Energy drinks are becoming more popular than the regular caffeinated drinks like tea or coffee. Popular brands that are often seen around NDB are RedBull, Celsius and Alani. Some people are attracted to the taste and the energy the drink provides, and some are attracted to what the color of the can looks like, which can lure people into wanting to have a fun drink to bring them awake. While energy drinks may taste good for a little while, they can secretly be impacting your health. With how popular these drinks are, it raises the question of whether they are actually good for you.
The drinks come in a variety of flavors that could attract the person drinking the drink. Not only does the drink get consumed for its flavor and caffeine percentage, but the colors of the drink lure people’s minds into drinking a fun drink. While it may be very addictive, it can be almost too much for a teenager to handle. The high percentage of caffeine can often lead to increased anxiety or heart attacks.
Science teacher Isabelle Haithcox shared, “In fact, for health, are they bad for the performance? It depends on the student. Did it help wake them up and make them feel more energized? Maybe it helps them that way, but I worry about the level of caffeine, and all the other stimulants that are in them, and how they can affect the heart and the blood pressure.”
Energy drinks are not always the tool to help you focus during school or keep you awake throughout the day. The effects that a high amount of caffeine can bring are heart attacks, high blood pressure, anxiety and lots more. These effects can affect a number of students, but could also impact students who take medication to help focus, like ADHD medication. Medication like that is not good to mix with high doses of caffeine and can cause serious health risks. These effects don’t always take effect with everyone. Some people work well with being on caffeine and can feel just fine.
Energy drinks will start to be in appearance more often when finals come around because students tend to rely on caffeine to ‘lock in’ on studying to get the perfect score. These drinks should be used only for necessary intake and not always used on a daily basis. Students should remember that while energy drinks can help short term, moderation is key.
