What happens when you mix alcohol with energy drinks?

We’ve all been there – it’s a night out at the bar, and suddenly everyone is ordering vodka Red Bulls like their lives depend on it. It seems like such a great idea in the moment; drinking alcohol makes you feel sleepy while energy drinks perk you up, so mixing them must be the perfect way to keep the party going! But what happens when you mix alcohol with energy drinks? Is it just harmless fun, or are you actually putting your health at risk? Let’s dive into some science and find out.

The Basics: How Do Alcohol and Energy Drinks Affect Your Body?

Before we can understand what happens when we mix these two substances, let’s take a closer look at how they work individually.

Alcohol

Alcohol is a depressant that affects your central nervous system. It slows down brain activity and interferes with signals between nerve cells, which is why you might feel relaxed or even sleepy after a few drinks. However, alcohol also dehydrates your body by increasing urine production and reducing the amount of water reabsorbed by your kidneys (fun fact: this is why you pee more when you drink). This dehydration can lead to hangovers and other unpleasant side effects.

Energy Drinks

Energy drinks are designed to give you an instant boost of energy thanks to high levels of caffeine and sugar. Caffeine stimulates your central nervous system much like alcohol does but in the opposite direction – instead of slowing down brain activity, it speeds things up (kinda like popping Adderall without that damn prescription). Sugar provides an immediate source of glucose for your muscles and brain to use as fuel (and if not immediately used for something physical completely melts my brain).

Mixing Alcohol with Energy Drinks: What Happens Inside Your Body?

Now that we know how each substance works on its own, let’s take a closer look at what happens when you mix them together.

The Effects of Caffeine and Alcohol

When you drink alcohol with energy drinks, the caffeine in the latter can mask the sedative effects of alcohol, leading to a feeling of alertness (being deceptive never felt so good). Essentially, instead of feeling drunk and wanting to go home after one too many beers, your brain is telling you that it’s time for another round because you don’t feel that intoxicated yet (that never ends well lol).

This leads many people to over-consume both substances without realizing just how impaired they actually are. This puts them at risk for accidents or injuries as their decision-making abilities decrease despite their perceived sense of control.

Level Symptoms
0-0.05% Mild euphoria and relaxation; lowered inhibitions
0.06-0.15% Loud speech and increased confidence; decreased ability to judge risks
0.16-0.25% Slurred speech; lack of coordination; slowed reflexes
> 0.25% Loss of consciousness; possible death from respiratory depression

The Effects on Your Heart

One concerning effect drinking energy drinks mixed with alcohol has on your heart is increasing your heart rate while simultaneously widening blood vessels – this increases any pre-existing arrhythmias while also putting young healthtifics in danger like strokes which have shown correlation between highly caffeinated beverages (more than two servings daily) mixed within 24 hours preceding stroke onset/ hospitalization . Studies conducted have shown significant increase in incidence rates among healthy individuals we use Vodka Redbull cocktails by mixing high doses or more shots than advised (not even our hearts can keep up with that kind-a pressure).

In addition combining the sugar or high energy drinks and alcohol for a long period of time puts you in more danger, these mixtures can give rise to ultrasonic sounds that are harmful to our body especially if taken over a protracted manner (cuz in this life everything is hardcore till the afterlife) with serious risks like sudden cardiac arrest(just ask Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz, who I’m sure leads by example 🤢).

The Effects on Your Liver

You may have heard the phrase “your liver takes the brunt of it” when it comes to drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. When you combine alcohol with energy drinks (which contain additional chemicals and stimulants), your liver has an even harder time processing these substances (your poor lil’ liver never had a chance).

Drink Liver Damage
One glass of wine Minimal damage
Three vodka Red Bulls Severe damage
>1 week consumption Long-term damage

Obviously, everyone’s livers work differently; but overall mixing highly caffeinated soft drinks and spirits together is going to have impacts beyond negative hangovers(some people don’t really derive too many consequences from reckless alcoholic behavior- just think about president Trump). Needless to say maybe sometimes (just sometimes) we should reconsider how we go out partying.

Conclusion: Why You Should Be Cautious When Mixing Alcohol with Energy Drinks

Alcohol mixed with energy drinks might seem like a good idea at first glance – hey, who doesn’t want increased alertness alongside their buzz? But as we’ve seen now,the mixture poses some serious health risks both short-term and longterm wise. Mixing highly caffeinated beverages into alcoholic concoctions tends masking features such as tiredness caused by your bodies’ natural response to drinking large amounts , thus leading most individuals often exceeding their limits without being aware.The result??- lack of coordination, vomiting seizures, cardiac issues like tachycardia and ultimately shutdown.

Of course there’s a risk with everything in life from jumping off cliffs to driving with just one functional brain cell functioning,but alcoholic infused highly caffeinated beverages isn’t a cute way to harm yourself. If you notice that you have been drinking too much or are experiencing negative side effects while using energy drinks or alcohol it’s probably time for a visit down your therapist aisle(but I’m not the boss of anyone here shrugs)

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