College students are often associated as being tired, lazy or lacking energy. It’s evident by the lines outside of PJ’s Coffee in Middleton Library or Einstein’s Bagel in the Union that students might need a caffeine fix to help them concentrate or make it through classes.
                Student turn to caffeine and energy drinks to help them endure the day. The 5-hour energy shot is now commonly used by students on the LSU campus as well. During stressful times such as mid-terms and finals week especially, these shots allow students to study intensely for a period of time.
                Communications Studies Junior Naresha Dumas says during midterms and finals week, she relies heavily on these antidotes of sleep.
                “I probably operate on four hours of sleep a night and three energy shots to get me through each day to study,” Dumas says.
                Engineer Junior Jamal Brown says he feels more productive after taking this shot.
                “I feel an instant spurt of energy and I never crash after the hours are over,” Brown says.           
                These energy shots hits stores in 2004. According to an article provided by CNN, Carl Sperber, spokesman for Living Essentials, the Detroit, Michigan-based manufacturer of 5-hour Energy shot explains why these shots have become so popular.
                “This is a no-nonsense drink,” Sperber said. “It is not a fashion statement. It doesn’t have a cool name; it is just a simple grab-and-go product to help busy adults when they can’t afford a letdown.”
                Most students who take this shot simply want instant results to master material for a test but what are the side-effects of these shots?
                Promotion Coordinator of LSU Health Center, Kathryn Saichuck, says that these shots don’t contain much more caffeine than a cup of coffee so the intake in the shot is not harmful.
                “B Vitamins and Amino acids are probably accelerating heart rate a little bit and speed metabolism which causes a feeling of alertness or energized,” Saichuck says.
                She says the effects of these shots may vary from person to person. She stresses the importance of people knowing their body chemistry and how the ingestion of caffeine affects them.
                “People don’t understand that just because your friends can take it and not have any side-effects don’t mean it will be the same for you,” Saichuck says.
                Students should be wary that the amount of time for a cup of coffee or energy shots will diminish in their system depending on the speed of their metabolic process.
                A person’s body chemistry with a product is the main factor that determines both long-term and short-term side-effects of this product and caffeine in general.
                Saichuck says that caffeine can be addictive and a person’s body can become dependent upon it.
                “Sometimes when people try to cut back on caffeine, things they’ll notice is they’ll feel tired all the time and experience headaches which is a common withdrawal symptom.”
                An overdose of caffeine can cause people to feel nausea due to acid buildup in the stomach, headache caused by increased blood pressure, a heat flush and in serious cases a heart attack.
 
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-07-14/health/energy.drink.ingredients_1_glucuronolactone-b-vitamins-amino-acids?_s=PM:HEALTH
http://www.pain4glory.com/5-hour-energy-drink/
http://askville.amazon.com/Hour-Energy-drink-side-effects/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=17250777
Farrah Reed
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504-496-1535