A growing body of research suggests that energy drinks, often consumed out of habit to stay awake, may instead feed a vicious cycle that worsens sleep deprivation. People who sleep less tend to reach more often for drinks containing caffeine and sugar, and the caffeine they take in to stay alert can then make it harder to fall asleep again.
Researchers at MAHSA University and the University of Malaya in Malaysia recently published a study in the international journal Nutrition and Health analyzing how often college students consume energy drinks, why they do so and how it affects their health, according to academic sources on the 4th.
The researchers systematically reviewed and conducted a meta-analysis of 58 previously published studies on energy drink consumption. They found that 49.6% of college students consume energy drinks — effectively one in two.
Consumption varied by region. It was highest among African college students at 61%, followed by Asia at 50%, North America at 47% and Europe at 37%.
Energy drink consumption has also risen rapidly in South Korea, particularly among adolescents. Researchers at Yonsei University and Wonkwang University analyzed data on 325,210 adolescents who took part in the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Youth Health Behavior Survey. The share who drank energy drinks at least three times in the previous seven days rose about fourfold, from 3.2% in 2014 to 12.2% in 2019. As of 2019, nearly half had consumed an energy drink at least once in the past week, and 5.9% drank one or more per day.
One of the most common reasons college students turn to energy drinks was to fend off drowsiness. Many also said they drink them to sharpen concentration while studying or to make up for a lack of energy. Peer influence, advertising and marketing, low prices and easy access were also cited as factors driving consumption.
But energy drinks consumed to stay awake may in turn disrupt sleep, repeating the problem.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco analyzed the sleep duration and beverage consumption habits of 18,779 adults who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They examined how many hours participants slept on average on weekdays and compared that with their intake of various drinks, including sodas, energy drinks, juices, coffee and tea.
People who slept five hours or less a day consumed 21% more caffeinated sugar-sweetened beverages than those who slept seven to eight hours. Those sleeping six hours a day drank 11% more of these beverages than the seven-to-eight-hour group.
The gap was especially pronounced for drinks containing both caffeine and sugar, such as colas and energy drinks. By contrast, no clear association was found between sleep duration and consumption of juice, tea or diet beverages.
Aric Prather, the UCSF professor who led the study, said there may be a positive feedback loop in which sugary drinks and insufficient sleep reinforce each other, and added that the findings show improving sleep could help break that cycle and reduce sugar intake.
Still, drinking sugar-sweetened beverages cannot be pinned down as a direct cause of sleep deprivation. Prather said short sleepers may seek out caffeinated sugary drinks to stay alert and fight daytime drowsiness, but it is unclear whether these drinks affect sleep patterns or whether people who sleep less simply consume more of them.
