NEW YORK, Jan 28 — Not recommended for minors — and even banned for sale to children in some countries — energy drinks are regularly singled out for their harmful effects on health. After being linked to an increased risk of heart disease and mental health issues, they are now implicated in certain sleep disorders, even when consumed on an occasional basis.

The impact of energy drinks on health is increasingly well-documented, with several studies highlighting their harmful effects on the risk of heart disease, mental health issues and behavioural disorders. As such, public health authorities are particularly concerned about their role in the diets of young people. A new study by Norway-based researchers reveals that energy drinks are associated with poor sleep quality, and even insomnia, among students. The more they consume, the fewer hours of sleep they get, but even the occasional can is linked to heightened risk of disturbed sleep.

Thirty minutes less sleep

More than 53,000 adults aged 18 to 35 from a large-scale survey on the health and well-being of students in Norway took part in the research. The authors asked them questions about the frequency with which they consumed energy drinks, the times at which they got up and went to bed, the sleep difficulties they might encounter, and the number of hours of sleep they got each night. The researchers point out that this was an observational study, based not on objective measurements but on self-reporting, which does not allow “firm conclusions to be drawn,” but they do suggest that energy drink consumption could lead to an increased risk of sleep disorders in students.

Published in the BMJ Open journal, their research indicates that daily consumption of energy drinks — not to be confused with sports drinks — leads to a 30-minute reduction in sleep compared to occasional or no consumption. In addition, the researchers report nighttime wakings and difficulty in falling asleep with this frequency of consumption. The same is true of insomnia, which is more frequent among those who report drinking energy drinks every day. Importantly, an increased risk of disturbed sleep was also observed among participants who drank energy drinks only one to three times a month.

“The results from the current study show that there is a robust association between the frequency of [energy drink] consumption and the different sleep parameters. Identifying modifiable risk factors for sleep problems among college and university students is vital, and our results suggest that the frequency of ... consumption could be a possible target for interventions,” the study authors conclude in a statement. — ETX Studio