His family calls him the “Caffeine Addict.”
That’s because he drinks four energy drinks a day.
“For the taste,” Garcia said explaining why he drinks them.
Garcia, the second-year student, is among 51% of college students consuming energy drinks, according to a statistic from the Nutrition Journal.
“When I’m studying, I’m definitely gonna drink maybe six or seven in one day,” he stated.
For students, energy drinks are a quick way to get energy but did you know that it can affect your overall health.
“If you drink an excessive amount, then you can get a fast heart pace and possibly lead to some complications,” Garcia said.
According to Garcia, he explains that energy drinks can affect mental health because of the amount of caffeine.
“It depends, because when I drink like maybe four or five, I can sometimes feel a little more erratic,” Garcia said. “So you kind of get paranoid very much, at least for me, I feel like I get paranoid a lot. That kind of works for me in some situations, but in a lot of situations that can be unhealthy.”
Garcia doesn’t drink coffee because it doesn’t give him the energy that he needs.
“It doesn’t do anything for me. It tastes good, but it doesn’t do anything for me,” he commented.
Garcia mentions that he feels fatigued when he doesn’t have an energy drink for the day.
“I just feel tired. I don’t feel as erratic, but I don’t feel like I can. I really could function without it,” the second year student stated.
He stated that students should be careful with their caffeine consumption because it can lead to health complications.
“Definitely, because if you drink an excessive amount, you can get a fast heart pace and possibly lead to some complications,” Garcia said.
He explains how energy drinks affect the body which is how the heart functions.
“Well, it definitely affects me. Too many can definitely affect the way your heart is beating and if you have any other complications, you might be at risk of a heart attack,” Garcia explained.
Biology professor Farah Bennani gave her thoughts on how energy drinks cause anxiety. She explains that caffeine can cause stress and agitation.
“Identify what is a stressful moment when it happens, or what is a stressful situation, and if they can, sometimes we cannot remove ourselves. The more we identify and the more we can control, this leads to more agitation because of the caffeine content,” Bennani explained.
According to Bennani, she mentions Red Bull and the harmful ingredients that they have.
“I give the example of Red Bull. It contains a high quantity of caffeine,” she said. “They contain chemicals and they’re harmful.”
