People don’t seem to realize the potential effects of the caffeine they are consuming, said Mark Corkins, division chief of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

“Caffeine is a stimulant and people use it to ‘give them energy or help them wake up,’” said Corkins. “But that stimulant can do things. It can raise your blood pressure. It can give you a fast or irregular heartbeat.”

Energy drinks are one type of caffeinated beverage.

According to Aaron Staples, assistant professor of agricultural economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, there are no regulations on the amount of caffeine that can be in an energy drink in the United States.

“A lot of times, consumers don’t really know what 80 milligrams of caffeine means versus 120 versus 300,” said Staples. “It’s a very difficult thing to quantify.”

The American Beverage Association has specific guidelines that stop energy drink companies from targeting consumers below 18 years of age because of the health concerns associated with childhood energy drink consumption, Staples said.

According to Corkins, a study from the National Poison Control Center found that from 2017 to 2023, the number of emergency room visits for caffeine toxicity symptoms, such   as dehydration and increased heart rate, doubled for middle and high school aged children. 

“Primarily, it’s the heart,” said Corkins. “It’s their heart palpitations. If you get too much caffeine, you start having irregular heartbeats, and you have skipped beats [or] an extra beat.”

According to Ryu Takechi, associate director of research at Curtin University, one potential danger of energy drinks is their content of the amino acid taurine.

“While some studies show that it is safe to consume three grams [of taurine] per day, when it’s consumed with caffeine, the health risks arise,” said Takechi. “It quickly raises heart rate, which occasionally leads to arrhythmia. It’s also known to cause insomnia and anxiety, along with headache and tremor.”

Teenagers are more susceptible to the impacts of caffeine and taurine because their body is still in a developmental stage, Takechi said.

According to Maria Kalaitzandonakes, assistant professor of agricultural economics at the University ofIllinois Urbana-Champaign, there have been concerns from politicians and public health experts that marketing strategies, such as using candy flavors, can make energy drinks appeal to children.

“Energy drinks have appealed to a wide range of consumers, and demand is definitely going up,” Kalaitzandonakes said.

Another marketing tactic energy drink brands use is partnering with influencers.

“You’ll also see young women who are attractive, athletic, and have a broad online following of other young women promoting an energy drink brand as something that helps them lose weight or perform better in whatever exercise that they’re doing,” said Frances Fleming-Milici, director of marketing initiatives at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health.

According to Corkins, kids try to use caffeine to make up for not sleeping enough.

“Caffeine doesn’t allow your body to heal [and] it doesn’t allow your body to rest, and so it’s not a substitute for sleep,” Corkins said.

“My question is, why?” said Corkins. “Why are you drinking an energy drink? Why do you need an energy drink? … It can affect your heart rate, and it can make you anxious. It can raise your blood pressure and cause you to have tremors. You can have shaking. It can give you nausea, it can give you diarrhea, and that’s not something you need.”