Jonathan Jacob

Kim Sibson

Intro Tech-Scientific Writing

5/2/17

The Effect of Energy Drinks: How These Beverages Can Affect Productivity, Creativity, and

Physical Performance.

ABSTRACT:

The purpose of this experiment is to observe the effects of various energy drinks on ones

productivity and creativity. The experiment was carried out using three college students and two

types of energy drinks. The students were given small tasks under a time limit for applied

pressure. The goal of this experiment was to prove that the energy drinks were not beneficial to

the students and they can make students less creative and counterproductive. The experiment was

constructed to be simple and consistent to avoid any sources of error. The students chosen for the

experiment are students who drink alcoholic beverages on a regular basis. Student tests were

done all at once to have comparable outcomes. The first test involved 50 simple math problems

and a time limit. The second test was physical; I was timing the students mile times. The last

test was a test of creativity. I just had the subjects draw their best dragons in 3 minutes. This

study was conducted to prove that energy drinks are not useful for productivity or creativity and

should only be used for physical activity occasionally. For more accurate results, I had the

students ingest these energy drinks at the beginning of the day so other foods or drinks couldnt

affect the results.

INTRODUCTION:

So, its finals week and you have 3 big papers due and two semester-deciding exams.

What do you do? Are you one of the 34% of 18-24-year-olds who run down to the gas station to

grab an energy drink (Heckman, M. A., Sherry, K., Mejia, D., & Gonzalez, E. (2010)? Research

shows that this may not be the best idea for productivity and creativity. Most of those who

consume energy drinks to be productive or creative have found that energy drinks made the

circumstances more difficult. Most people tend to crash in the middle of their important task and

end up not completing it or doing so with little accuracy. In addition to these caffeine crashes,

adolescent energy drinkers have found that these high voltage drinks have left them feeling down

or depressed (Azagba, S., Langille, D., & Asbridge, M. (2014). If people are drinking these

drinks to be more productive and creative and failing at doing so, why are people still doing it?

Caffeine is currently the most abused drug in the United States today. It has been recorded that

most people are raised into a caffeine addiction with 75% of kids under the age of 18 consuming

caffeinated beverages daily (Budney, A. J., & Emond, J. A. (2014). This is a serious problem that

people are overlooking because of the normalization of caffeine intake. Caffeinated drinks are

available virtually everywhere for anyone of any age to obtain. The study I am doing is to show

that caffeinated energy drinks are made solely for physical use and not for productivity or

creativity.

The three students I choose for this experiment are all adult males. The names of the

subjects are Jarrin, Kendrick and Tim. All three of them have admitted to drinking energy drinks

on a weekly basis. Another similarity they had shared was that they all only used these energy

drinks during stressful times of copious homework or testing. In addition to this information, the
three students all consumed alcohol on a regular basis throughout the year. In the experiment, I

tested the students all together in a group over the course of three days.

If people are under the influence of energy drinks, then they will be less creative and

imaginative. The goal of this experiment is to prove this hypothesis through a series of tests

involving students Tim, Kendrick and Jarrin. These students are going to do three separate tasks

involving problem solving, physical performance, and creativity. The energy drinks ingested are

16 fl oz. Red Bulls and cup of C4 Explosive Preworkout.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Main Experiment: C4 Explosive Preworkout, 16 fl. Oz Red Bulls, 3 water bottles, Tim,

Kendrick, Jarrin.

Math Testing included my cellphone for a timer, 3 identical sheets of papers with 64

multiplication problems. These problems were printed off the Pinterest main site but were

originally on www.mathdrills.com. The students all used mechanical pencils and no

calculators. They sat at different tables so cheating was not an option for them. The time

was set for only 30 seconds.

Mile Run Test included three separate treadmills all starting at the same time but going at

whichever speed the student chose. The students were all wearing athletic clothes and

were supplied with 3 water bottles, one each. I monitored the running students and did

not allow them to walk at any point during the duration of the run.

The Creative Drawing test involved my cell phone for a timer, one mechanical pencil,

one black inked pen, and a sheet of lined college ruled paper. The time was set for only 3

minutes. The creative drawing test was carried out in the community room with no music
 or conversation going throughout the duration of the test. I did not want to supply the

students with colored pencils, crayons or markers because I wanted to see how creative

the students would be with limited supplies.

PROCEDURE:

On the first day of the experiment, I tested the students without any energy drinks

involved. I had the three students come over to the dormitorys community room and had them

sit at different tables. I had the students solve 64 multiplication problems in a set time of 30

seconds. Tim scored the highest with 29 complete with all answers correct. Kendrick had the

second most with 25 answers correct out of the 29 he had attempted. Jarrin was last with 24

correct answers out of the 25 attempted.

The next part of the experiment involved physical activity. After the first test was

wrapped up, I took the three students to the gym and had them run a mile on the treadmill. Tim

shone like a racehorse, finishing his mile in a short 6 minutes and 23 seconds. Kendrick finished

in second place with the mile time 7 minutes and 41 seconds. Jarrin came in last with 8 minutes

and 46 seconds. Without the energy drinks, the three students showed intense fatigue.

