Energy Drinks can Cause Insomnia, Anxiety: Study

Intake of energy drinks affects your sleep and also causes nervousness, according to a study.

Caffeinated energy drinks and sodas contain high levels of sugar and calories that give energy and boost performance. Hence, athletes and sport players drink them very often. But, Spanish experts from the Camilo Jose Cela University in Spain suggest people should limit their intake of such drinks  as they contribute to insomnia and nervousness.

For the research, they examined the after effects of consuming these drinks on athletes and those who actively played football, basketball, rugby and volley ball. Each participant either received three cans of energy drinks or a placebo.

It was observed the overall performance improved from 3 to 7 percent in subjects who were given energy drinks. However, they also experienced negative effects like sleeplessness and hyper excitability or anxiety, reports the Consumer Affairs.

"'Athletes felt they had more strength, power and resistance with the energy drink than with the placebo drink. However, the energy drinks increased the frequency of insomnia, nervousness and the level of stimulation in the hours following the competition," said Juan Del Coso Garrigas, study author and researcher at the Camilo Jose Cela University, reports the IANS.

In addition, the authors say many commercially sold energy drinks also contain nutritive ingredients like taurine, vitamins and carbohydrates. These elements are added in very small amounts and hardly make any difference. Caffeine content in sodas and drinks does not provide energy but boosts stimulation causing an 'energizing effect'.  

More information is available online in the British Journal of Nutrition.