THE IMPACT OF CAFFEINE ON YOUR BAR EXAM PREPARATION

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You’ve been studying for days on end and you’ve still got almost another month of studying to go.  As the weeks of bar prep go by, you find it harder and harder to maintain your study schedule and the pace of bar review.  Each morning you wake up and grab your favorite coffee drink, energy drink, or soda to begin your day.  Then you grab another caffeine-laden drink mid-morning or early afternoon.  After dinner, you’re exhausted and sick of studying, so you drink another energy-type drink because you still have homework to finish before you call it a night.  Next thing you know, you are increasing your drink size from small, to medium, to large.

What’s the problem?  Successful people drink these kinds of drinks every day.

You are right.  Millions of people use caffeine daily to wake up, alleviate fatigue, and improve concentration and focus.  However, according to the Mayo Clinic, consuming too much caffeine a day can lead to insomnia, headaches, increased anxiety, depression, an upset stomach, irritability, restlessness, along with various other physical problems.

Ok.  So how much caffeine is too much?  Should you be worried by your increased caffeine intake?  What’s the worst thing that can happen?

A healthy adult can safely consume 200-400 mg of caffeine per day.  That is 2-4 cups of coffee, 5-10 cans of soda, or 1-2 “energy shot” drinks.  Students easily consume more than that during an 8 hour period of studying.  In fact, one week before the July 2016 bar exam, one of our students was rushed to the hospital because he could not stop his racing heart.  The student admitted to drinking 5-6 energy drinks that day.  How much caffeine did the student ingest? Unfortunately, we do not know because the actual caffeine content in beverages varies widely, especially among energy drinks.  More recently, on May 15, 2017, a 16 year old died from a caffeine overdose after drinking a large diet Mountain Dew, a cafe latte from McDonalds, and an energy drink during a two hour time span.  This child had no known preexisting medical condition, but according to the coroner there was so much caffeine in his system, it led to a cardiac arrhythmia.

The purpose of this blog is not to scare you.  We also do not expect you to give up caffeine altogether during bar prep.  However, before you grab another cup of coffee, soda or energy drink, be mindful of the impact caffeine has on you and your body.  Try to slowly taper your caffeine intake rather than continuing to increase it as you get closer to the bar exam.

As an alternative to caffeine, try some of the following when you think you need a pick-me-up:

— Take a 15 minute study break.

— Pick up the telephone and reconnect with friends and family for 15 minutes.

— Take a power nap for 30 minutes.

— Go for a brisk walk.

— Drink cold water to combat dehydration and fatigue.

— Add B vitamins to your daily regimen.

We know how hard you are working to prepare yourself for the bar exam.  We also know how important passing the bar exam is to every student studying for the bar.  This includes making numerous sacrifices when studying for the bar exam.  However, we encourage you not to sacrifice your health.  A healthy mind and body is necessary to successfully conquering the bar exam.