Drinking coffee or Red Bull before a dive?

[Stoy D Dabbs]

I don't drink coffee's, But it's those diet pepsi's and diet coke's.
If I plan to go deep, I will try to drink as much water.
I also have a pee valve in my dry suit.

 

[mpgunner]

I don't have a pee valve so I'm doing practicing "water management". But coffee is sometimes helpful.

 

[LouieLouie]

Red Bull is known to increase the risk of heart failure and is banned in several European countries for that very reason. I would definitely not drink it before a dive.

I'm not at all worried about coffee, though.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

I don't drink the energy drinks. I do drink coffee and have a hearty breakfast before my spring dives. I drink lots of water daily. Now for offshore diving, I tend to be more on the green side sometimes, so nothing acidic or heavy. I usually have a banana, gingerale and water. Maybe some cereal. You never know how rough it can get out there and some things are funky the 2nd time around! Eeek!

Carolyn:shark2:

 

[Buoyant1]

Coffee! But I usually drink "half caf" (50% Caftrox) so I only have to pee half as much!

My usual routine is get up have my coffee, then a big bowl of cereal (Needs my Wheaties) then water or Gatorade. MAYBE an energy BAR if it's an early dive. (like Carolyn said, somethngs aren't pretty the second time around)

I don't have any faith in the energy drinks though... (or those "Stox" coffee enhancers)

 

[ScubaSteve]

Coffee is a diuretic which means, as many have posted, it makes you have to pee.

Q: What is a diuretic?
A: A diuretic is defined as any substance that increases the secretion of urine put simply this means anything that makes you want to urinate.

As has been stated, following your normal routine is likely no problem. I personally have two large coffees on my way to our usual dive site (but then it is a 2 hour drive). Others cannot have any. As long as it is part of your normal routine then I am sure you would be fine. Remember though, anything that makes you urinate more, also dehydrates you quicker so you will need to keep hydrated.

I personally believe that if you need to drink the RedBull to stay alert and awake, do not dive. I cannot really comment further on the drink because I will not consume them. IMO they are not a good choice for what to put in your system (just how I see it).

 

[joy pedersen]

I go through my normal morning routine which includes breakfast and 2 cups of coffee followed by at least 16 oz of water. But then again I am usually up by 5:30 am........

 

[InTheDrink]

I wouldn't drink red bull for the same reason I wouldn't take speed before diving. The caffeine and taurine I find are really strong and will make your heart beat significantly faster in my experience. I like to be calm for a dive and I can't imagine that kind of 'redbull hit' would be useful in an emergency (well, for me at least).

A cup or two of coffee is fine but again, I'd not go mad on it and has been mentioned, sticking to a normal diet (but with added water) is probably the most sensible course.

 

[Doc Harry]

I wouldn't drink red bull for the same reason I wouldn't take speed before diving. The caffeine and taurine I find are really strong and will make your heart beat significantly faster in my experience. I like to be calm for a dive and I can't imagine that kind of 'redbull hit' would be useful in an emergency (well, for me at least).

A cup or two of coffee is fine but again, I'd not go mad on it and has been mentioned, sticking to a normal diet (but with added water) is probably the most sensible course.

Red Bull has about half the caffeine of a typical cup of American coffee (80mg vs. 160mg), and less sugar than a typical candy bar (about 27g vs. 35g). The combination of Taurine and caffeine does have a modest effect on increasing heart rate.

That said, if I didn't have my morning pre-dive coffee I'd probably fall asleep on the dock and miss the boat.

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

I am hearing, from quite a few commercial divers I know, that Red Bull is banned from the jobsite (rig, boat, etc.) due to health issues and (unknown reason) DCS hits. There is no study, that I am aware of, but these guys say the companies noticed a difference when Red Bull came onboard. In my line of work we have seen people mixing it with alcohol much more impaired. I would steer clear of it.