As college students, it is almost a rite of passage to drink an energy drink before a big exam, rationalizing that if we drink this, we’ll be able to “lock in” better. Perhaps you have seen the video of UCLA dental student Kay Chung chugging three cans of Red Bull in one night. But do these drinks really help improve focus and concentration? 

Energy drinks might be more about mentally preparing yourself to concentrate and study than the drink itself. A research study conducted at the French Institute of Health and Medical Research indicated that participants’ performance improved if they thought that they drank an energy drink, even when they drank a placebo. This finding indicates that an individual incentivizes themself to perform better due to the idea that they drank an energy drink, linking this to the idea of dopamine pathways and rewarding behavior. So, it may not even be the energy drink that improves cognitive performance, but neural pathways that are associated with dopamine release and rewarding behavior.

Furthermore, regular energy drinks contain several other ingredients other than caffeine, such as taurine, L-carnitine, and sugar. However, there has been a rise in “zero sugar” or “sugar-free” energy drinks. Despite the benefits of being sugar-free and calorie-free, there is a downside to these drinks. Another study by the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements links the presence of glucose and caffeine to better performance and memory. By removing glucose in the form of sugar, the desired effects may not be as pronounced, raising the question of why one would drink energy drinks. This study also found that taurine, another common ingredient in energy drinks, may counteract the effects of caffeine on mood and attention. This shows that the plethora of artificial ingredients found in energy drinks may not even provide the desired effects of an energy drink.

What if energy drinks did not even yield the advertised benefits of improved cognitive and energy performance? In The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it was tested whether energy drinks and placebo drinks had any differences in mood, cognitive, behavioral, and subjective feelings of energy. The results shockingly indicated that there were no differences between the two drinks, undermining the claims that energy drinks help productivity.

Despite the fact that energy drinks may not be as effective as advertised, many may drink them for the taste itself. There are many concerns about the effect of excessive energy drink consumption on health, especially in relation to mental health disorders such as ADHD. However, a study published in the Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience conducted a survey to determine if there was a correlation between ADHD and energy drink intake, and they found that there was no significant evidence supporting this claim, reassuring some energy drink consumers.

Though the effectiveness of energy drinks may not be what was expected, the idea of drinking these drinks may boost productivity, but the research shows that the drinks chugged in the library don’t necessarily need to be energy drinks. The activation of dopamine pathways may come from drinks like hot chocolate, coffee, boba, or whatever other drink you need to put yourself in the mood to “lock in.” Next time you go to the library, consider whether an energy drink is something you really need, or whether you’re tricking yourself into thinking that it works.