Mixing alcohol with energy drinks like Red Bull can give revellers the illusion they are more sober than they really are, a new study warns.
Energy drinks, which contain sugar and caffeine, have become popular in recent years - especially among young adults. They have also gained popularity as mixers to go with spirits such as vodka in nightclubs.
Young partygoers often consume energy drinks to avoid feeling the soporific effects of alcohol, according to Maria Lucia Souza-Formigoni of the FederalUniversity of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who led the research.
The study found that volunteers who were given alcohol mixed with Red Bull performed as badly on coordination and visual tests as those drinking alcohol alone. However, those drinking Red Bull and alcohol thought their skills were unimpaired.
Alcohol antidote?
Energy drinks such as Red Bull also contain taurine, an acidic chemical found in the muscle and other tissues of many animals. Some researchers have speculated that naturally produced taurine in our bodies could perhaps modulate the effects of alcohol on the nervous system.
Souza-Formigoni and her colleagues decided to study the effects of alcoholic drinks mixed with energy drinks. They recruited 26 male volunteers in their 20s and divided them into two groups. Twelve received the equivalent of 2.5 alcoholic beverages each, while the others consumed the equivalent of four alcoholic drinks each.
In one session the volunteers consumed this amount of alcohol alone, and in another they drank it mixed with Red Bull. In a third session the subjects consumed the energy drink without any alcohol.
Souza-Formigoni and her colleagues found that volunteers in both groups felt they had better motor coordination when drinking alcohol mixed with the energy drink than when they consumed alcohol alone.
Motor skills
But in a test of motor skills where subjects had to transfer pegs on a board, those drinking alcohol mixed with an energy drink did not perform better than those who drank the alcoholic drink by itself. And both groups showed similar impairments in a visual test that challenged them to push buttons in response to a flashing signal on a screen.
The researchers say that young adults should understand that drinking energy drinks with alcohol may impair their judgment, because they perceive themselves to be less affected by the alcohol. “They should drink with more caution, that’s the suggestion,
Energy drinks, which contain sugar and caffeine, have become popular in recent years - especially among young adults. They have also gained popularity as mixers to go with spirits such as vodka in nightclubs.
Young partygoers often consume energy drinks to avoid feeling the soporific effects of alcohol, according to Maria Lucia Souza-Formigoni of the FederalUniversity of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who led the research.
The study found that volunteers who were given alcohol mixed with Red Bull performed as badly on coordination and visual tests as those drinking alcohol alone. However, those drinking Red Bull and alcohol thought their skills were unimpaired.
Alcohol antidote?
Energy drinks such as Red Bull also contain taurine, an acidic chemical found in the muscle and other tissues of many animals. Some researchers have speculated that naturally produced taurine in our bodies could perhaps modulate the effects of alcohol on the nervous system.
Souza-Formigoni and her colleagues decided to study the effects of alcoholic drinks mixed with energy drinks. They recruited 26 male volunteers in their 20s and divided them into two groups. Twelve received the equivalent of 2.5 alcoholic beverages each, while the others consumed the equivalent of four alcoholic drinks each.
In one session the volunteers consumed this amount of alcohol alone, and in another they drank it mixed with Red Bull. In a third session the subjects consumed the energy drink without any alcohol.
Souza-Formigoni and her colleagues found that volunteers in both groups felt they had better motor coordination when drinking alcohol mixed with the energy drink than when they consumed alcohol alone.
Motor skills
But in a test of motor skills where subjects had to transfer pegs on a board, those drinking alcohol mixed with an energy drink did not perform better than those who drank the alcoholic drink by itself. And both groups showed similar impairments in a visual test that challenged them to push buttons in response to a flashing signal on a screen.
The researchers say that young adults should understand that drinking energy drinks with alcohol may impair their judgment, because they perceive themselves to be less affected by the alcohol. “They should drink with more caution, that’s the suggestion,
