Most people find it convenient to grab a can of energy drink instead of making coffee or other juices in these days.
The main reason behind this is that the benefits of energy drinks can range from increasing your physical endurance to increased cognition and capability.
However, caffeinated beverages can cause certain side effects such as nausea, headaches, lightheadedness, and sometimes numbness.
In order to know more, let’s get going and explore the topic in detail!
Numbness And Its Causes
Numbness is a physical sensation that can be felt. Injury, illness, nerve damage, and other medical disorders can all contribute to it. Numbness in the arm or leg may suggest a problem with the spinal cord or peripheral nerves, which control feelings in various body parts.
It can also be referred to as a change in the usual and normal sensation of the body, such as a feeling of pins and needles in the body.
Here are a few causes of the numbness in the body:
- Nerve damage
- Irritation
- Compression of nerves
Sometimes, numbness can be temporary and does not happen most often. However, if you are feeling the following symptoms then you might have chronic numbness and you should not ignore the symptoms mentioned below:
- Aching numbness in hands
- Weak grip
- Tingling sensation in the fingers
- Numbness or pain in your wrist and arm
- Numbness or pain in your hand
Caffeine
Caffeine is a natural stimulant that can be conveniently found in marts and stores. Most people consume caffeine almost on the daily basis.
It can be in tea leaves, cocoa beans, and coffee beans naturally; it’s a legal stimulant and a psychoactive drug that does not usually cause any side effects.
Caffeine can also be found in a variety of other items, including several drinks such as espresso, cappuccino, energy drinks, sodas, etc.
It has been found helpful for athletes as it regulates the central nervous system and it can improve the ability of the body and enhances the energy of the body.
On the other hand, caffeine does not only have all the benefits, caffeine can also have certain side effects such as:
- Restlessness and shakiness.
- Insomnia.
- Headaches.
- Dizziness.
- Fast heart rate.
- Dehydration.
- Anxiety.
- Dependency
- Weight gain
- High blood pressure
Can Caffeine Cause Numbness in the Face?
Caffeine does not have any reported effects such as numbness or any such effects. However, caffeine has the ability to cause potential side effects, including nausea, lightheadedness, vomiting, stomach cramps, etc.
Another side effect of caffeine is that it causes anxiety and panic attacks in high dosages. If you keep consuming caffeine in high dosages on regular basis, then you can have prolonged anxiety.
In case you ever had a tingling sensation or a feeling of numbness after the consumption of energy drinks, then it might be caused by the anxiety caused by the increase in cortisol level which is in turn caused due to high caffeine consumption.
If you get anxiety attacks due to high caffeine consumption, then feeling tingly or numb in the face can be caused by caffeine as a side effect of anxiety.
So, in such cases, caffeine can cause numbness in the face.
Can Caffeine Cause Numbness in the Arm?
Caffeine is a stimulant, which makes it common to have certain effects on your brain and body.
The presence of caffeine in the brain can affect the levels of other hormones such as cortisol. Increased levels of cortisol can increase the stress in the body.
High levels of stress and anxiety can cause numbness in certain areas of the body, however, it’s uncommon, but it might cause numbness in the arms.
You should avoid energy drinks, which are high in caffeine. Following are a few drinks, which are high in caffeine:
| Energy drinks | Caffeine content |
| Spike Hardcore Energy | 350mg |
| Bang Energy drink | 300 mg |
| G fuel | 300 mg |
Sugar
Sugar is a fine powder and is also present in cube form made from sugar cane. It’s present in most of the beverages we consume, and we love it because of the pleasant sweetness of the sugar.
However, sugar can have certain side effects. Certain side effects of caffeine include the following side effects:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Sugar crash
- Inflammation
- Weight gain
- Fatty liver disease
- Numbness
- Nerve damage
In case you consume excessive sugar on a daily basis, then your blood sugar level might increase to a such high extent which can cause certain side effects. The side effects of high blood sugar levels can lead to certain nerve damage.
The nerve damage caused by high levels of sugar can cause numbness in the feet, arms, face, and certain parts of the body.
Why Do Energy Drinks Make Me Numb?
Energy drinks are highly popular and common beverages that are sold in almost every nearby market.
There are several benefits of energy drinks ranging from increased cognition to enhanced endurance and physical abilities such as running, exercising more efficiently, etc.
However, energy drinks do not always have benefits, they can also have certain side effects such as nausea, headaches, stomach cramps, etc.
But if you experience numbness after the consumption of energy drinks, then the only reason might be either increased blood sugar levels or anxiety and panic attacks caused by the caffeine or sugar present inside the energy drinks.
So if this is the case, then energy drinks can cause numbness due to the ingredients and stimulants present inside these drinks.
Can Energy Drinks Make Your Arm Numb?
In case energy drinks cause you to feel anxious or you might experience panic attacks, then as a side effect, you can experience a tingling sensation or numbness.
If you experience numbness due to energy drinks, then energy drinks can make your arms numb as well.
Can Energy Drinks Affect Your Nerves?
There is no exact evidence that energy drinks might affect your nerves or not. More research needs to be done on this topic.
Energy drinks contain ingredients such as caffeine, sugar, vitamins, minerals, ginseng, etc. None of these ingredients are likely to cause any nerve damage.
If you experience high blood sugar levels then it can affect your nerves and damage them.
But in general, energy drinks are not likely to cause any nerve damage.
In case you experience numbness and tingling in the face, arm, or feet, then it’s going to be temporary and not permanent.
Can Energy Drinks Cause Memory Loss?
The most common drinks after teas, coffee, or sodas are energy drinks. These drinks have been linked to several benefits such as increased cognition, physical endurance, better memory, etc.
Energy drinks do not have any reported side effects such as memory loss.
Memory loss due to the consumption of energy drinks would be kind of contrary to our belief since we believe that energy drinks can cause memory enhancement.
But if you consume an energy drink, which is high in caffeine dosages then the long-term consumption of these drinks can cause memory impairment. This is due to the presence of caffeine in the drinks and caffeine has certain side effects on the brain if taken in high dosages since it’s a stimulant.
So, theoretically speaking, caffeine in energy drinks can cause memory impairment if taken regularly in high dosages.
Is One Energy Drink A Day OK?
Consuming one energy drink per day is absolutely fine if it contains caffeine below the quantity of 200 mg along with a sugar level below 10 grams.
Even though the limit of caffeine intake per day is 400 mg, 400 mg of caffeine can be a lot for a few people and you are likely to experience certain side effects such as nausea, lightheadedness, stomach cramps, etc.
Long-term Side Effects of Energy Drinks
Normally, energy drinks do not contain side effects and they are safe to be consumed. However, if you keep consuming energy drinks in high dosages on a regular basis, then these drinks can have certain side effects in the long term such as:
- Heart arrhythmias
- Headaches
- High blood pressure
- Anxiety
Final Verdict
- Energy drinks are beverages that are sold in the market with many proclaimed benefits.
- Energy drinks contain ingredients such as caffeine, vitamins, minerals, ginseng, etc. None of these ingredients are likely to cause any nerve damage.
- These caffeinated beverages can cause certain side effects such as nausea, headaches, lightheadedness, and sometimes numbness.