Current Events > Study finds the military's obsession with energy drinks is contributing to PTSD.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2018/10/26/the-militarys-obsession-with-energy-drinks-is-contributing-to-ptsd-study-finds/

Getting adequate sleep is increasingly rare among the active duty military population, as frequent deviations from the bodys natural circadian rhythms due to a demanding operational tempo pit personnel in an ongoing struggle against the ever-persistent sandman.

To combat the sleep deprivation unique to this demographic, service members often turn to energy drinks, a prominent component of combat deployments that has become as paramount to mission success as any piece of protective gear or weaponry.

The prevalence of energy drink use in these settings is extraordinary. The life blood is virtually everywhere and tends to cost nothing resulting in an environment in which nearly half of deployed troops down at least one readily available crack can per day.

But while consuming these drinks may not hurt service members in their wallets, excessive use may very well be contributing to long-term mental and physical ailments, a recent study in the Military Medicine journal observed.

The authors of the study surveyed over 600 male infantry soldiers during a post-deployment period after the brigade combat team returned from a 12-month combat deployment to Afghanistan. Questions were designed to examine the association of energy drink use with sleep deprivation or insomnia, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, aggressive behaviors and fatigue.

What the authors found was that over the course of the month leading up to the survey, more than 75 percent of soldiers consumed energy drinks. More surprising, however, was that 16 percent of soldiers in this study reported continuing to consume two or more energy drinks per day in the post-deployment period," the authors wrote.

High energy drink use, which was classified as consuming two or more drinks per day, was significantly associated with those survey respondents who reported mental health problems, anger-related behaviors and fatigue, the authors found.

Those consuming less than one energy drink per week reported these symptoms at a significantly lower rate.

Also of note is that energy drink use in this Army infantry sample was five times higher than previous studies that analyzed consuming patterns of airmen and the general populations youth.

---

sad thing is that people actually do drink energy drinks knowing how bad they are
---

Doesn't surprise me.

Awesome posted...

sad thing is that people actually do drink energy drinks knowing how bad they are

I mean considering how unhealthy the average American's lifestyle is, it's little wonder how beverages with high caffeine content became so popular.

Then you have doctors commenting on it who know this but the only thing they can really say is "If you need more energy just drink water" like that's gonna do shit.

Sir, you have Rip - It?
---

i'm a huuuuge huge coffee drinker but i can't be the only one who never got into energy drinks ever. they taste like asshole. either have a soda or have some coffee.
---

I used to drink like 4-5 rockstars a day, that shit started fucking with my head though
---

Awesome posted...

sad thing is that people actually do drink energy drinks knowing how bad they are

Because they rely on them for their everyday life.
---

The problem is their work schedule not the energy drinks.

The army is about breaking their soldiers into mindless drones.
---

Rip It donates cases
---

Awesome posted...

sad thing is that people actually do drink energy drinks knowing how bad they are

i think it's better to have PTSD than shit the bed though

I was crushing 5-8 of the provided energy drinks a day during deployments to either stay awake or stay functional, and I deployed 4 times.

I've been out of the army for over a year now and my sleep is garbage. Doctors say my body produces adrenaline even when I sleep. Gives me some really bizarre dreams and I awake constantly but the medicine used to treat it lowers my blood pressure too low and isn't worth the risk.

smoliske posted...

Awesome posted...

sad thing is that people actually do drink energy drinks knowing how bad they are

i think it's better to have PTSD than shit the bed though

Got em
---

Rip it is free in the chow hall in alot of deployed places. You give people 12 hour shifts every single day through the whole deployment dont be surprised they get addicted to any form of caffeine.
---