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Dallas Vaughn

Mr. Cummings-Peterson

English 10/Period 5

12 Nov. 2019

How Energy Drinks Affect the Body

Davis Cripes was a healthy teenage boy, but when he got to art class, he collapsed on the

floor. By the time school ended, he was dead. Just 2 hours before, he downed an energy drink,

which caused a caffeine induced heart attack (Wootson). Unfortunately, this kid is not the only

one to have side effects from energy drinks. A survey done by Chapman University showed that

40 percent of teens, aged 13-19, reported a harmful side effects while drinking energy drinks

including abdominal pain, insomnia, difficulty breathing, headaches, seizures, and many more

(“Energy”). These side effects show that energy drinks do something harmful to the body. Even

though 40 percent is less than half of teens, it is the amount of teens that drink energy drinks that

make that number so threatening. In 2016, teens consumed 16.3 billion dollars worth of energy

drinks (Lohmann). This shows that there are many teens drinking energy drinks, and 40 percent

of those teens have some sort of side effect. Both pieces of evidence above show that energy

drinks are bad for the body, but they are bad for 3 three main reasons. Energy drinks are bad for

the body because it affects blood pressure, affects electrical signals, and damages the brain.

One of the ways energy drinks affect the body is by raising someone’s blood pressure. A

study composed of 34 volunteers drank either an energy drink or a placebo with an equal amount

of caffeine. The results found that both the placebo drink and the energy drink increased blood

pressure, but the energy drink had people’s blood pressure raised for six hours. In other words,
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energy drinks raise blood pressure more than a drink with equal caffeine. (“Energy Drinks

Linked”). This means that caffeine combined with other ingredients in energy drinks increases

blood pressure. And for those who are not as accustomed to caffeine, blood pressure can rise

even double (Klien). Or in other words, the effects of energy drinks are higher for those who just

began to drink energy drinks. To summarize, energy drinks raise blood pressure to a higher than

normal rate, and raises it even higher if someone is not used to the caffeine.

However, energy drinks can also affect the heart’s electrical activity. The same study

mentioned in the above paragraph tested the heart’s electrical activity too. The results showed

that for those who drank the energy drink, their heart’s electrical activity was faster than those

who drank the placebo. This can result in arrhythmia, or irregular beating in the heart (“Energy

Drinks”). These effects are life threatening, and will cause serious damage to the heart. An

example of such damage if from a 17 year old male. His artery muscles tightened, which

restricted blood flow to his body and heart. This resulted in a STEMI, or a heart attack in one of

the arteries (Higgins). This is only one of the few examples with cardiovascular problems from

energy drinks. So in short, energy drinks can affect the way the heart beats which can cause

serious damage, or even death.

One of the final ways energy drinks damage the body is through the brain. According to

Dr. Reto Huber, a sleep expert at the University of Zurich, caffeine impacts the brain during

development by disrupting the formation of connections and synapses (Krans). In other words,

caffeine affects the developing brain by preventing signals to be sent throughout the brain.

However, developmental issues are not the only neurological effect of energy drinks. Seizures

are the most common neurological effect, but aggression, suicidal thoughts, and psychotic
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agitation are also present. This could be because ingredients like caffeine and taurine are known

psychoactive agents (“Effects”). These combined side effects can be harmful, and lead to risky

behavior. In short, energy drinks damage the brain by disrupting development, and by causing

risky neurological side effects, like suicidal thoughts.

However, coffee has more caffeine than energy drinks do. A typical cup of coffee has

around 330 mg of caffeine, while energy drinks only have around 160 mg (“Get”). This should

mean that energy drinks are even less of a threat than coffee is. However, there are a few reasons

why this is irrelevant. First of all, coffee has years of research to make sure it is safe to consume,

while energy drinks have very little research behind them. Also, energy drinks have more

ingredients that can cause different effects together. Lastly, coffee is normally sipped, while

energy drinks are drank like any other drink (Kallmyer).

With all of these factors in mind, caffeine is not the source of danger, but all of the

ingredients in energy combined are. Therefore, although energy drinks have less caffeine than

coffee does, that is not what makes energy drinks harmful.

Davis Cripes downed an energy drink, which caused a caffeine induced heart attack

(Wootson). Unfortunately, many more have been victim to this fate as well. One of the ways

energy drinks affect the body is by raising someone’s blood pressure. However, energy drinks

can also affect the heart’s electrical activity. One of the final ways energy drinks damage the

body is through the brain. Energy drinks are on the rise in popularity, and people often drink

them without realizing the side effects they cause. This needs to change. Energy drinks cause

harm to the body in multiple ways without people realizing. People need to know how harmful
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energy drinks actually are. Overall, energy drinks are unsafe to drink because of the effects it has

on the body.
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Works Cited

“Effects of energy drinks on the cardiovascular system.” ncbi, NCBI, 26 Nov. 2017,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5714807/. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.

“Energy Drink Use in Teens has Adverse Effects.”sciencedaily, sciencedaily, 24 January

2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180124111236.htm. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

“Energy Drinks Linked to More Heart, Blood Pressure Changes than Caffeinated Drinks

Alone.” heart.org, American Heart Association, 6 Apr. 2017,

newsroom.heart.org/news/energy-drinks-linked-to-more-heart-blood-pressure-changes-than-caff

einated-drinks-alone. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.

“Energy Drinks May Provide Jolt to Heart, Blood Pressure.” heart.org, American Heart

Association, 29 May 2019,

www.heart.org/en/news/2019/05/29/energy-drinks-may-provide-jolt-to-heart-function-blood-pre

ssure. Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.

“Get the Facts.” energydrinkinformation, Ameribev,

www.energydrinkinformation.com/get-the-facts/. Accessed 18 Nov. 2019.

Higgins, John. “Stimulant-Containing Energy Drinks.” acc, American College of

Cardiology, 28 Feb. 2018,

www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2018/02/28/10/46/stimulant-containing-energy-drinks.

Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.

Kallmyer, Ted. “The Coffee and Energy Drink Double Standard.” caffeineinformer,

Caffeine Informer, 1 October 2018,

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www.caffeineinformer.com/the-coffee-and-energy-drink-double-standard. Accessed 9 Nov.

2019.

Klien, Tracy. “Energy Drinks Raise Resting Blood Pressure, Dramatic In Those Not

Used To Caffeine.” mayoclinic, Mayo Clinic, 13 March 2015,

newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/energy-drinks-raise-resting-blood-pressure-with-effect-

most-dramatic-in-those-not-used-to-caffeine-mayo-clinic-research-shows/. Accessed 10 Nov.

2019.

Krans, Brian. “How Caffeine Harms Teen Brains.” healthline, Healthline, 25 Sep. 2013,

www.healthline.com/health-news/children-how-caffeine-harms-the-developing-brain-092513#1.

Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.

Lohmann, Raychelle. “Teens and Energy Drinks: a Potentially Dangerous Combination.”

usnews, U.S.News, 6 Jun. 2018,

health.usnews.com/wellness/for-parents/articles/2018-06-06/teens-and-energy-drinks-a-potentiall

y-dangerous-combination. Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.

Wootson, Cleve. “A teen chugged a latte, a Mountain Dew and an energy drink. The

caffeine binge led to his death.” washingtonpost, The Washington Post, 16 May 2017,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/05/16/a-teen-chugged-a-latte-a-mountai

n-dew-and-an-energy-drink-the-caffeine-binge-led-to-his-death/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2019.