After Tim, Kendrick, and Jarrin were showered and back at the dormitory, the last test

was issued. The last test in the experiment was issued to test the boundaries of the students

artistry. I supplied the students with pencils and pens and told them to draw the most realistic

dragon they could. I would give the subject three minutes and when the timer went off the

students had to drop their utensils and present their art. I didnt want to critique the students
artwork too cruel but I did observe the attention paid to detail. Jarrins dragon had scales and

long claws and that Kendrick and Tim didnt have. Tim drew the dragon with a knight in shining

armor fighting it. This showed that Tim was already thinking outside the box. Kendrick drew a

very basic dragon and I could tell he really was not all that into it.

The next day, we woke early to redo these tests again but, this time, with C4 pre-workout.

The C4 preworkout had 150mg of caffeine per serving and 0g sugar. I gave each student a

serving of the electrifying powder to put in their water bottles. The subjects showed almost

immediate alertness, acting very lively and hyperactive. It is recorded that about 60.2% of

college athletes ingest preworkout for this exact reason (Magrini, Mitchel A, 2016). Jarrin was

the most active, constantly stating that he was very ready for the mile run test. Unfortunately for

Jarrin, we still had to do the math test first because I didnt want to cause a possible error by

switching the order of events.

The first test started exactly 20 minutes after ingestion. I took the three students back to

the community room and gave them different math sheets but with the same type of

multiplication questions. I started the timer for 30 seconds again to solve the 64 math problems.

Tim surprised me with 51 completed problems. The only issue is that all the answers were not

correct. In fact, Tim had only gotten 39 correct. Jarrin came in second with 33 answered

problems and 19 correct. Kendrick was last but the most efficient with 27 answered and 25

correct.

We dropped our pencils and put on our running shoes and continued onto the next test in

the gym. It seemed as if the students were not interested in jogging and all three of them were

almost sprinting through the mile. Tim finished first with his mile time being 6 minutes and 3

seconds. Jarrin shocked us all and beat Kendrick with a 7 minute and 35 second mile. Kendricks
performance was worse than his initial mile. Kendrick had an 8 minute and 2 second mile. The

three students wanted to play a game of basketball after the mile but I told them it could skew the

results of the test.

After the gym, we headed back to the community room for the final test of the day. I

supplied the students with pencils and black pens. Again, I set the timer for three minutes and let

the students draw dragons. Jarrin and Tim drew their dragons almost identical to the dragons

they drew the day prior to this day. Kendrick drew his dragon on a skateboard. One thing I

noticed about their drawings in comparison to day one is that there was little attention to detail.

There were no scales or claws. These were pretty basic dragons drawn on day two.

On the final day, I had the 3 students drink a 16 fl. oz. Red Bull energy drink. This drink

contains 111mg of caffeine and 49g of sugar. After 20 minutes, we went to the community room

for the final math speed run. Tim again answered the most problems again with 46 answered but

38 correct. Kendrick came in second with 38 answered and 38 correct. Jarrin came in last with

34 answered and 30 correct.

At the gym, my subjects were not as motivated as they were yesterday and seemed almost

sluggish. Tim finished his mile in first place again in 6 minutes and 43 seconds. Kendrick had a 7

minute and 58 second mile. Jarrin finished at exactly 8 minutes. The three students showed very

visible relief when the mile was over and they had no interest in sticking around the gym.

When we came back to the community room for the final test, the morale was low. Tim

and Jarrin were acting very crabby and it was obvious that everyone just wanted this to be over

and done with. The students were crashing so we had to get through this last test fast. I set the

timers for 3 minutes and let the students draw their best dragons. However, in this instance, these
were definitely the worst dragons they have drawn. Jarrin drew a very bad replica of Barney the

dinosaur which was completely irrelevant. Tim drew the same dragon he drew yesterday but

with less effort. Kendrick drew a stick figure looking dragon and that was just the nail in the

coffin.

RESULTS:

When the students were given the three tests without any energy drinks, the students

showed better efficiency on the first math test. When doing the second test, the students without

energy drinks ran the mile and finished exhausted. On the last test that focused on imagination,

the students were creative but worked at a steady pace.

When the students were given C4 energy preworkout, they showed enthusiasm in their

testing. Although more questions were answered, the math test was not as proficient as their test

without the drink. The students missed more problems even though they completed more. When

they did the mile run, they performed at their best ability. In the creativity test, the students

showed less interest to detail, drawing basic looking dragons compared to the day before.

