What do you typically reach for when you feel that midday slump creeping up on you? Or when you have to write a paper for school and you just need a little more juice to stay awake? Apparently about a third of teens and young adults would reach for their favorite energy drink but this habit might not be as harmless as once believed.
Energy drinks are typically a mix of water, tons of sugar, and a huge serving of caffeine. They often have a medley of herbs and vitamins as well, though most haven’t been officially approved to improve performance. The trouble with these drinks is that they actually tend to incorporate some of the worst parts of other popular beverages. For example, we’ve talked about the effect of the large amount of caffeine in coffee on the body and the brain. Coffee contains about 60 - 80mg of caffeine. It can contain more if you get that extra shot of espresso which adds as much as 65mg more. In comparison, it’s not uncommon for an energy drink to have 200-350mg of caffeine. A few have even more caffeine and unlike coffee, it’s pretty common for energy drinks to be purchased by the case and consumed similar to soda. Imagine downing two or three of these in one evening! Some of you probably don’t have to. You’ve been there, done that.
Well, caffeine contributes to a myriad of health issues such as insomnia, anxiety and even hearth complications. The halflife of caffeine is 6 hours so drinking one of these drinks in the afternoon means you will still have a shot of espresso’s worth of caffeine in your system by the time you are ready for bed. Drink two and you will still have a similar amount of caffeine when you wake up the next day! It’s easy to see how this might cause issues with your sleep and exacerbate all the issues caffeine is known for.
Ironically, these drinks are also thought to cause dehydration. Caffeine encourages the body to expel water and on top of that, energy drinks contain a ton of sugar. Unless you are chasing these drinks with a ton of water, it won’t be long until you end up depleted.
Speaking of sugar, energy drinks tend to contain even more sugar than your typical soda. This is truly wild as many sodas contain 30 to 35mg of sugar per can! Energy drinks often contain 40mg or more. Just like pop, all the issues of drinking sugar are kicked up a notch in your average energy drink.
The effects of all of these components are even more potent for kids and teens. Despite this companies tend to market directly and heavily to this demographic. The fact that a couple of teens have had heart attacks linked directly to energy drinks is not slowing that practice down so it’s important to educate those around you on the risks and dangers and to plan accordingly when shopping for your next pick-me-up.