We all face a situation in which we are in the middle of achieving our goal, but our body is too tired to do that, which can be annoying, especially when your work is difficult. Whether you’re studying late for exams or assignments, doing high-intensity workouts, night shifts, or working overtime.
It’s normal to feel tired, unpleasant, and weary at some point. Luckily, we have something that helps make us feel awake, like coffee or other caffeinated beverages such as energy drinks that can relieve our temporary tiredness.
Energy Drinks that contain a moderate or high amount of caffeine work more effectively to keep you focused and alert.
Energy drinks like Red Bull, Adrenaline Shoc, and Sneak Energy are great to keep you awake as they contain a decent amount of caffeine and other effective ingredients that will help you get energized during your work hours.
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Ingredients of Energy Drinks
The two main ingredients in energy drinks are sugar and caffeine, which play a vital role in keeping you awake when you are tired. Let’s take a detailed look at an energy drink’s main ingredients:
Sugar
Sugar is an essential ingredient in energy drinks as it adds taste to an energy drink. It’s rich in carbs and calories (both can be transformed into energy).
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), males can consume 36g of sugar per day, and women are required to consume 25g of sugar per day. Consuming sugar excessively can lead to the following health issues:
- Irritability
- Acne
- Heart problems
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 diabetes
- Obesity /weight gain
In my perspective, you need a low amount of sugar in energy drinks to keep yourself active and awake, as more sugar can also lead to a sugar crash.
Caffeine
Caffeine is the main ingredient in energy drinks because of its vital elements that help keep anyone awake and energized. It works by hindering the adenosine receptors (a component in your body that provokes sleep).
Caffeine has an abrupt outcome on the body and is at its peak within 30 to 60 minutes and has a half-life (the proportion of time it takes for your body to eliminate half of it) of three to five hours. This may also take up to 12 hours to be removed entirely from your system.
Though caffeine is an excellent ingredient in energy drinks that you’ll enjoy, it can also cause some health problems, such as:
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Dependence
- Muscle breakdown
- Digestive issues
- High blood pressure
- Rapid heart rate
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a healthy person must consume 400 mg of caffeine in a day or go with the amount that a person can tolerate—drinking more than this amount can cause side effects mentioned above.
Why You Need Energy Drinks to Wake Up?
Energy Drinks are needed to keep a person active throughout the day. However, it will be best to start your day with something much lighter such as coffee or tea, before consuming energy drinks.
Energy Drinks are great for boosting, but their side effects come with them when we talk about energy drinks. Many other ingredients are added to energy drinks, which may leave side effects if you consume them in the long term.
However, there are many sugar-free energy drinks that a health-conscious person can consume to start their day and avoid its adverse effects.
What Can I Do to Avoid Sleep?
Many drinks, including tea, coffee, wine, soda, and, of course, energy drinks, can help to alleviate the feeling of sleepiness.
Energy drinks might be your morning companion due to the caffeine and sugar content, which can offer you an immediate boost to chase away your sleep.
Pros and Cons of Energy Drinks
Here’s a list of pros and cons that you can get from energy drinks after consuming them:
Pros
- Enhancement of physical and mental ability
- Boost mood to a great extent
- Reduces fatigue
Cons
- Increased heart rate
- Sugar crashes
- Caffeine withdrawal problems
- Migraines
- Sleeplessness or problems while sleeping
- Anxiety
However, you should note that some of these side effects depend on your caffeine tolerance. So, if you’re sensitive to caffeine, I suggest consuming fewer caffeinated energy drinks.
Check out the video below to know whether energy drinks are bad or not:
How Frequently Should I Consume Energy Drinks?
Whenever you’re feeling tired, or you know you are going on a long day, it’s better that you should consume energy drinks. Ideally, it’s better that you should take one can of your favorite energy drink in a day.
Most physicians talk about high caffeine levels in energy drinks, and a person should consume caffeine that they can tolerate. Which, in my opinion, is a perfect idea to live a healthy life.
Caffeine levels of energy drinks start from 100 mg up to 350 mg, so it’s better that you think before taking any energy drink. It would help if you drank energy drinks that contain low caffeine according to your daily limit.
Best Energy Drinks to Wake Up
Here are some of my top picks of energy drinks that help you stay awake and alert.
Red Bull
Red Bull contains 80 mg of caffeine, 110 calories, and 27g of sugar. This energy drink is intended to enhance focus and alertness. So if you need to keep yourself active, I would suggest this energy drink.
If you’re interested, check out the Benefits of Drinking Red Bull in my other article.
Adrenaline Shoc
Adrenaline Shoc contains 300 mg of caffeine, 0 sugar, and 0 calories. It also contains essential nutrients such as electrolytes and amino acids to keep you active. However, its caffeine content is high, so you have to drink it carefully.
Sneak Energy
Sneak Energy contains 200 mg of caffeine, 3g of sugar, and 12 calories. Consuming this energy drink will give you an energy boost without any sugar crash because its sugar content is low compared to Red Bull.
Will Energy Drinks Help to Keep You Awake?
Energy drinks containing caffeine will keep you active and awake. Caffeine facilitates your neurological nerve, boosting your attention, focus, alertness, and energy level.
Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system by connecting to the adenosine receptors in your brain, which prohibits the adenosine from binging to it and prevents you from feeling sleepy and tired.
Since caffeine helps make you less tired and more active, it’s often used in medicines to control or cure headaches, migraines, and sleepiness. However, energy drinks contain other energy-boosting ingredients such as:
- Taurine
- Ginseng
- Creatinine
- L-carnitine,
- Glucuronolactone
- Guarana
However, it would be best if you also remembered not to rely only on energy drinks to keep you active but check for other factors that also help reduce your tiredness and help with mental alertness.
Other Ways to Stay Awake
People should know that there are other ways to stay awake rather than merely drinking energy drinks.
Follow the tips mentioned below to be active during work:
- If you feel tired, then go for a short walk in between work
- Take full sleep before going to work.
- Take a break to eat something
- Be hydrated
- Listen to hip-hop music
- If any of these tips do not work for you, ask any physician to help you reduce your tiredness during work.
Alternatives
Bang
Bang Energy Drink contains a high amount of caffeine and many amino acid and vitamins. Its high caffeine content is perfect for those who want to stay active. However, if you’re sensitive to caffeine, this energy drink isn’t for you.
Check out the Bang Energy Nutrition Facts here.
Monster
Monster Energy Drink is the most famous energy drink. Monster contains 160 mg of caffeine. So, if you’re looking for a less caffeinated energy drink, then this one’s for you.
Celsius
Celsius Energy Drink contains an impressive list of natural ingredients. It has high amounts of caffeine, vitamins, natural flavors, and artificial sweeteners. However, this is sugar-free, so you won’t face any sugar crashes after consuming it.
Final Thoughts
Although energy drinks help keep you awake when you feel weary and tired. But overconsumption of energy drinks can leave side effects on you. They’re a temporary solution to the main problem in everyone’s life.
Drinking energy drinks when you feel tired is a good option but remember not to rely only on energy drinks. You can also try other options such as a short walk or sleep and keep yourself hydrated.
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