As it turns out, mixing alcohol and energy drinks may be worse than you think. Although it might seem like a good idea, it's actually quite dangerous (via Self). If you remember the Four Loko controversy in the early 2000s, you know that the caffeinated alcoholic beverage was temporarily banned in several states after sales of the drink led to an increase in hospitalizations among teenagers. At the time, the drink was appealing to many people who wanted to get intoxicated without experiencing the sedating effects of regular alcohol.

事实证明，混合酒精和能量饮料可能比你想象的更糟。虽然这似乎是个好主意，但实际上相当危险。如果你还记得21世纪初关于Four-Loko的争论，你就会知道，含咖啡因的酒精饮料在几个州被暂时禁止，因为这种饮料的销售导致青少年住院人数增加。当时，这种饮料吸引了许多人，他们不想体验普通酒精的镇静作用，只想喝醉。

This is incredibly risky, however, because it can inadvertently cause people to drink more than they should (via the Cleveland Clinic). As a result, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued warnings, claiming that the drink posed a risk to consumer health because "consumers — particularly young, inexperienced drinkers — may not realize how much alcohol they have consumed because caffeine can mask the sense of intoxication." While Four Loko no longer contains caffeine, there are plenty of other caffeinated alcoholic drinks on the market that have since taken their place.

然而，这是非常危险的，因为它会在不经意间导致人们饮酒过量。因此，联邦贸易委员会(FTC)发出警告，声称该饮料对消费者健康构成威胁，因为“消费者——特别是年轻、无经验的饮酒者——可能不知道他们喝了多少酒，因为咖啡因可以掩盖醉酒感。”虽然Four-Loko不再含有咖啡因，但市场上还有大量其他含咖啡因的酒精饮料取而代之。

Exactly how the combination of alcohol and energy drinks impacts your health is largely dependent on the ways in which they independently and collectively interact with adenosine (via Self). Adenosine is a naturally occurring chemical that relaxes and dilates blood vessels. It also impacts your central nervous system by regulating your sleep-wake cycle.

酒精和能量饮料的结合如何影响你的健康，在很大程度上取决于它们与腺苷相互作用的方式。腺苷是一种天然存在的化学物质，可以松弛和扩张血管。它还通过调节你的睡眠-觉醒周期影响你的中枢神经系统。

According to Dr. Brandon Fritz, a postdoctoral fellow in the psychiatry department at the Indiana University School of Medicine, high levels of adenosine in the body can contribute to sleepiness. As a result, drinking alcohol can cause these levels to rise, whereas consuming caffeine can have the opposite effect and actually ward off drowsiness. "Caffeine works to kick-start your [energy] by blocking adenosine receptors in your brain, stopping that sleepy signal and perking you up," Dr. Fritz told Self.

印第安纳大学医学院精神病学系博士后布兰登·弗里茨博士认为，体内高水平的腺苷会导致嗜睡。因此，饮酒会导致这些水平升高，而摄入咖啡因则会产生相反的效果，实际上可以防止嗜睡。弗里茨博士告诉赛尔夫：“咖啡因通过阻断你大脑中的腺苷受体，阻止困倦信号，让你重新振奋起来。”。

One similarity that alcohol and caffeine share, however, is the ability to increase your heart rate and blood pressure. This means that when you consume beverages that contain both caffeine and alcohol, you're doubling the impact the two substances can have on your heart. This can potentially lead to atrial fibrillation and other more serious heart problems.

然而，酒精和咖啡因有一个共同点，那就是增加心率和血压的能力。这意味着当你饮用同时含有咖啡因和酒精的饮料时，这两种物质对你心脏的影响会加倍。因此可能导致心房颤动和其他更严重的心脏问题。