Do you ever have trouble sleeping? Do you often feel uneasy or worried? If you drink energy drinks, that could be the reason why.
Many young adults and teenagers rely on caffeine to start or sustain them throughout the day; many get their caffeine from energy drinks. Energy drinks are extremely popular because they are so easy to access allowing you to find them at nearly any store. The affordability and convenience of such beverages contribute to their use worldwide.
This phenomenon has become routine in many people’s lives including many teenagers and even children; however, energy drinks should have no place in the diet of adolescents or children. The main reasons for this are their ingredients and harmful effects such as lack of sleep. For example, “Energy drinks on average contain 150 mg of caffeine per can”. 150 mg of caffeine is a lot more than a cup of coffee or tea and also contains way higher amounts of sugar. These high levels of sugar and caffeine should have no place in the diets of children and teens, yet “30-50% of all adolescents drink energy drinks” including many of you reading.
In many cases, energy drinks are used for an extra boost of energy for the day, but in reality, energy drinks are filled with caffeine, high amounts of sugar, and many unnatural ingredients which will create much bigger issues, making that boost of energy highly unworth it.
Stimulants in energy drinks can have harmful effects on the nervous system and may cause: dehydration, heart complications, and anxiety. So much for that “boost of energy”, maybe it’s a boost closer to death. In 2011 alone almost 1500 kids aged from 12-17 went to the emergency room for energy drink-related emergencies. Many of these emergencies are due to the stimulants in energy drinks increasing overall blood pressure, and heart rate, and even affecting breathing patterns. Yet, the dangers of energy drinks don’t stop there this is only the beginning.
You may have heard someone mention something called a “Vodka Redbull”, well if you take part in something so stupid you are asking to die. It is common knowledge that mixing energy drinks and alcohol can be dangerous (well if you have a brain), but many don’t realize how dangerous. For example, “Teens from 15-23 who mix energy drinks with alcohol are four times more likely to binge drink”. Binge drinking can lead to the result of alcohol poisoning or addiction which both can lead to death or other severe emergencies. DON’T MIX ALCOHOL AND ENERGY DRINKS.
Those who consume cans of energy drinks daily sleep half an hour less than those who never or only occasionally consume them. Sleep is crucial for growing children and teenagers, and without the proper amount of sleep, they will struggle in many ways. So if you are always drowsy, sleepy, and grouchy lay off the energy drinks and get some sleep. For something as little as energy drinks to cause so much damage to sleep habits, proves they should ultimately be avoided, especially by children and teens. Even just one serving of an energy drink a month can show harmful effects on children and teens sleeping.
The damage energy drinks have on today’s youth is severe and even scary in some ways. Energy drinks can cause severe health problems and even affect the amount of sleep a child would usually get. Yet, energy drinks keep growing in popularity as new flavors and brands emerge, becoming very dangerous when children and teens get their hands on them. While caffeine isn’t recommended for adolescents, there are more natural alternatives such as coffee, green tea, and black tea, which all have less caffeine and sugar than most energy drinks and without all the additives. Therefore there is no excuse for drinking energy drinks, and they should not remain in the diets of children and teens.
