Mixing alcohol and energy drinks has become increasingly popular in recent years, but the researchers behind a new study say it can be a dangerous combination. The study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, was conducted by Brazilian researchers who examined the effects of combining alcohol with the energy drink Red Bull®. Their results show a considerable disconnect between subjects' perceptions of how intoxicated they were, and objective measures of their actual abilities. While the participants reported a reduction in the sensation of tiredness and sleepiness, their actual capabilities were significantly impaired. "Young people believe that Red Bull and other energy drinks avoid the sleepiness caused by alcoholic beverages and increase their capacity to dance all night," explained researcher Maria Lucia O. Souza-Formigoni. But the new study indicates that the use of energy drinks might predispose people to abuse alcohol when its depressant effects - or at least the perception of such effects - are masked by them.
The study found that compared to alcohol alone, combining alcohol and Red Bull® significantly reduced the subjects' perception of headache, weakness, dry mouth and impairment of motor coordination. Red Bull® did not, however, significantly reduce deficits caused by alcohol on objective measures of motor coordination and visual reaction time.
"Although combined ingestion decreases the sensation of tiredness and sleepiness, objective measures of motor coordination showed that it cannot reduce the harmful effects of alcohol on motor coordination. In other words, the person is drunk but does not feel as drunk as he really is. The second important point is that many users reported using energy drinks to reduce a not-so-pleasant taste of alcoholic beverages, which could dangerously increase the amount (as well as the speed of ingestion) of alcoholic beverages," said Souza-Formigoni.
"Alcohol affects not only the motor coordination but also the capacity of decision, because it affects one important area of the brain - the prefrontal cortex," explained Souza-Formigoni. "Drunk drivers are dangerous not only because their reactions are delayed and motor coordination affected, but mainly because their capacity to evaluate the risks to which they will be exposed is also affected. People need to understand that the 'sensation' of well-being does not necessarily mean that they are unaffected by alcohol."
Source: Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
