A common theme I see amongst many of my peers is the constant consumption of energy drinks. Common brands I see are Monster, Red Bull, Celsius, Reign, and C4 Energy. I also used to frequently drink Monsters and Red Bulls. Nowadays I started drinking energy drinks way less because I started to realize how it started to affect my body and mind.
After doing some research and even experimenting with some theories of mine, I have come to the conclusion that energy drinks do more harm to both your physical and mental health than people are willing to admit. There also seems to be a lot of stigma and exaggerations about the “horror” of energy drinks. I have also found interesting research about the truth of these acclaimed “horrors”.
First of all, I’d like to state the obvious.
Energy Drinks kill your sleep schedule. Over the school year, when I had to crunch a lot of work in the afternoon, I would maybe drink a Monster or a Redbull that I had bought at the 7/11 across the street. I wouldn’t really feel the acclaimed “rush of energy” that many people talk about, and afterward, it would feel like I wouldn’t be able to even close my eyes when I was trying to sleep.
But it’s not just me who’s making these claims. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) supports how Insomnia after energy drink consumption is a very common side effect. Now, the side effects of lack of sleep should be known by almost every high school student by now (such as lack of focus, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, etc.), but these risks alone are pretty serious health concerns just for a quick boost of energy.
Another major health risk the CDC also exclaims is potential heart complications. The amount of sugar and caffeine, as well as the excessive use of vitamins, can cause blood pressure to rise causing blood circulation to either increase or decrease by a lot. This can create a bigger chance for very serious health issues like heart attacks, and aneurysms, and cause damage to other organs like kidneys and the liver.
Now, there is something that the CDC tends to get wrong. The CDC claims “In 2011, 1,499 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years went to the emergency room for an energy drink related emergency.” Now, doing the research, in 2011 this was true. However, according to GEG Research and Counseling (a caffeine-science-based website), a lot of these hospitalizations include the involvement of other substances (i.e drugs and alcohol), and other cases involve the excessive consumption of energy drinks (like having multiple drinks within a short period of time), and too much of anything can be bad for you.
Now, if I were to give a final verdict:
No, energy drinks won’t kill or hospitalize you as long as you don’t drink a lot of them at once or mix them with other substances.
However:
I also can’t really say it’s 100% safe. The health risks are very apparent with only a quick Google search showing all the proof you’ll need. So in my opinion after looking at multiple sources and using my personal experience, next time you want a quick energy boost, consider the situation and if you still really want an energy drink, drink them sparingly.
