Late nights and early meetings. Block classes and boring professors. Fire alarms at 4 a.m. Life as a college student does not conduce being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in class. As a result, many undergraduates rely heavily on coffee, soft drinks or energy drinks like Red Bull to get around through hectic days, exhaustion and boredom.
With 80 milligrams of caffeine in each 8.3-ounce can, Red Bull more than doubles the 34 milligrams of caffeine found in a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola.
Caffeine is a stimulant that increases the cortisol levels in a person's body, said Kathy Haldeman, the health education coordinator for the AU Student Health Center. A rise in cortisol levels sends the body into a "stress response state," which Haldeman said can trigger feelings of heightened awareness, a feature attractive to tired students who need a boost before class.
"Caffeine is not a bad thing, but it really does need to be used in moderation," Haldeman said. "Caffeine sometimes can increase the level of performance; however, there are side effects that can negatively affect performance."
A caffeine overload can generate feelings of irritability, jitteriness and aggravation. Some users might feel on edge, and could be prone to snapping at others, Haldeman said. Individuals who have large quantities of caffeine in their system may also have trouble falling asleep, sleep fitfully or not sleep at all.
Maintaining a high grade point average and extracurricular activities can be a difficult balancing act for students, especially when they attend schools known for rigorous academics. Mary Cameron Kitchin, a junior at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., drinks Red Bull when she needs to stay focused during long hours of study.
"In terms of keeping me awake I think it's effective, which obviously helps when I'm trying to stay up late to study, but I don't think I would drink it just for the hell of it," Kitchin said.
THE NEW JAVA
Red Bull's reputation as an energy drink may also contribute to student usage. Although the caffeine content is about the same as a regular cup of coffee, students acknowledge that the drink's status as a booster makes them feel more energized after drinking Red Bull than they do after consuming a cup of coffee.
"I'm more aware of the effects of the caffeine [in Red Bull]," Kitchin said. "Whether it's just a mental thing or an actual physical effect, Red Bull definitely makes me feel more jittery."
Students who drink Red Bull regularly said it's because they like the energy drink's taste better than coffee. Lightly carbonated and tasting like candy, according to some, Red Bull lacks coffee's harsh flavor .
"If I need to pull an all-nighter, I'll drink a Red Bull," said Greg Hutton, an AU sophomore. "The taste doesn't stay in my mouth all night like coffee does - I hate the taste of coffee."
Though drinks high in caffeine such as Red Bull have their downfalls, loyal consumers believe that the product's benefits outweigh its negatives.
Red Bull's three main ingredients - taurine, a non-protein-building amino acid, glucuronolactone, a sugar produced by the body from glucose, and caffeine - combine to create an energy drink that, according to its commercials, "gives you wings."
In fact, it's the blending of Red Bull's three key ingredients that makes the drink more effective than coffee or caffeinated soda. Taurine and glucuronolactone - both produced naturally in the human body - are depleted when a person is in the "stress response state" induced by caffeinated drinks. By adding those two ingredients to Red Bull, the user's energy stores are replenished when he or she consumes the energy drink.
Red Bull's wings do not come cheap, though. At $2.50 a can, the energy drink is more expensive than a can of caffeinated soda or a cup of regular Starbucks coffee.
Senior Andy Thompson, a student brand manager for Red Bull, said that the high price had been a marketing obstacle during the energy drink's infancy. People could not understand why they were asked to pay more for a smaller-sized drink.
"You're paying for what you're getting out of it," Thompson said. "You're not paying for the liquid, you're paying for the benefits."
As a student representative for Red Bull on AU's campus, Thompson's main duty is to build relationships with people who he feels would use the company's product. Since he is also a student, Thompson tries to be a representative with whom students can connect.
Red Bull is not for everyone, however. Kimberly Vorholt, a junior at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, tried the energy drink a few times but said he would never choose Red Bull over an equally caffeinated soft drink. Red Bull's flavor - which many drinkers claim tastes like candy - is too sour and grapefruit-like for Vorholt's tastebuds.
And though Red Bull's ad campaign claims that the energy drink gives consumers wings, not everyone agrees.
"It wasn't amazing," Vorholt said. "I didn't feel like I could conquer the world or anything. It actually made me feel kind of anxious."
Red Bull is not the only energy drink on the market these days. KMX, a product of the Delaware Punch Company, comes in two flavors, citrus orange and lime blue. KMX's main ingredients are ginseng, yerba mate, guarana, choline and an assortment of B vitamins. Ginseng, guarana and yerba mate are herbs found in Asian and South American remedies and are believed to be rejuvenating stimulants. Choline and B vitamins can be found in everyday food.
To some students, KMX's different ingredients still provide energy, even though they are not as scientifically based as Red Bull's big three. Flavor and availability are equally important to students who use energy drinks to keep from falling asleep during class.
AU junior Brandy Wells prefers KMX when she's in need of a boost. The harsh flavor of other energy drinks turned her off to them, but KMX is different.
"Most energy drinks have a weird herbal flavor, whereas KMX has a more mainstream flavor," Wells said. "It tastes more like soda than an energy drink."
Wells does not drink Red Bull because of its high price and because she said it "smells weird."
THROWING VODKA IN THE MIX
Mixing liquor with caffeinated drinks like soda or coffee is not new, but combining Red Bull and vodka has recently grown more popular among college students. The mixed drink covers up vodka's harsh flavor, making it popular at parties, said Syracuse University senior Jordan Pinsky.
"I was at a frat party one night and they had run out of beer, so Red Bull and vodka was the next best thing," Pinsky said. "I had also heard that it gave you more of a buzz because of the mix between the stimulant [caffeine] and the depressant [alcohol], so I wanted to try it."
Popularity aside, the energy drink's makers do not endorse combining Red Bull with vodka.
"It's not harmful, you just need to drink responsibly," Thompson said.
A problem with drinking Red Bull and vodka is that Red Bull is not meant to be a hydrating beverage. Unlike Gatorade or even water, the energy drink does not replace electrolytes and other essentials lost during physical exertion.
In fact, Red Bull mixed with vodka is a suspected factor in three deaths in Sweden, although the beverage was not confirmed to be the cause of death, according to an article published in the Toronto Star. Problems could occur because alcohol and caffeine both cause dehydration.
A study released in September suggests Red Bull does not amplify the negative effects of alcohol. Several professors at a Brazilian university tested 14 subjects to determine if mixing Red Bull and vodka really does have negative effects.
"Our findings suggest that energy drinks ... did not improve performance or reduce alterations induced by acute alcohol ingestion," according to the study.
Whether or not mixing Red Bull with vodka is harmful, it does not deter students from consuming the beverage.
"It gives you a quick pick-me-up at a bar, which is cool," said Mike Fanelli, an AU senior. "I have had multiple [Red Bull and vodkas] in one night, and it didn't seem to do anything except keep me more awake."
Other students also noticed differences.
Junior Casey Kenyon, said his friends act differently after consuming the mixed drink. It's like a sugar rush combined with alcohol, he said.
"People don't realize how much alcohol they're drinking when they drink Red Bull and vodkas," Kenyon said.
Whether they like it or not, students acknowledge Red Bull's energizing effects for tired college students. Though some may question its worth and safety, Red Bull has captured a niche market, and, on campuses where students rely on caffeinated beverages to get them through a day of classes - or a night of drinking - energy drinks like Red Bull have found homes.
