The use and motivations for use of energy drinks (EDs) in college students has been documented in the literature. Many college students identify academic reasons, such as a need to study more, as a motivation for ED use. However, research has not determined if users who claim academic motivations actually study more than those who claim other motivations. A sample of 692 undergraduate students at a large, private university completed a paper survey that inquired about demographics, ED use, motivations for ED use, sleep quality, and average amount of time spent sleeping and studying per week. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze demographics, and analysis of variance was used to compare ED users with different motivations to amount of time spent sleeping and studying per week. Regression analysis was also used to determine if ED use could be predicted by any of the other variables. Increased ED consumption was predicted by being male (B = -0.394, p < .001) and having a decreased sleep quality (B = 0.586, p < .001). Reported study hours by subjects who claimed academic reasons as motivation for ED use were not significantly different in comparison to ED users who claimed other motivations. In our sample, ED users who reported academic reasons as motivations for use did not report significantly more study hours per week when compared to those who claimed other motivations. This demonstrates a disconnect between reported motivations for energy drink use and outcomes that are expected to be associated with those motivations.
Keywords: College students; Energy drink; Motivations; Study habits.