Many students have started to rely on energy drinks to make it through their day in order to make up for a lack of energy.
Energy drinks contain high amounts of caffeine and sugar leading to multiple health risks for teenagers. The drinks are dangerous because students are easily addicted to them once they try them. The more teenagers drink caffeinated drinks, the more dependent they become on caffeine in order to stay awake during the day.
“I drink energy drinks because they are able to keep me awake and they make up for the sleep I don’t get,” freshman Melanie Du said. “They are definitely addicting and I’ve noticed that I’m more dependent on having caffeine or energy drinks to stay awake.
Though energy drinks provide a lot of energy, they are addicting for most people. Moreover, drinking excessive amounts can increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
“I think they can be addictive, depending on the person, but they’re not for me personally,” senior Autumn Sou. “I don’t think I would stop drinking them solely because [they are unhealthy] since I still maintain a decently healthy lifestyle, but if I did want to stop, I would probably just switch to more natural alternatives of caffeine.”
Nurse Kelly Kim stresses that students use energy drinks in responsible amounts as she has encountered several students who were experiencing dizziness with extremely high heart rates because they drank too many energy drinks. She also advises students on how to handle addiction to energy drinks.
“Energy drinks have very high content of caffeine which is not good for people in general but especially for adolescents,” Kim said. “I’ve seen kids drink lots of energy drinks and it makes their heart beat really fast, causing them to be jittery and get dizzy. If you feel that you don’t have control over your caffeine intake, you should talk to an adult for help because eventually you’ll have to wean it off and find more natural means of caffeine.”
