diff --git a/src/server/database_connection.rs b/src/server/database_connection.rs
index 826f7c8..fbf5a74 100644
--- a/src/server/database_connection.rs
+++ b/src/server/database_connection.rs
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ use dotenvy::dotenv;
 use std::env;
 
 pub(crate) fn establish_database_connection() -> ConnectionResult<PgConnection> {
-    dotenv().ok();
+    dotenv().expect("Could not load environment variables.");
 
     let database_url =
-        env::var("DATABASE_URL").expect("The environment variable DATABASE_URL must be set.");
+        env::var("DATABASE_URL").expect("The environment variable DATABASE_URL has to be set.");
     PgConnection::establish(&database_url)
 }