The Hawk

Issue date: 12/1/06 Section: Features

An increasingly popular means of getting drunk while staying within budget for college students is mixing or chasing alcohol with an energy drink, such as Red Bull or Monster. For those who opt not to drink beer, this combination provides one with a cheap method to achieve a state of inebriation and eliminate fatigue while partying all at once. What many people do not stop to think about is the dangers the two opposing substances can cause. Alcohol is a depressant that slows down brain activity and effects mood. Energy drinks are stimulants containing large amounts of caffeine and sugar that provide the body with a boost of energy. When the two are combined together, the depressant and the stimulant are almost at a tug of war as they send the body mixed signals, which, when sent to the nervous system can cause heart problems and other health risks, like palpitations. The high volume of caffeine causes blood pressure and heart rate to increase rapidly, and when alcohol is added into the mix, the likelihood of problems with heart rhythm rises. The drink, however, is appealing to people for the reason that the energy boost can allow one to party longer and drink higher volumes of alcohol. Though a feeling of augmented alertness may occur, the alcohol is still having the same effects it would otherwise, and simply makes the body feel less drunk than it is in actuality. The masking of fatigue takes away the body's natural indicator to stop alcohol consumption. When the body becomes weary and exhausted, that is its natural way of indicating it has had enough alcohol put in its system. To ignore this signal by making tiredness, and continue to drink puts the body in danger.

Alcohol-energy drink combination also increases the severity of a hangover and danger of dehydration. Alcohol causes dehydration and energy drinks causes the body to lose water, so when put together the body is losing water at a rate two fold. Dehydration is one of the sources of a hangover, and losing double the amount of water from drinking a mixed drink of alcohol and an energy drink will in turn create a worse hangover. It is important to know how dangerous the combination of caffeine and alcohol is because a Red Bull and vodka drink effects perception of drunkenness, while causing more damage to the body.

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