Energy is a good thing and children seemingly have and
should have an endless supply of it.
Unfortunately a growing number of kids are resorting to artificial means
in order to get a jolt. I will get
into some of the reasons kids lack energy a bit later but this issue is red hot
right now as Federal lawmakers are pushing the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) to restrict caffeine levels in certain energy drinks, which have been
linked to multiple deaths.
A pair of United States Senators want caffeine limits on the
beverages after emergency room visits involving such drinks jumped 10-fold from
2005-09. The Senators are also
concerned about other ingredients contained in these drinks, such as guarana,
taurine and ginseng. These are generally considered safe when used as food
flavorings, but in these drinks, they are used in much higher doses as
energy-boosting supplements. The Senators worry that mixed with the caffeine,
these stimulants may be unsafe.
5-Hour Energy drinks have been cited in the deaths of 13
people in the past four years, according to reports received by the Food and
Drug Administration.
5-Hour Energy has been associated with 92 adverse event
reports in that time, including 32 hospitalizations, Shelly Burgess, an FDA
spokeswoman said Wednesday. The death reports are open cases being investigated
by the FDA, she said.
It was revealed last month that Corona, Calif.-based
Monster's drinks have been cited in the deaths of five people in the past year,
according to incident reports that doctors and companies voluntarily file with
the FDA.
5-Hour Energy said on its website that its energy shot
contains the same amount of caffeine as 12 ounces of the leading cup of premium
coffee.
In a statement, Living Essentials spokeswoman Elaine Lutz
said, "it is important to note that submitting a serious adverse event
report to the FDA, according the agency itself, is not construed by FDA as an
admission that the dietary supplement was involved, caused or contributed to
the adverse event being reported or that any person included in the report
caused or contributed to the event." [1]
Energy drinks were the topic of one of my recent articles
and earlier in the summer I touched on the importance of sleep to youth
athletic development. The
following research shows a potentially strong association between energy drinks
and poor sleep quality.
To determine the
extent of energy drink use and the association with sleep problems and
sleepiness during combat operations, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
analyzed data collected by Joint Mental Health Advisory Team 7 (J-MHAT 7) to
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2010. The analysis showed that
44.8% of deployed service members consumed at least one energy drink daily,
with 13.9% drinking three or more a day. Service members drinking three or more
energy drinks a day were significantly more likely to report sleeping 4 hours
or less a night on average than those consuming two drinks or fewer. Those who
drank three or more drinks a day also were more likely to report sleep
disruption related to stress and illness and were more likely to fall asleep
during briefings or on guard duty. [2]
The above study must be taken with some reservation
considering the high stress environment that is experienced by active duty
service members. I know that kind
of environment would negatively impact my ability to sleep. It is unclear whether service members
with sleep problems used more energy drinks to stay alert, or if heavy use of
energy drinks led to sleep disruptions; published studies suggest a cyclical
combination of both.
So why is poor sleep quality such a big deal especially for
developing young athletes?
Med Page Today has an article discussing the correlation
between a lack of sleep and increased rate of injuries. The article cites a paper from the
American Academy of Pediatrics and notes that sleeping less than 8 hours showed
a statistically significant increase in injuries in adolescent sports. I was more surprised to read that 77%
of the students reported sleeping less than 8 hours. Perhaps all these energy
drinks…
According to Matthew Milewski, MD, of Children's Hospital
Los Angeles,
"Adolescent athletes may benefit from additional sleep
as they get older. We'd like injury prevention programs to focus on sleep
education."
Of the more than 38 million children who participate in
organized sports each year, about 10% will receive medical treatment for sports
injuries. Roughly half of the injuries are believed to be related to overuse,
and about 50% of those are believed to be preventable, Milewski said. [3]
Several factors are thought to be associated with a greater
risk for sports injury, including increased participation and specialization,
strength training, and decreased time off, but it's possible that lack of sleep
contributes as well.
Insufficient sleep -- defined by the CDC and the National
Sleep Foundation as less than 8 hours per night among high school students --
is epidemic in this age group, Milewski said, pointing to a CDC study that found
that about 68.9% of high school students were getting an inadequate amount of
sleep.
Over a 21-month
period, 57% of the athletes sustained injuries that were recorded by athletic
trainers at the school; 38% of all athletes suffered multiple injuries.
Injuries affected a
wide range of body parts, most commonly the hand or wrist (30 injuries), knee
(28), shoulder (24), ankle (19), back (18), and head (17).
After multivariate
adjustment, getting insufficient sleep was the strongest independent predictor
of injury. [3]
The study joins previous analyses that have found
associations between getting enough sleep and benefits for adolescents. For
example, delaying the start of the school day at a private high school in Rhode
Island resulted in teens getting more sleep, which in turn was associated with
improvements in alertness and motivation and less daytime sleepiness, fatigue,
and depressed mood. [3]
I have a strong sense that the current youth sport and
technology culture are partially responsible for poor sleep quality in
children. Young athletes experience competitive demands that closely rival that
of fully developed professionals.
Kids play late at night and often has to get up early the next morning
for school, maybe even an early practice or game. The quality of their
nutrition is poor and they live this cycle nearly year round. They have little downtime for physical
and mental recovery, despite bodies that are literally changing everyday due to
growth and development and restoration is exactly what is required for them
realize and sustain physical and mental performance improvement. Contrast this to pro athletes that
travel on charter flights, have trained nutrition, fitness and therapeutic
professionals at their beckon call and most importantly have at minimum an
off-season of 3-4 months. What
ever lead us to believe kids could handle a pro-style schedule when they
clearly are under equipped to do so?
Many kids are also over-stimulated due to constantly being connected via
technology such as cell phones. I
am sure I am not the only one that knows a kid that text at all hours of the
night? Is it any wonder they may
resort to something like an energy drink?
This type of lifestyle for children can be the start of a slippery
slope of behaviors that result from poor sleep quality and the ensuing fatigue
that accompanies it. Any program
that hopes to maximize a child’s athletic development or classroom performance
must address the importance of quality sleep.
Additional reading:
The importance of sleep for youth athletic development
Energy Drinks useful or slippery slope
As if energy drinks weren’t enough for parents to worry
about now food companies are juicing up snack foods like Cracker Jacks!
The Detroit Free Press’ Mitch Albom also recently touched on
this topic:
5-Hour Energy warned about deceptive ads:
Statistically Speaking
Military and civilian findings show that more than half of
adolescents and young adults drink at least one energy drink per month, with
approximately 6% consuming energy drinks daily. [2]
According to a study published in the journal Pediatrics,
the total amount of caffeine contained in some cans or bottles of energy drinks
"can exceed 500 mg (equivalent to 14 cans of common caffeinated soft
drinks) and is clearly high enough to result in caffeine toxicity."
The Monster Beverage Corporation has stated that a 16-ounce
can of Monster Energy contains 160 milligrams of caffeine (equivalent to more
than four cans of Coke). A 24-ounce can of Monster contains 240 milligram of
caffeine (equal to nearly seven cans of Coke).
Because of their high caffeine content, the American Academy
of Pediatrics concluded that energy drinks "should never be consumed"
by children or adolescents.
Reference:
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