Background: Energy drinks have become popular recently. One of these, Red Bull?, has been shown to increase endurance. To our knowledge, the effects of this energy drink on dexterity have not been evaluated. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effects of drinking one can of Red Bull? energy drink on dexterity. Materials and Methods: Eighteen volunteers (adults and children) were asked to perform a standardized dexterity test two times with both their left and right hands. Once this was performed, a 250 mL can of Red Bull? energy drink was consumed. The standardized dexterity test was repeated after a wait period of 30 minutes. Dexterity performance was then compared between hands for pre and post drink consumption. For controls, five volunteers underwent the same testing procedure but drank 250 ml of water instead of Red Bull?. Results: For all pre-consumption right and left hands, the mean times for completion were 15.92 (SD 1.98) and 16.6 seconds (SD 2.02). For all post-consumption right hands, the mean times to completion were 14.9 and 15.83 seconds. For controls, pre-consumption means for left and right hands were 16.9 and 18.8 seconds, respectively. Post-consumption means for left and right hands were 17.8 (SD 2.5) and 17. 3 seconds (SD 2.1), respectively. No statistical significance was found between sides or sex or between controls and study participants. Conclusions: Based on these findings, there are no short-term effects of drinking Red Bull? energy drink on dexterity. Larger studies are now necessary to confirm these findings.
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