Coffee and School-Age Students

In many Vietnamese families, coffee is a grown-up thing: Dad's milk coffee before work, Grandpa's black coffee every morning. Children usually only get a sip. But in secondary and high school, especially in exam season, quite a few students start turning to coffee, milk tea or energy drinks to stay up late.

This article is for both parents and students. We do not encourage school-age students to drink coffee. The aim is to understand how caffeine affects a growing body, and what better choices there are.

Why growing bodies need care with caffeine

Caffeine is a natural stimulant. It makes us feel alert by temporarily masking tiredness, not by actually giving the body energy back. For children and teenagers, a few things call for more caution:

• Lower body weight. The same cup of coffee gives a student far more caffeine per kilogram of body weight than an adult.
• Sleep is easily disrupted. Caffeine can make it hard to fall asleep or sleep deeply, especially in the afternoon and evening.
• A racing heart, jitters, headaches and an upset stomach are possible reactions to too much.
• It can become a habit. Regular use followed by stopping suddenly can bring a few days of headaches and tiredness.

What do health bodies recommend?

The guidance below is general information, not a substitute for a doctor's advice:

The caffeine in a cup of coffee varies widely with the bean, the amount of coffee and how it's brewed. A strong Vietnamese phin coffee, especially one made with Robusta, may already come close to or exceed a teenager's recommended limit for a whole day.

Where caffeine hides

Many students don't drink coffee but still take in caffeine every day without noticing:

• Tea and milk tea — green tea, black tea, matcha all contain caffeine.
• Cola-type soft drinks and some other fizzy drinks.
• Energy drinks — usually caffeine plus a lot of sugar.
• Chocolate and cocoa drinks — smaller amounts, but they add up over a day.
• Bottled coffee and ready-made milk coffee sold near schools.

Parents can read drink labels with their children to see which ones contain caffeine. It's also a small lesson in reading product information.

Sleep matters more than coffee

According to commonly cited paediatric guidance, children aged 6–12 need about 9–12 hours of sleep a night and teenagers aged 13–18 need about 8–10 hours. In practice, extra classes, homework and phones mean many students sleep less than that.

When you're short of sleep, using caffeine to make up for it only borrows alertness. That night it's harder to sleep, the next morning you're more tired, and the cycle continues. Memory and concentration — exactly what you need in an exam — depend heavily on sleep.

Healthier ways to stay alert

For students, especially during revision:

1. Sleep enough, at regular times, even close to exams.
2. Eat a proper breakfast. It gives the brain energy for the school day.
3. Drink water, milk or fresh fruit juice instead of energy drinks.
4. Study in blocks of 45–50 minutes, with short breaks to stand and stretch.
5. Go outside and move a little. Daylight and a few minutes of walking help you feel alert.
6. Put the phone away before bed to fall asleep more easily.

For parents: talk with your children rather than just forbidding. When they understand why, they find it easier to adjust themselves. Parents can also set an example by not drinking coffee late and keeping regular bedtimes for the whole family.

Coffee can wait for adulthood

Coffee is a lovely part of Vietnamese culture, and it will still be there when these students grow up. Understanding caffeine early will help them enjoy coffee in moderation later on. The next article in this series is about coffee in university life — when students are adults choosing their own rhythm.