When the students were given the 16 fl. oz. Red Bull, their test performances were more

dull. The team morale was headed in the opposite direction and the students were voicing their

complaints about the nagging tests. On the math test, Tim and Jarrin answered many questions

but were inefficient, missing a few. On the other hand, Kendrick defied my predictions and got

every attempted question correct. On the mile run, the students performed at their worst. I

noticed that the students were sluggish and they were not as enthusiastic as they were the day

before. When the students drew the dragons, they were very moody and it was obvious they

were crashing.
DISCUSSION:

Caffeine is not beneficial to a productive or creative mind. I have learned that when

students consume a caffeinated drink, they tend to work fast and inefficiently. With 34% of

students depending on energy drinks, this could be counterproductive for someone preparing for

an exam or trying to knock out multiple homework assignments (Heckman, M. A., Sherry, K.,

Mejia, D., & Gonzalez, E. (2010). In addition to caffeine not being beneficial to the creative or

productive mind, I have found that caffeine and sugar is a negative combination that makes users

crash and perform poorest. When the students drank Red Bull, which contained the combination

of sugar and caffeine, they appeared lazier and their attitude was irritable. This is because energy

drinks which contain the combination of sugar and caffeine can cause crashes and can make

people feel depressed (Azagba, S., Langille, D., & Asbridge, M. (2014). Preworkout does not

contain sugar and that is why the students performed their tasks with more enthusiasm and

energy. Preworkout does have its flaws. When the students consumed the preworkout, they were

inefficient solving math problems and uninspired when given a task which required the subject to

use their imagination. If people are under the influence of energy drinks, then they will be less

creative and imaginative. The goal of this experiment was to observe the changes in a students

performances on the levels of productivity, physical performance and creativity. It was

concluded that energy drinks have no place in the library and that athletes will find it more

beneficial.
 Annotated Bibliography

Prins, P. J., Goss, F. L., Nagle, E. F., Beals, K. T., Robertson, R., Lovalekar, M., & Welton, G.

(2016). Energy Drinks Improve Five-Kilometer Running Performance in Recreational Endurance

Runners. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(11), 2979-2990.

- This source summarizes a study about energy drinks and how they affect runners. After

the experiment, it was concluded that runners perform better when they drink energy drinks. I

can use this data to explain how energy drinks could affect a performance.

Rosenbloom, C. (2014). Energy Drinks, Caffeine, and Athletes. Nutrition Today, 49(2), 49-54.

- This source discusses how energy drinks affects college athletes. It has the statistic that

45% of athletes in college have reportedly used caffeinated drinks with the intention of

improving their performance. I can use this data when explaining how energy drinks are being

used today and who is using them.

Bulut, B., Beyhun, N., Topba, E., & an, M. (2014). Energy Drink Use in University Students

and Associated Factors. Journal of Community Health, 39(5), 1004-1011.

- This article takes the focus away from the physical performance aspect of energy drinks

and focuses on the millions of university students who drink them to help them with their

productivity. I like this article because it includes statistics about gender and alcohol use. These

factors change the rate of consumption and also the effects it has on the brain.
Breda, J., Whiting, S., Encarnao, R., Norberg, S., Jones, R., Reinap, M., & Jewell, J. (2014).

Energy drink consumption in europe: A review of the risks, adverse health effects, and policy

options to respond. Frontiers in Public Health, 2, 134.

- This article cites the last article posted. This reading observes the risks with consuming

lots of energy drinks and discusses the effects. I can use the information in this to discuss the

health risks that are involved when consuming.

Azagba, S., Langille, D., & Asbridge, M. (2014). An emerging adolescent health risk:

caffeinated energy drink consumption patterns among high school students. Preventive

Medicine, 62, 54-59.

- This article is important because it discusses the use of energy drinks among adolescents

(high school students). The students report being more depressed under the influence of these

drinks and they also feel dependent on it. I can use this data to argue that energy drinks do not

help productivity.

Heckman, M. A., Sherry, K., Mejia, D., & Gonzalez, E. (2010). Energy drinks: an assessment of

their market size, consumer demographics, ingredient profile, functionality, and regulations in

the United States. Comprehensive Reviews in food science and food safety, 9(3), 303-317.

- This article explains the demographic that uses energy drinks and at what rate they use

them at. I like this study because it goes in depth with different types of people with different

backgrounds. I can use this data to help show perspective or just for data.

Seifert, S. M., Schaechter, J. L., Hershorin, E. R., & Lipshultz, S. E. (2011). Health effects of

energy drinks on children, adolescents, and young adults. Pediatrics, 127(3), 511-528.
- This source has been cited over 400 times. Through experimentation, it is concluded that

energy drinks do more harm than good to the mind and body. I can use the Data and statistics to

prove how a mind can suffer from these drinks in situations that require productivity.

Berger, A. J., & Alford, K. (2009). Cardiac arrest in a young man following excess consumption

of caffeinated energy drinks. Med J Aust, 190(1), 41-43.

- This article speaks on how ingesting too many energy drinks can lead to cardiac arrest

and can even be fatal. I can use this information to show that college students are literally putting

their lives on the line when they ingest large amounts of energy drinks when trying to be

productive.

Budney, A. J., & Emond, J. A. (2014). Caffeine addiction? Caffeine for youth? Time to act!.

Addiction, 109(11), 1771-1772.

- This article is recent and has been cited 12 times. It discusses the caffeinated addiction in

the united states and combats deniers with statistics, research and experimentation.

Magrini, Mitchel A., et al. "Effects of a Pre-workout Energy Drink Supplement on Upper Body

Muscular Endurance Performance." International Journal of Exercise Science 9.5 (2016): 667.

- This article discusses preworkout effects on the body. It has statistics about preworkout

use among male athletes. It compares in a study how preworkout affects both men and women.