Energy drinks. Good for our society or the worst drink out there on the market? On college campuses, they are especially popular to students while staying up late when coffee is just not enough.
According to potsdam.edu on health issues, “Energy drinks are merely the latest incarnation in humanity’s use of herbal stimulants to sharpen and control our society’s awareness, mood and activity level.”
“Students are always buying energy drinks during every hour of the day as well as coffee,” a Jazzman’s worker said.
At Jazzman’s, the most popular energy drink offered is Red Bull. It comes in either sugar-free or regular. The drinks are low in calories and contain many positive side effects for staying up late, similar to coffee.
In the marketplace, energy drinks are not offered, however coffee is very popular for students during their meals.
Red Bull has been tested to be able to increase performance and concentration, improve vigilance, stimulate metabolism and make the individual feel more energetic, which improves the person’s overall well-being. Red Bull also contains harmful side effects that can damage a person’s body. It can lead to an irregular heart rate and an increase in blood pressure.
The water in Red Bull comes from alpine water of the best quality, which comes from the Austrian and Swiss Alps, while the sugar is produced from sugar beet.
“I have to drink at least one Red Bull a day. It keeps me awake and alert all day, especially when I am up all night with my roommates or studying,” Adrian Prawl, junior psychology major, said.
Besides Red Bull, students utilize the popular coffee options on campus for a wake-up call in the middle of the day or simply just to stay up for that late-night homework session.
Positive side effects from coffee are that it relieves mental and physical fatigue and increases mental alertness. It has an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, basic metabolic rate and can help relax muscle tension.
Negative side effects from too much caffeine can cause an individual to form a habit. People who drink it on a regular basis and suddenly stop drinking it for a day or two can experience a horrific withdrawal.
Drinking coffee regularly can also cause damage to appearance and health. It can lead to developing yellow teeth and cavities, especially if large amounts of sugar are added to the drink.
An important factor that all students should be aware of is the danger of mixing alcohol with energy drinks.
“Energy drinks have a lot of stimulants in them like ginseng and taurine, while alcohol is a depressant, so by mixing the two you’re sending mixed messages to your nervous system which can cause cardiac related problems,” posted by pots dam.edu on health issues.
“I drink red bulls and coffee a lot especially when I know I have a huge test the next day and have to stay up all night to prepare,” Ali May, sophomore accounting and finance major, said.
The smart idea when consuming energy drinks daily is to drink in moderation. It is never a smart decision to consume too much of one product,
“Drinking more than one energy drink a week makes me get terrible headaches,” Samantha LaMaina, sophomore special education major, said.
From all the side effects from drinking coffee and Red Bull some students would ask themselves, what is the point? They do help you stay up for those last-minute and late-night study sessions. If you have to pull an all-nighter, get a good night’s sleep the night before and eat healthy foods. Having solid time management skills as well as striving to get your studying done earlier in the day can help avoid the all-nighter situation.
Your health is so much more important than staying up late and damaging your body.
