In a world constantly being influenced by any income of energy boosts, also comes an unethical mindset of what caffeine truly is. Caffeine can be an energy surge during times of low power and laziness. Caffeine acts as a booster to our blood levels, increasing blood pressure. High caffeine can trigger adrenaline release, which causes dangerous palpitations. So that exciting feeling and sudden boost of adrenaline you receive when you have an energy drink is really something different happening to your body.

As consumers, we only read and listen to what these drinks can offer us. The effects of these drinks, ignoring almost completely that most of these cans use stimulant combinations like guarana, taurine, and ginseng that all amplify the effects of caffeine. We miss the fact that these drinks help with low focus and can be a great and accessible source of stamina, but nearly kill us with sugar and the stimulants within them. So when these drinks get into the hands of the younger generation, we’re actually causing more harm than good.

With the popularity of energy drinks, the question of whether consuming these beverages is associated with mental health issues raises researchers’ curiosity. One research team at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research asked soldiers about energy drink consumption and their mental health issues, connecting the two: “Depression and sleep problems, increased aggression, anxiety, substance abuse, things like that. All of those are risk factors associated with drinking excessive =amounts of energy drinks.”

For teenagers, the effects can be even more severe on our mental health. With students already facing academic pressure, lack of sleep, and societal expectations, the need to consume more endurance consumes our minds more than knowing the consequences of these drinks. Only adding more caffeine to our lives messes with the anxiety and the sleep deprivation. The excessive sugar and caffeine cause rapid blood sugar spikes, which trigger jitters, heart issues, and anxiety. This cycle creates a dangerous pattern in which the younger generation is relying on energy drinks just to keep up with daily demands.

Gwendy Considine, a fellow senior at Cathedral, shared what situations make her feel the need to grab an energy drink: “Most cases, I’ll drink one before school or before I go out to stay energized for the rest of the day.” I followed up by asking how much academic pressure and stress influence her energy intake, “whenever I feel my to-do list is causing stress on me or I don’t know how I’m gonna handle everything, these energy boosts make me more productive. Sometimes it does cause me to be antsy or slightly fidgety, but I usually assume that’s the rush going through me.”

Many people don’t realize how quickly these drinks can turn into a constant habit and eventually an addiction. The more we start to rely on caffeine, the more our bodies will stop acting normally when off it. Over time, this can lead to feeling tired without it or, even worse, blood pressure and heart problems. This creates a cycle that is hard to break and impacts both physical and mental health.

Another factor that has been proven to rise due to the consumption of energy drinks is increased release of cortisol and stress. These create changes in cognitive performance, “Both glucose and caffeine consumed in isolation have been shown to moderate cortisol response and affect cognitive performance and affect mood,” states researchers from PubMed. The higher the cortisol levels the more stress gets released in everyday situations. Students may feel more anxious during tests, and these drinks can lead to irritability or trouble focusing.

Knowing what goes into these beverages and how they affect our bodies is only the first step to decreasing our intake of energy. University hospitals have provided four healthier alternatives to energy drinks, such as switching from these sugary drinks to a tall drink of water. Another option is catching up on sleep: “Lack of sleep is an important contributor to fatigue and leads to the use of energy drinks to compensate.” Fueling our bodies with healthy meals and exercise is another essential option to try.

Unlike these drinks, these provide long-term benefits and overall help your body. These lead to more consistent energy rather than a short outburst of alertness.

While energy drinks may seem like the easier alternative choice, they are only temporary and can cause more damage to our bodies than good. Finding alternatives like sleeping, eating better, working out, and even drinking more water all help in the long run to address the lack of energy we crave. From increased heart rate to rising anxiety levels, these sugary drinks prove more consequences of their use than the claims on the label. It’s important to be aware of what goes into our bodies, and breaking that cycle of unnecessary stress and anxiety from a temporary boost can fill our bodies with nutritious energy instead.