Energy Drinks May Improve Postural Sway While Provoking an Early Onset of Muscle Fatigue

Energy Drinks May Improve Postural Sway While Provoking an Early Onset of Abstract Background: In recent years, energy drink consumption (EDC) has flared up among college students in the 18-34-year-old male demographic. Energy drinks cause balance alterations, reduction of blood flow, and distort lower limb neuromuscular activation. Purpose/Objective: We strived to discover which specific additive among three different drinks (Red Bull, Rockstar, Bang) could contribute to abnormalities in stability, memory, and muscle activation. Therefore, this investigation’s aim is two-fold. First, we assessed the impact of EDC on muscle activation/fatigue and standing balance during multitasking activities. Second, we propose to determine the effect of EDC on memory during multitasking activities. Methods: Twenty healthy young adults ranging from 22 to 28 years old, took part in the study. Demographic and cardiovascular data were collected, and later all participants completed cognitive evaluations (memory, motor speed) before the EDC. We obtained neuromuscular data via EMG sensors placed on hand grip muscles (wrist flexors) before performing the balance (no foam/foam, EO/EC) and motor (while holding a water cup; no nodding/nodding) tasks measured by accelerometers. Each participant completed all tasks pre- and post-16-ounce EDC. A MANOVA analysis was implemented to compare pre- and post-data. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Among the three diverse drinks, 1) A trend to reduce jerk movements (postural sway) was detected mostly in the anterior-posterior (AP) direction with the Red Bull group and 2) Handgrip neuromuscular data revealed an adaptation in diverse timing variables, more noticeable with the Red Bull group during muscle timing decay. 3) Finally, the memory protocol yielded no results after EDC. Conclusions: While this study's outcomes did not show a substantial distinction between pre and post-EDC for the variables measured, among the three drinks, Red bull exhibited alterations. The reduction in EMG activity decay in the Red Bull group may suggest an early onset of muscle fatigue following EDC. Nevertheless, it seems that the reduced sway compensates for this early decay during the balance tests. Clinical relevance: This study pointed out that some of the ingredients in Red Bull alter muscle activation and balance. Further research is warranted to gain a better understanding of the effects of Red Bull’s ingredients on muscle fatigue and balance.