It starts with a sip. Then another, and before you know it, that fizzy energy drink is pulsing through your veins, helping you push through that 3 pm slump or last-minute deadline. However, while your productivity may get a temporary high, your mental health could be quietly waving a red flag.
Energy drinks, often loaded with caffeine, sugar, and stimulants like guarana and taurine, are marketed as brain boosters—but their impact on mental well-being tells a different story. According to Harvard Health Publishing, high doses of caffeine can lead to restlessness, nervousness, and insomnia, especially when consumed in large quantities or too late in the day.
And it’s not just jitters. A 2022 review published in Frontiers in Public Health links excessive energy drink consumption to increased anxiety, stress, and even depressive symptoms. For people already prone to mental health struggles, these fizzy fixes might stir the pot more than soothe it.
Even worse, the inevitable crash, once that caffeine and sugar wear off, can leave you feeling more exhausted and irritable than before. Add in disrupted sleep patterns (2 am overthinking) and you’ve got a recipe for emotional whiplash.
The South African Journal of Psychiatry also highlights how younger consumers, particularly students, tend to rely heavily on energy drinks during exams, often neglecting sleep, hydration, and balanced nutrition in the process. The result? Burnout dressed up as productivity.
Of course, enjoying the occasional can won’t send your mental health into a spiral, but if your go-to solution for fatigue is always caffeinated and carbonated, it might be time to reconsider. Sometimes, what your brain really needs is a nap, a walk in fresh air, or just a slower pace—not another buzz in a can.
Your energy is precious—spend it wisely.
Also see: Who should consider the MERIT therapy
