Coffee has long been a staple pick-me-up — energy in a drinkable form. But increasingly, companies have been marketing caffeine in high doses in a variety of forms.After the introduction of Red Bull to the U.S. market in 1997, the energy drink market has grown at an incredible rate.One of the most lucrative markets has been college students. Popular not only in aiding all-night study sessions, the power-packed drinks have also fed night-long party sessions.However, people generally don’t know the full effects of caffeine. Ingesting too much caffeine can cause a wide range of negative symptoms including insomnia, irregular heartbeat, muscle tremors, headaches and anxiety (among others), according to the Mayo Clinic.Despite these fairly serious side effects, energy drinks are not subject to the same FDA standards as drinks like Coke.Instead, energy drinks skirt regulation by using a somewhat obscure federal law to be treated as herbal supplements. And while warning labels are required for caffeine pills such as NoDoz, drinks with high concentrations of caffeine are not.One study directed at college students found 29 percent of users experienced weekly “jolt and crash episodes,” 22 percent reported having headaches, and 19 percent had heart palpitations from consuming energy drinks.Students need to be aware of the very negative effects of ingesting too much caffeine. In order to avoid negative side effects, the Mayo Clinic recommends consuming no more than about 200 to 300 mg of caffeine a day (or about two cups of coffee).While caffeine in small doses may help some stay sharp (and  Jagerbombs are delicious), in excess, they will negatively impact your health as a whole.
 
 
 
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