The Dangers of Energy Drinks
Energy drinks are not new and in fact have been around for over 100 years—in the late 1800s, Coca-Cola was introduced as an "energy booster." Its original recipe combined the stimulants cocaine and caffeine in the form of coca leaves and kola nut extracts. That mix was changed in 1904, removing active cocaine from the mix. In coming years, additional brands of energy boosters with various stimulants would come and go.
Fast forward to the late 1980s and the launch of Red Bull in Europe.
Red Bull is credited by some with gearing up the modern energy craze, hitting the United States in 1997 with a unique marketing strategy that targeted sleep-deprived and party-hearty university students and offered them free products to fuel their college parties. It wasn't long before vodka became the favored Red Bull mixer.
Young adults may have started the trend of mixing energy drinks with liquor to get a buzz that keeps going all night, but the fad has gone mainstream, with bars and restaurants offering up their own versions of extremely sweet, highly caffeinated elixirs.
According to health experts, some of these fizzy, boozy mixes should come with a warning label.
It goes without saying that guzzling caffeine-spiked beverages for hours will keep you tossing and turning when you should be getting all-important restorative sleep. In the short term, that caffeine-fueled lack of sleep can leave you groggy and puffy-eyed, and over time sleep deprivation can cause serious side effects, including mood disorders. In fact, too much caffeine alone may put you at risk for conditions like anxiety, headache and depression.
