It’s another Monday. You were probably awoken from your slumber to the sound of your alarm going off, that is, if you slept at all. The snooze button was probably hit several times before you somehow managed to peel yourself off your bed. You’re more than likely feeling tired, unless you’re one of the lucky ones that actually feels rested, if that’s the case, then I envy you. To feel somewhat awake and less like a zombie, you may have reached for your daily dose (or first of many doses) of caffeine. Was it coffee? Was it an energy drink? Tea perhaps? Whatever it was, it was one of the many options us as consumers have.
While coffee is used as a pick me up, grabbing coffee with someone is another way to be social. In Korea, coffee shops are a great way for people to hangout since Korean homes are rather small and therefore don’t offer a ton of space for gathering. In Sweden, they have the practice of fika in which they take a break (or sometimes more than one break) and relax while sipping coffee.
What about energy drinks? While they are definitely not the best for you, there is still a rather large market for them. “The global energy drinks market was valued at $45.80 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $108.40 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2022 to 2031” (Roshan, 2022). It is no surprise that North America consumes more energy drinks compared to the rest of the world. Due to health concerns, other countries have bans on the sale of energy drinks to certain age groups, such as the U.K. banning energy drinks to be sold to anyone under 16 years old (University of Oregon, 2022). High amounts of caffeine and sugar can cause all kinds of health problems. Anxiety, elevated heart rate, and poor sleep are some of the effects of energy drinks and coffee too.
Many consumers are becoming more health conscious and look for low-calorie drinks with more natural ingredients. Even though there are energy drinks with zero sugar, other ingredients added may still cause issues and more research is necessary to understand the effects of energy drinks. Coffee may be the better choice since it does not have the added ingredients energy drinks contain, but coffee can still cause anxiety, poor sleep, and an upset stomach.
Soft drinks also contain caffeine but are consumed more for taste rather than as a means to combat tiredness. Soft drinks can be super addictive due to the ridiculous amounts of sugar (roughly 38 grams in a single can of Coca Cola) they contain, and all that sugar will eventually make you crash. Brazilians tend to like a drink called Guarana Antarctica over Coca Cola because Coca Cola tastes like overly sweet syrup to them. They’re not wrong because at my first ever job at a movie theater, one of our tasks while running the concession stand was to refill the sodas. This would be done by connecting a bag of soda (essentially syrup-y liquid) and connect it to a hose that would produce carbonation and pour the sugary substance into cups. Knowing this, did I still drink the stuff? Yes, I was a teenager that knew nothing about nutrition at that point other than soda was bad for you and it was free.
(Unpopular opinion, I’ve never liked Coca Cola or Pepsi. On the rare occasion that I do order a soda, it’s usually root beer or maybe Dr. Pepper. My first choice as a child was Sprite.)
Side note: Coke may be used as a generic term for soft drinks in the Midwest. I find this confusing, Coke to me is a shortened name for Coca Cola. Other terms used for soft drinks: soda, pop, or combined together as soda pop
After a bit of research, I might just cut caffeine consumption altogether. It’s not good for already high cortisol levels and maybe I’ll find a better way to deal with the daily fatigue I experience. Maybe through meditation? Or yoga? Perhaps a cure for the illnesses that cause fatigue? If only that could happen…We’ll see, but for now, I have caffeine to get me through this week.
Sources: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/energy-drink-market
https://business.uoregon.edu/sites/default/files/media/energy-drink-industry-report.pdf
2 replies on “Pick Your Poison”
It is fascinating to see how much energy drink producers are earning each year! And it seems like everyday a new energy drink is being introduced into the market, leaving non-caffeine/energy drink consumers no choice but to try them out and eventually get hooked on to them too.
Hi Mallory, this was a great and informative blog post about energy drinks and even though its almost common knowledge that these drinks and soft drinks are addictive, it still fascinates me that they’re so commonplace in society.