Today’s teen has a crowded schedule, which begins at dawn and continues long into the night for work, studies or fun. They tell each other about energizing products to stay awake and alert far longer than normal, not understanding the possible consequences. Project ALERT can help you tune students in to information, skills and behaviors that can keep them safe and healthy.

If you have time to plan and teach an additional lesson that focuses on energy drinks, think about using teaching strategies and activities that align with Project ALERT.

Highlight immediate, short-term consequences of use. Make use of Reasons Lists: Reasons Why People Consume Energy Drinks and Reasons Not to Consume Energy Drinks. Remind students that many of the reasons not to consume (dizziness, nausea, headache, thumping heart, insomnia) are feedback from your body, telling you it’s overloaded. Then discuss how to avoid overload: moderation, avoiding combinations of caffeinated products. Pick out the nutritional reasons listed by students to focus on sugar content and its effect on teeth and weight.

If applicable, note that your school has removed soft drinks from its vending machines and cafeterias, to protect student health. Discuss some of the reasons for this decision.  

The high visibility and aggressive marketing of energy drinks and coffee concoctions mean that you can successfully use many of the discussion techniques from Lesson 4, Introduction to Pressures. For example, use of the Advertisement Count Sheet, the Identify Ad Measures activity, and the Rewrite Ad Messages process would all work well. 

Use the Project ALERT role play technique to help youth anticipate and practice ways to refuse energy products. What common situations might your students face? Sports/team practice or events; parties or gatherings; sleepovers; study sessions; finals week; afterschool coffee shop stops. Remind students that the pressure may be external or internal. Create several scenarios, use Poster 9 to assist their discussions, and ask students to brainstorm and perform skits. Praise and reinforce their solutions. 

The student handout: What Teenagers Want to Know About Caffeine and Energy Products can be downloaded from the Project ALERT website. This handout can be used to create a home learning activity or to organize classroom discussion around key topics.

How can you tell what’s in the drink (product)?

How can you energize yourself without soft drinks, coffee, etc.?

Are energy products harmless?

What can you do if you’ve noticed a friend’s increased consumption of energy drinks/coffee products?

What do you tell your younger sister/brother about coffee or other energy products?

You can play the Benefits Game with caffeine and other stimulant ingredients. Some of the Benefits of Not Using Caffeine include being in control; physically fit; better heart health; making your own decisions; free from dependence on substances; sticking to your values; better, deeper sleep.

Ask for examples of people who have stopped drinking coffee or energy drinks (“I know someone who…”) and how their bodies reacted.  

After the Benefits List has been completed, emphasize the benefits of remaining aware of you body’s functioning and supporting optimum health through good nutrition, sleep and physical exercise. Remind students that caffeine and energy drinks often led to dependence, which takes away your control.

Wrap up by noting how common it is for a person to graze, to start the day with coffee, drink a soft drink, eat chocolate, drink an energy drink, have a latte…it all adds up to lots of stimulants and sugar, and a stressful cycle for the heart and body.

Suggest that cutting back on caffeine is one of the life changes that many people consider.  

Remind teens that they have shown good sense, insight, and top-notch skills in Project ALERT, and what they have learned can help them throughout their lifetime with a variety of lifestyle choices.

Energy drinks may increase blood pressure, and lead to changes in the heart’s natural rhythm, according to a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association.

The drinks may make the heart more prone to electrical short circuits, HealthDay reports. The researchers noted it is not clear how much of the drinks’ effect is due to the caffeine in the drinks.

Researchers reviewed seven studies. They included 93 people who consumed energy drinks and had their QT interval measured. This interval indicates how the heart resets itself electronically while it beats. A longer interval increases the risk that the heart will develop a “short circuit,” a potentially deadly problem.

An additional 132 people consumed energy drinks and had their blood pressure measured. Most of the participants had one to three cans of Red Bull, the article notes.

The study found participants’ QT intervals were longer after they consumed energy drinks. Their systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) increased 3.5 points after participants had the drinks, noted co-author Dr. Ian Riddock.

“QT prolongation is associated with life-threatening arrhythmias [heart rhythm problems]. The finding that energy drinks could prolong the QT, in light of the reports of sudden cardiac death, warrants further investigation.” Dr. Riddock said in a news release.

“The correlation between energy drinks and increased systolic blood pressure is convincing and concerning, and more studies are needed to assess the impact on the heart rhythm,” noted lead researcher Sachin A. Shah, Pharm.D. “Patients with high blood pressures or long QT syndrome should use caution and judgment before consuming an energy drink. Since energy drinks also contain caffeine, people who do not normally drink much caffeine might have an exaggerated increase in blood pressure.”

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The number of emergency room visits involving energy drinks doubled from 2007 to 2011, reaching more than 20,000, according to a new government report. During that period, the popularity of energy drinks has surged on college campuses, and in bars and convenience stores, according to ABC News.

The report, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found most cases involved teens or young adults. SAMHSA calls consumption of energy drinks a “rising public health problem.” The drinks can cause insomnia, headaches, seizures, fast heartbeat and nervousness, the report notes.

About 42 percent of emergency room cases in 2011 involved energy drinks combined with alcohol or drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin.

“A lot of people don’t realize the strength of these things. I had someone come in recently who had drunk three energy drinks in an hour, which is the equivalent of 15 cups of coffee,” American College of Emergency Physicians spokesperson Howard Mell, an ER physician outside of Cleveland, told ABC News. “Essentially he gave himself a stress test and thankfully he passed. But if he had a weak heart or suffered from coronary disease and didn’t know it, this could have precipitated very bad things.”

In November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it was likely to seek advice about the potential health dangers of energy drinks, in the wake of reports of deaths and injuries possibly related to the products. The FDA said it is considering asking advice from an outside group such as the Institute of Medicine. The agency has received reports of 18 deaths and more than 150 injuries that mention the possible involvement of energy drinks, including 5-Hour Energy, Monster Energy and Red Bull. The reports do not prove a product was responsible for a death or injury. The products’ manufacturers have said they are safe, and are not responsible for the reported deaths and injuries.

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Download a Graduation Certificate to present to your students at the completion of their Project ALERT lessons.

National Prevention Week is May 12-18

National Prevention Week is a SAMHSA-supported annual health observance dedicated to increasing public awareness of, and action around, substance abuse and mental health issues.

World No Tobacco Day is May 31

World No Tobacco Day highlights the risks associated with tobacco use and the importance of advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.