The Misleading Mix

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Western Daily Student Newspaper

Red Bull, Monster, Rock Star. More than likely, one of these energy drinks have helped you pull off an all nighter to study for that big test or to finish twenty pages due the next day. Another use of these drinks that has turned the energy drink business into a $5 billion a year market, is the mixing of these drinks with alcohol, such as the well known "Jager Bomb". This has lead to a misconception that alcohol and caffeine block each other out.

To debunk this misconception, we must look at the basic function of alcohol and caffeine on the brain.

Caffeine keeps a person alert and awake. But why? Normally, when we get sleepy, the neurotransmitter adenosine is at work. Adenosine inhibits the release of two other neurotransmitters (dopamine and acetylelcholine) that play a role in keeping us awake and alert. Caffeine prevents adenosine from activating, allowing one to fight off that drowsy feeling.

Alcohol on the other hand, affects a different set of neurotransmitters. Alcohol elongates the effects of the neurotransmitter GABA, which decreases brain activity. Alcohol also affects the neurotransmitter glutamate, which is an excitatory neurotransmitter that increases brain activity. This combination produces the sleepy feeling or drowsiness from drinking alcohol. Alcohol causes these effects in the parts of the brain responsible for inhibiting risky behavior.

So what is the overall effect of these drinks? The effect can best be described by Dr. Mary Claire O'Brien of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who says that mixing the caffeine of energy drinks with alcohol is like "getting into a car and stepping on the gas pedal and the brake at the same time. " It tricks the brain into thinking that you're not as drunk as you are because the stimulant (caffeine) overcomes the sedating effects of the depressant (alcohol). This leads to a wide awake drunk state.

The effects of this can be seen in a study done at the University of Florida. Researchers went to popular bars and clubs and randomly interviewed 800 college-age patrons as they left. The results:

- those who had been drinking energy drinks mixed with alcohol were three times more likely to leave highly intoxicated and four times more likely to intend to drive than bar patrons who had been drinking only alcohol.

- the respondents that ingested caffeine with their alcohol were also less likely to notice that their motor skills and vision were impaired.

University of Florida Study: energy drinks, liquor are a bad mix