As a high school student it is hard to maintain good grades, do well in sports and have a job on the side. Most students lose sleep each night cramming for tests and doing their homework. The ongoing trend for helping students stay focused is energy drinks.

According to weightlossresources.co.uk, “Energy drinks seem to be promoted from one of two perspectives. One line of promotion veers towards a sports focus, indicating to the consumer that these drinks might enhance physical stamina. Then there is the ‘morning after’ approach, which offers up energy drinks as a means of coping with the after-effects of a big night out, or a way to give yourself a boost if you’re feeling tired or jaded.”

Senior Sam Martinez is one of the many who enjoys energy drinks because of their flavor and the way they make her feel.

“I like the taste of Monster, but it does not give me much energy; it barely affects me at all,” said Sam Martinez.

Martinez was asked to go a week without Monster to see how it affected her. Although she is sure that she is not “addicted” to Monster, she found it a little hard to be without the regular green Monster or the Cuba Libre flavor.

Throughout the week Martinez was experiencing some minor physical effects such as looking more tired than usual. What was changing majorly was her emotions such as not being as talkative and also becoming irritated with little things. Many changes came in to play when her body tried adjusting to the absence of all the sugar. She was not acting the same way she did when she had a Monster in her hand.

“I drink at least four or five cans of Monster a week. Usually people will just give them to me if they don’t want it. I feel like Monster is just like soda. That is the reason why I like it so much. I’m so used to drinking Monster that it’s more like a routine now than anything,” said Martinez.

What most teenagers do not realize is the amount of sugar that is put into an energy drink. A can of Monster contains of 54 grams of sugar according to Energyfiend.com.

“Usually a few hours after drinking Monster I start to feel very tired and sluggish so it makes me want to drink more to get rid of that feeling,” said Martinez.

After Sam was allowed to begin drinking Monster again, she started to have stomach aches. She decided that after going a week without it she wants to start drinking less Monster because it is starting to make her feel sick after every can she has.

“I feel that this really opened my eyes to what I should and should not be putting into my body. I will definitely stop drinking that much Monster each week. I will still drink soda, but I will also limit that as well,” said Martinez.