的心理或生理上的副作用之后，仍然會繼續攝入它。

You cant control all the things your teen chooses to eat and drink when youre not around. But， you can take steps to encourage him to develop healthy habits and limit his caffeine consumption. Here are some steps you can take to educate your teen about caffeine and keep his consumption to a minimum13：

當你不在孩子身邊的時候，你無法控制你的孩子選擇的所有吃喝的東西。但是，你可以采取措施鼓勵他養成健康的習慣，限制他的咖啡因攝入量。可以采用以下方法來教授你的孩子關于咖啡因的知識以及讓他盡量少攝入咖啡因：

Drink water and milk. Dont buy teas， energy drinks， and other drinks with a lot of caffeine. Instead， make it a habit for everyone in the family to drink water and low-fat milk.

喝水和牛奶。不要買茶、功能飲料和其他含有大量咖啡因的飲料。要讓家里每個人都養成喝低脂牛奶的習慣。

Talk about good health. Many caffeinated drinks contain a lot of sugar， which can contribute to obesity14 and tooth decay15. So limiting caffeine could be better for you teens overall health. Make sure your teen knows that energy drinks and sugar-sweetened teas arent good for him or her.

經常談談健康問題吧。很多含咖啡因的飲料含有大量的糖，會導致肥胖和蛀牙。所以限制咖啡因的攝入對青少年的健康有好處。要讓你的孩子知道功能飲料和含糖的茶對他或她沒有好處。

Be a good role model. If you turn to coffee to help you function， your teen may grow to believe it is a normal part of adult life. And that could lead him to develop bad habits.

做一個好榜樣吧。如果你用喝咖啡來提神，你的孩子可能會逐漸認為這就是成人生活的一部分。這可能會導致他養成壞習慣。

Talk to your teen about the dangers of caffeine， in the same way you discuss drugs or alcohol. Warn your teen that consuming too much could cause serious problems for him.

和你的孩子談談咖啡因的危害吧，就像你們討論毒品和酒精的危害一樣。提醒你的孩子，過度攝入咖啡因會給他帶來嚴重問題。

Limit afternoon and evening caffeine. Drinking a Frappuccino after school or a soda after basketball practice could keep your teen up half the night. If hes going to drink something with caffeine in it， make sure its early in the day.

要限制下午和晚上的咖啡因攝入。放學后喝一杯星冰樂（星巴克的招牌飲料），或者在籃球練習后喝一瓶蘇打水，會讓你的孩子半個晚上都睡不著。如果他想喝含有咖啡因的東西，那就一定要讓他在早上喝。

Be on the lookout for signs that your teen is consuming a lot of caffeine. If your teen is having trouble sleeping， investigate what hes been eating and drinking.

要注意觀察你的孩子是否有攝入大量咖啡因的跡象。如果你的孩子有睡眠問題，調查一下他近來吃了什么，喝了什么。

Help your teen cut back. If your teen regularly consumes more caffeine than she should， help her cut back. Be aware she may experience some unpleasant withdrawal16 symptoms17 if she suddenly gives caffeine up altogether.

要幫你的孩子減少咖啡因的攝入。如果你的孩子經常攝入過多的咖啡因，那就應該幫她減少攝入量。要注意的是，如果她突然把咖啡因完全戒掉，可能會有一些不愉快的戒斷癥狀。endprint