By Nick Cherico | Assistant Editor
Almost every college student knows what it’s like to be a little sleep deprived. The countless hours of school, work, and trying to maintain a social life can begin to take a toll on you after a while. To boost energy and performance, some people like to drink coffee, use energy boosters, or consume energy drinks.
While energy drinks can give you that boost you need to get through the day, they also can bring a various amount of health risks. According to a study done by Longwood University, “Energy drinks have been found to increase headaches, migraines, insomnia, and type II Diabetes.” Energy drinks, such as Monster Energy, also contain caffeine, which can cause dehydration when overused. Dehydration can cause the jitters, anxiety, and irritability.
According to the study, a large energy drink can fill your body with up to 294 mg of caffeine, and they contain a significantly larger amount of sugar in comparison to a cup of coffee. Sugar and caffeine levels vary based on the brand of the drink.
Energy drinks also contain stimulants such as taurine, ephedrine, guarana, and ginseng. These stimulants are used to accelerate the effects of sugar and caffeine. This is a problem because these stimulants can cause your body to overwork, and ultimately lead your body to crash, or grab another energy drink.
Micah Clark, a student at the Mount, has been drinking Monster dating back to his days in high school. “It’s like candy for me,” stated Clark.
Clark usually drinks coffee and tea, but because of the long days spent at school, he tends to lean on energy drinks a bit more during the fall and spring. Knowing the risks that come with energy drinks, Clark only has one drink per day. He tries to make the drink last all day, so he doesn’t have to drink more than one.
Clark stated that he might be able to link headaches he has experienced with the consumption of energy drinks. He believes that drinking energy drinks while already having a headache or migraine can only increase those effects. Therefore, he tries to limit himself.
When asked why Clark prefers Monster over other energy drinks, he stated that he prefers the wide variety of flavors that it provides. Other energy drinks that Clark falls on include Rockstar, NOS, and Full Throttle.
Clark also stated that there is a noticeable difference in all the different kinds of energy drinks. This difference is based on the different levels of caffeine and sugar that each drink contains. In Rockstar specifically, he stated that the fruit punch flavored drink is much more powerful than the regular flavored drink.
At MWCC, energy drinks such as Monster Energy are one of the school’s top sellers. According to Lynne Francoise, Dining Services Manager at the college, the school goes through 8-12 cases of Monster a week. That’s about 96-144 cans. The closest beverage to it in comparison to sales is water.
The main demographic of students purchasing Monster fall into the age range of 18-25 years old, according to Francoise. These sales have increased with the recent introduction of the new purple Monster Energy drink.
Francoise stated that “We make every effort to sell what customers want, while promoting healthy choices.” She also stated that the school offers a wide variety of choices for people to make their own decisions based on personal preference. She recommends drinking water as a healthier alternative.
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