By: Ever Schmidt  

Students are flying throughout the halls as summertime approaches, cracking energy drinks left and right.  

Whether it be Monster, Red Bull or even coffees, caffeine crowds store shelves and leaves them just as fast. Classrooms are littered with cans, but opinions on them vary.  

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The Lions’ Den staff’s Energy Drinks on an average day.

Photo by: Ever Schmidt

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“Energy drinks are the highlight of my morning,” junior Kaylee Foley said. “Monsters are my favorite, personally; I love that it can give me the energy I need in just one drink. It helps me work better and gives me extra energy to help me finish the day fully energized.”   

According to Nova Medical Centers, energy drinks have some positives. They help to “improve students’ mood and attitude, to eliminate feeling groggy. Being able to buy a drink that will give almost instant energy for only one to five dollars can be very convenient. 

With every positive, there are also negatives. Regardless of the good they bring to some they can also affect the way people act and feel in the opposite way.  

“The first time I had an energy drink, I had a bad experience and will probably never drink one again,” junior Adrianna Scalzo said. “It made me feel so sick that I’ve haven’t had one since then.”  

According to The National Library of Medicine, energy drinks can be a health risk. There have been nine cases of cardiac arrest in recent years, three of them being fatal. They have concerns that they can cause nervous system disorders and addiction.   

“I think they are terrible for you, they mess with your hormones and your heart,” Health and Physical Education teacher Mrs. Alyssa Lukatch said. “It’s a whole-body disrupter.”  

Energy drinks contain caffeine and sugars which can be associated with a decrease of insulin sensitivity, causing the body to have resistance to the hormone insulin. It also can give risks like anxiety, hallucinations, headaches, tooth decay and more, according to Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials. 

 “People drink them for energy just to crash harder a few hours later, when you really should be looking at why you don’t have any energy,” Mrs. Lukatch said.