Tiredness creeps in as students walk the halls. A single click sounds as a can is opened. After drinking a couple sips, they wait for

the caffeine to do its job.

Energy drinks are growing more prevalent among teenagers as a solution for exhaustion, but the negative side effects are not

being acknowledged to the extent they should be.Many companies tend to have vitamins and supplements on labels that are pleasing at first glance to people. For example, Red Bull, Monster, Alani, Rockstar and Ghost all say they have B vitamins in them that make people think they’re healthier than they are.

“Other additives, like amino acids, Turene, sugars and other vitamins are already in our daily diet. We get all that we need and we

don’t need extra,” district nurse Shauna Rawlinson said. “We’re getting up to 5,000 percent extra from those drinks. There is such a thing as too much and it isn’t a good thing.”

FDA warns to “Be aware of how much caffeine is in “energy drinks.” …Generally energy drinks have a wide range of 54 to 328

milligrams of caffeine per 16 fluid ounces.” Caffeine is an addictive substance that many teenagers have depended on to get through their day. Many drinks have around 200 milligrams, significantly more than the average cup of coffee.

“I say I kind of do [rely on them,]” freshman Huxley Peterson said. “I can go without them but it makes life easier for me to go with

them. …It’s something you don’t want to say, you know, but I would consider it an addiction.”

FDA does not have a regulation specific to “energy drinks” but they also estimate toxic effects, like seizures, can happen with rapid

consumption of around 1,200 milligrams of caffeine, or less than half a teaspoon of pure caffeine.

Common side effects of over consumption can cause increased heart rate, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, anxiety, sleep

problems, digestive problems and dehydration. Although many students don’t see the harm, there are real dangers with drinking so much caffeine.

“It takes 50 years to find out how bad or good something is for us and we’re in maybe year 25 of energy drinks,” Rawlinson said.

While energy drinks have only been around for 60 years, for over the past 100 years, the main cause of death has been due to

some form of heart problem.

“The number one killer is heart disease, and that’s before energy drinks,” Rawlinson said.

In a recent NS Times survey, the results showed 38 percent of students have at least one to two energy drinks a week with 62

percent of the school never having any at all. Though the majority of NS students don’t drink energy drinks, those who do usually drink a lot.

           “I think it plays into addiction that people become reliant on it,” senior Braden Palmer said. “Once you have it for so long, your body becomes numb to it and then you just need more and more.”