Energy Drinks – Dangerous or Not?

Over the past few years or so, I have craved energy drinks. The craving is probably linked to the fact that I worked the morning shift here for nearly four years, and during that time I was waking up at 2:30 a.m. each day. I’ve been out of that shift for months now, but my love for energy drinks has not faded. My drink of choice – Monster Khaos (orange). I probably consume two or three per week.

Why the love for Khaos? It gets the job done. I stay awake when I need to (a long drive, late night at work, shopping with a woman). An added bonus is that the drink actually tastes great.

I haven’t sipped coffee in my life and I won’t even go anywhere close to someone smoking a cigarette, but now I fear I may be hooked on something that is potentially dangerous.

From time to time, after consuming a drink, I experience what I describe as a “sugar overload.” My body gets very heated and I even start to shake a bit, but I find the “side effects” only occur when I don’t have much food in my system.

My concern is this: I am starting to purchase and consume these drinks when there’s truly no reason to do so. I got nine hours of sleep last night and I feel great, but I still have a Monster drink sitting at my desk right now.

So have any of you had some negative experiences with energy drinks? Are there any facts you can share with me? Should I just keep drinking them without a care? Thanks for any input!