Effects of Energy Drinks on the Body
- healthystudyhabits
- Nov 17, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 11
Written by: Jasmine Xu
Negative Effects:
Blood pressure and heart rate can be raised by caffeine intake. Caffeine can also cause some extra heartbeats, causing a sensation of palpitations.
Aside from this, Dr. Fernandes comments that caffeine can interfere with medications including iron supplements, thyroid medications, antidepressants, and Alzeimer's disease medications.
Caffeine can also cause insomnia , especially for people who don't regularly consume caffeine and if it's consumed later in the day.
Dr. Clark comments caffeine can increase anxiety for some people as it is a stimulant.
There can also be withdrawals with caffeine. When this occurs, people feel like they need to keep using it, even if they don't need it that particular day for its intended benefit of increasing alertness. Some effects can last even up to nine or 10 days with headache, nervousness and fatigue.
If you consume too much caffeine, it can also cause headaches in addition to feeling nervous and anxious.
“The more serious risks of caffeine are mostly related to heavy consumption from use in energy drinks and in supplement form,” said Dr. Devries. “Anxiety and unsafe behaviors—especially in adolescents—are associated with energy drink use.
Positive Effects:
In low doses, caffeine may help with depression. The reason is because caffeine “stimulates dopamine, which is a chemical in your brain that plays a role in pleasure motivation and learning.”
Coffee and tea (not energy drinks 🤔) are linked to a host of health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, lower risk of type 2 diabetes and improved longevity.
Caffeine can also help exercise. It has been shown to improve endurance and speed as well as just having a decreased perception of fatigue.
This article was sourced by the American Medicine Association (Clark, 2025)
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