Finals week is upon us at Penn State, and the caffeine binge has just begun.

I can't even imagine the number of Red Bulls, No-Doz and grande Starbucks coffees being ingested by the countless students who need a jolt to get them through their studying. However, I'd like to suggest that you put down that 32 oz. Pepsi and pick up a tall, cool glass of water instead. That's right. Go caffeine-free for finals week. Hell, go caffeine-free forever, and I guarantee you'll be better off.

I recently decided to embark on this quest for Lent. I didn't give up sex or chocolate like some of my friends did -- I thought they were nuts to do that. I decided to stop drinking this beverage that had consumed my life (and no, it's not called "soda" for this Pittsburgh girl.)

My typical routine included a glass of Pepsi with lunch in the commons, a Mountain Dew with dinner at work and a can of pop from the office vending machine late at night.

Long nights on copy desk this semester didn't do anything but increase my daily intake of pop -- I must have been drinking at least 36 ounces a day. If I didn't drink this sugar-laden beverage each day, I pretty much got the shakes.

I decided to forget about that whole spiritual aspect of Lent -- caffeine had started to consume my life, so I decided to quit cold turkey.

I'll admit that the first few days were a little hard to get through. I had to learn not to instinctively reach for Pepsi in the HUB, and the headaches were a bit annoying. I bought a Nalgene bottle of water and carried it with me so that when I was thirsty, I wasn't tempted to buy a can of pop. Things started to change. I began to feel healthier after about a week. I wasn't as sluggish or as crabby as I had expected. I wasn't chipper, but I was certainly in a better mood than I thought I'd be.

Completely opposite to what I thought would happen, I had more energy to study and get work done. I wasn't lethargic and was able to focus more when it came to writing papers. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I can give up pop -- me, the girl who depended on it to get through her 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. work shifts -- it should be easy for anyone else to give up caffeine.

I know it seems impossible to get through finals without overdosing on caffeine, but after that initial rush of caffeine energy comes the crash-and-burn period. Then you need more caffeine, and so on and so on. It's much better to cut it out of your diet completely and avoid that vicious cycle.

I performed an experiment a few days ago: I drank some Pepsi with my lunch. I felt like I was cheating on water -- but this was definitely a one-time fling. The minute the fizziness hit my teeth, it tasted even more sugary than I had remembered, and it was just, well, disgusting. I don't think I'll ever go back to pop; I'll stick with water.

So when some of you are frustrated with finals and want to pop open (no pun intended) a Red Bull, I hope you'll consider cutting caffeine from your diet completely.

It worked for me! (Insert a cheesy grin and thumbs-up here.)