The results of a new study published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research provide some interesting insights into why pairing alcohol with energy drinks may be hazardous. Cecile Marczinski, a psychologist at Northern Kentucky University, found that combining energy drinks such as Red Bull with vodka or other liquors effectively removes any built-in checks your body has for overindulging.
發表在《酒精中毒:臨床與實驗室研究》中的一項新的研究結果給出了"為何將酒精同能量混合是極其危險的"的相關原因。北肯塔基大學心理學家塞西爾馬爾辛斯基發現,若將能量飲料如紅牛與伏特加或其他烈酒相混合,將極富成效地移除身體內部固有的抗沉溺校檢機制。
When you drink alcohol by itself, it initially induces a feeling of happiness — a comfortable buzz. But when you overindulge, your body knows it, and it starts to shut down; you start feeling tired, sleepy and more sedated than stimulated. "That's your cue to go home to bed," says Marczinski.
當你只喝單一烈酒時,最初產生一種快樂的感覺——舒適的陶醉感。但當你過度沉溺于其中,你的身體能感覺到,并開始校正之;你開始感覺到疲勞和瞌睡,而且更鎮定而不是興奮。“這就暗示你該回家睡覺了,”馬爾辛斯基說。
But in her drinking study, for which she (easily) recruited participants, she found that people downing the combination of alcohol and energy drinks lost this natural control. Marczinski had volunteers show up at her lab and drink either plain alcoholic drinks; mixed beverages containing alcohol and energy drinks; energy drinks alone; or a non-alcoholic beverage.
而在她的飲酒研究中,她發現,在所招募的參與者中,那些沉溺于酒精-能量飲料的混合飲品的人失去了這一本能控制。馬爾辛斯基讓志愿者來到她的研究室,喝下一般含酒精飲料、含酒精-能量飲料的混合飲料、單一能量飲料和非酒精飲料中的任何一種。
When the drinkers were asked to rate how stimulated and energetic they felt — whether they were alert or awake — those consuming the combination energy-alcohol drinks reported twice as much stimulation as those drinking alcohol alone. They tended to report less sedation and fewer symptoms like tiredness or sleepiness. "The disconnect between what you feel and how you act is what is the problem here," she says, noting that these participants continued to feel stimulated and never came down off their alcohol buzz. "Stimulation may not be a good thing when you're drinking because you may drink longer, decide to stay at a party where you're drinking longer, and drink far more than you originally intended."
當要求他們評價自己所感覺到的興奮或有力程度,是否處在警惕狀態或是清醒狀態,那些飲用含酒精和能量型混合飲料的人比飲用單一烈酒的人感覺到了兩倍的興奮感。他們常常表現出極少的鎮定和更少的癥狀,如疲勞或瞌睡。“你的感覺和你的行為之間的不相干正是問題的所在,”她說道,并注釋到那些參與者仍感覺到興奮,他們的酒精陶醉感從未消減。“當你正喝酒時,鼓舞或許不是一件好事,因為你可能想喝的更久并決定留在派對上,而在這個派對上,你將喝的更久且會遠比你開始打算喝的更多。”
Interestingly, Marczinski says, by combining these results with other work she has done on energy drinks, she found that it's not energy drinks' primary ingredient, caffeine, that's problematic. Rather, it's the mix of other awakening ingredients in the beverages that may be contributing to the enhanced alcohol high. When she compared the stimulation ratings between those who drank beverages made only from caffeine powder and those who drank alcoholic energy drinks, she found that the combination resulted in far greater alertness than the caffeine alone. "I always thought that it was a marketing thing when they mention the other things they put in like taurine, glucose and ginseng," she says. "But I think they do facilitate that stimulation; it's not just the caffeine."
有趣的是,馬爾辛斯基說通過結合這些結果和已在能量飲料上所做的工作后發現,這不是能量飲料主要成分——咖啡因導致的結果,這才是問題的所在。恰好相反,其他振奮性成分的混合物對加強的酒精快感起著貢獻作用。當她比較飲用只含咖啡因粉末飲料的人和飲用混合飲料的人所做出的興奮評級,她發現混合物較單獨的咖啡因產生更強的警惕狀態。“當他們談起向酒里加入其他物質,如牛磺酸、葡萄糖和高麗參時,我曾一直認為這是一項營銷事件。但是,現在我知道它們對鼓舞起到了推波助瀾的作用,這不僅僅是咖啡因的作用,”她說道。
Marczinski was able to assess changes in behavior only 45 minutes after the participants enjoyed their drinks, so she didn't record any increase in impaired judgment or behavior, but, she says, that may be because the subjects weren't monitored long enough.
在參與者飲酒后僅45分鐘,馬爾辛斯基便掌握了他們的行為變化,因此,她沒記錄任何關于受損的辨別能力和行為能力的增長情況。但是,她說這或許是因為主體被監測時間不夠長的緣故。
Even so, the increased stimulation and impulsivity makes the combination of alcohol and energy drinks a dangerous one, especially for underage drinkers who may think they are capable of drinking more than their limit, or even driving after a party. "Even with just alcohol alone, young, underage drinkers are bad at deciding how safe a driver they are, but I think this would make that situation far worse," Marczinski says. And it's just another reminder not to drink and drive — no matter what combination of spirits you're consuming.
雖然如此,增強的刺激和沖動讓酒精能量混合飲料變得危險,尤其對那些認為自己能夠飲酒高于身體極限的未成年人和派對后駕車的人來說更加危險。“即使飲用單一的烈酒,年輕未成年人也不擅長決定他們是多么可靠的駕駛員,但我認為這將使情況變得更糟,”馬爾辛斯基說道。無論你飲用哪種混合烈酒,這是禁止酒后駕車的又一暗示。