The effects of energy drinks on health

The more energy drinks you consume, the fewer hours you sleep at night. This is the result of a Norwegian study of more than 50,000 people between the ages of 18 and 35, which showed that even occasional consumption can increase the risk of health problems.

Energy drinks contain an average caffeine content of 150 mg per liter as well as sugar, vitamins, minerals and amino acids in varying amounts.

Advertising positions them as a way to improve physical and mental health, which may be why they are so popular with young students. In fact, a study was published in the journal last November Seeks found that nearly 60% of young adults and adolescents worldwide have consumed energy drinks at some point; a fact that worries experts, especially when combined with alcohol.

Over the years there have been several studies that have attempted to demonstrate the risks involved. A new article written in Norway and published in the magazine BMJ openlinks energy drink consumption to poor sleep quality and insomnia in university students.

The results, based on data from 53,266 people aged 18 to 35 from the latest student health and wellbeing study (SHOT22 study), showed that the more frequently they consumed, the fewer hours they slept at night. “Even small amounts of drinking (one to three times a month) can be linked to the quality and quantity of sleep.“ explains Siri Kaldenbach, lead author and researcher at Innlandet Hospital in Norway.

How energy drinks affect sleep

To understand which aspects of sleep were more or less affected, students were asked how often they drank energy drinks and what their daily activities were like: when they went to bed and when they woke up, or how long it took until they fell asleep.

Sleep efficiency was then calculated based on total hours of sleep per night and time spent in bed.

Differences between men and women

The survey responses show clear gender differences in consumer behavior. For example, women are more likely than men to say they never or almost never drink energy drinks: 50% versus 40%. Of those who reported drinking these beverages, 5.5% reported drinking them four to six times a week, and just over 3% reported drinking them every day. The corresponding values ​​are 8 and 5%, respectively.

However, a clear dose-response relationship between energy drink consumption and shorter sleep time was observed in both sexes. When reporting daily consumption, both men and women slept about half an hour less than participants who consumed occasionally or not at all.

Similar associations were observed for waking after sleep onset and delayed sleep onset.
Therefore, higher consumption is associated with an increase in both the time spent awake at night and the time needed to fall asleep, i.e. lower sleep efficiency.

Insomnia problems

Energy drinks

Insomnia was also more common among women and men who consumed these drinks daily than among those who consumed them occasionally or not at all: 51% vs. 33% (them) and 37% vs. 22% (them). Overall, higher energy drink consumption was associated with a higher risk of sleep problems in all aspects examined, with the strongest association observed with sleep duration.

Compared to those who reported not drinking energy drinks or only drinking them occasionally, men who reported drinking them daily were more than twice as likely as women to sleep less than 6 hours per night were 87% more likely to sleep less than 6 hours per night. of probabilities.

Our aim is to at least inform the consumer that drinking large quantities is not conducive to sleep and that students may want to be a little careful when drinking these drinks, as other studies from other countries on the same topic confirm.”adds Kaldenbach.

Limitations of the study

Since this is an observational study, no conclusions can be drawn about the cause. However, the researchers believe that their results show a strong connection between the frequency of energy drink consumption and various sleep parameters.

Identifying modifiable risk factors for sleep problems in college students is critical, and our results suggest that frequency of use may be a potential target for intervention.“, state the authors.

We believe this finding could have implications for other countries, as energy drinks are very popular worldwide, as other studies have shown.“, Kaldenbach concluded.

Reference:

Kaldenbach S, et al. “Energy drink consumption and sleep parameters among college and university students: a national cross-sectional study.” BMJ open 2024.

Funding: Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services.

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