Energy drinks mixed with alcohol are a dangerous combination that is popular with college-age drinkers. Energy drinks contain caffeine, often in high amounts, or other powerful stimulants such as evodamine or yohimbine, which are considered even more dangerous than caffeine, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Energy drinks mixed with alcohol, and premixed caffeinated alcoholic beverages, pose significant risks to your health and safety.
Reduced Perception of Intoxication
Drinkers who mix energy drinks and alcohol often mistakenly believe caffeine or other stimulants counteract alcohol's effects. That's just an illusion, according to University of Florida toxicology professor Bruce Goldberger. That illusion is dangerous and can lead to risk-taking behavior. Because these drinkers perceive themselves to be less drunk than they are, they drink more and become even more intoxicated than those who drink alcohol alone, according to an article by Allison Aubrey published on the NPR website.
Drunk Driving
Drinkers who combine energy drinks with alcohol are more than three times as likely to leave a bar very intoxicated and four times as likely to drive drunk, according to a study by Dennis L. Thombs and colleagues published in the journal "Addictive Behaviors." This happens because the drinkers don't perceive how intoxicated they really are, due to the effects of the stimulants. They may be more alert, but they are just as impaired and have the same performance deficits as those who drank alcohol only. The study found that drinkers who combined energy drinks with alcohol were three times as drunk as those who did not.
Binge Drinking
If you mix energy drinks with alcohol you're three times more likely to binge drink, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Binge drinking is defined as having four or more drinks in one session for females, and five or more drinks for males. Binge drinking is responsible for approximately half of all alcohol-related deaths, the CDC says.
Sexual Assault
If you mix energy drinks and alcohol, you are two times as likely to be taken advantage of sexually, or to take advantage of someone else sexually, than someone who drinks alcohol only, the CDC reports. You may be more likely to ride with a drunk driver, too. Energy drinks mixed with alcohol increase risk-taking behaviors.
Health Effects
If you drink alcohol combined with energy drinks you may experience a rapid or irregular heartbeat, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Energy drinks usually contain high levels of caffeine or powerful herbal stimulants, and most are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The stimulants in energy drinks cause your body to become stressed and release stored chemicals that affect the heart. The long term affects of mixing a depressant, alcohol, with the stimulants found in energy drinks is, as yet, unknown.
References
- American College of Sports Medicine: College Athletes Take Risks with Alcohol and Energy Drinks
- Addicitve Behaviors: Event-Level Analyses of energy drink consumption and Alcohol Intoxication in Bar Patrons
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverages
- NPR: Caffeine and Alcohol Just Make a Wide-Awake Drunk
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