World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Genshin Impact are just a few fantastic games that people rave about all the time, but they share something else. They’re thrilling to put it lightly.
If you play them, you’ll spend a lot of time running around and repeating the same fights to get the gear you want. Otherwise, you’ll be hunting for whatever items you require and hoping for good drops.
It’s as much fun as it is tedious and exhausting. So it’s not surprising that gamers would consider having an energy drink or two, causing brands to market them to gamers. Still, these drinks aren’t the only things you can have to help you get through the day. So, what works?
I think brands with decent amounts of caffeine and relatively low sugar content are the best. Personally, I’d recommend G Fuel Powder, Sneak, Red Bull, and Game Fuel.
Why am I suggesting these? What criteria did I judge these drinks by?
Scroll down and let’s get started.
Contents
What Makes an Energy Drink Good For Gamers?
A lot of games have a high learning curve and require attention to detail in order to play properly. More so when you’re talking about games that have PVP (Player vs Player) content or are JRPGs (Japanese Roleplaying Games).
That means a gamer’s energy drink can’t settle for just boosting stamina. It has to be able to increase focus too.
Depending on the game, it may even be possible to say the boost to focus is the most important part.
What can give you these? Caffeine, of course. After that, there’s low sugar content.
Low Sugar Content
This might sound counterintuitive, but hear me out.
Sugar does have its benefits. Like caffeine, it helps a lot with your energy levels and can give a decent boost when you need it to.
However, sugar also gets consumed quickly while also having the same ‘crash’ side effect caffeine does. So if you drink a high-caffeine, high sugar energy drink to help with your grind, then there’s a good chance you’ll end up experiencing both ‘crashes’.
With all that out of the way, let’s talk about sugar itself.
Sugar is known for its quick energy and is absolutely delicious. It’s also one of the most commonly used food additives in the world. There are a ton of benefits to this, but there are also a lot of negatives as well.
For one thing, sugar comes with a lot of drawbacks for anyone who consumes too much of it.
The side effects are:
- Rotten teeth
- Cavities/other dental problems
- Weight gain
- Obesity
- Increased risk of heart disease
- More pimples
- Increased risk of Type-2 Diabetes
- Faster cellular aging
- Sugar crash
Now, a sugar crash is when taking in a product loaded with sugar but has little of anything else causes a sharp decline in blood sugar levels after a while.
So as far as grinding in games is concerned, sugary products will boost you for a while. You’ll just have to deal with them becoming a hindrance a few hours into the session.
Gotta admit though, this isn’t much of a problem if you’re a casual player who only plays in-between tasks and when you’re bored. A quick sugar high might be all you need in that case, based on my experience.
So if you ask me, the only people who really need to worry about sugar crashes being a problem are people who are in the habit of grinding all day and active participants of Esports.
Caffeine in Energy Drinks
Caffeine—the classic we all know and love.
It’s in coffee, energy drinks, and basically anything we could think to count on for that extra push.
Regardless of what it’s for, caffeine always comes from coffee beans you can find all over the world. It’s also known for being a stimulant. That means caffeine is actually a kind of drug that promotes alertness and makes your body work faster when you’re under its effects.
So when taken via coffee or energy drink, it becomes a great boost for both your body and your mind. Perfect for when you’re studying late at night, working long hours, or grinding for the perfect gear.
But like many other things, caffeine does have its downsides. It can make you crash after a while of having its energy. Taking it too much, or even just at the wrong time can also jeopardize your sleep schedule big time.
And these are just the most common side effects of caffeine. There are more you need to be aware of if you want to drink responsibly.
The side effects of caffeine are:
- Headaches
- Insomnia (Being unable to sleep or having a hard time sleeping)
- Irritability/Foul mood
- Frequently needing the restroom
- Inability to control urination
- Muscle tremors/Twitching
- Palpitations/Fast heartbeat
Aside from being aware of whether or not you are caffeine sensitive, you should avoid drinking too much in a single day.
According to experts, a healthy adult can drink up to 400mg of caffeine per day without issue. Going beyond that will make it a lot more likely that you’ll experience the side effects above. At worst, you could also end up hospitalized.
Despite how scary this can all sound, the thing to take from this is that caffeine is something you need to use wisely. You won’t hurt yourself by drinking it (more or less) once a day, but it can bite you if you get careless.
Do Energy Drinks Improve Gaming?
There are a lot of reasons why energy drinks are considered important in Esports. The most noteworthy of them are the positive effects they have on focus.
You can thank caffeine for that. As mentioned, caffeine is a stimulant; that means it helps you focus more and gives you the energy you need to get through those tough boss fights and grinding sessions. Caffeine is capable of this because it releases dopamine and adrenaline. Having these out makes it easy for the caffeine to block adenosine.
Adenosine is a brain chemical that promotes tiredness and sleepiness during the day. So blocking it makes you feel more energized and focused on what you need to do for the day. It might just come at the cost of being unable to sleep later though.
In practice, caffeine’s adenosine-blocking effects can give you these perks that can help you with your gaming:
- Reaction time
- Attention span
- Judgment
- Perception of effort
- Fatigue resistance
However, it’s important to remember that everyone reacts differently to caffeine. That means whether or not you experience these effects depends a lot on how your body processes caffeine and whether or not you’re sensitive to it.
Sneak Energy Drink
Sneak Energy has 200mg of caffeine in its formula and is sugar-free.
Sneak is one of the newer brands of energy drink to come out and markets itself as a cool brand that provides clean energy. It’s also one of the few brands that sells in tubs and is instantly recognizable by the bunny logo.
Based on the numbers, drinking it will give you half of the amount of caffeine you can safely consume per day. But since it’s sugar-free, you don’t need to worry about more than the caffeine giving you a crash (if you get one).
There’s no need to worry about it tasting terrible either. Sneak Energy might not have any sugar in it, but it makes use of artificial sweeteners that are both calorie-free and several hundred times sweetener than sugar.
G Fuel Powder
G Fuel Powder has 140-150mg of caffeine (depending on the flavor) and is also sugar-free.
Unlike Sneak Energy, G Fuel has been around for a long time and has expanded both its product line and its flavor offerings since their introduction.
As a result, it’s trusted by both gamers and streamers. They frequently claim that you can drink this and expect a steady flow of energy that will last for hours into your gaming session. There was also no crash!
If you don’t like how much caffeine Sneak Energy contains, G Fuel could be a good alternative.
G Fuel Powder also has more flavors, so you might have better chances of finding something you like and would want to stick with depending on your taste.
Red Bull
Red Bull has 80mg of caffeine per 8.4 fl.oz can. It also has 27g of sugar per serving.
Since energy drinks became popular, everyone has been talking about this one brand. At this point, we’ve all heard everything there is to say about Red Bull.
It’s a good compromise between everything. Red Bull contains roughly the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee (or slightly less) and a reasonable amount of sugar. In comparison to other brands on the market, at least.
Even so, in terms of daily limits, it’s still very sugary (25g for women, 36g for men). But it’s still a good option if the others aren’t available or aren’t your thing.
Game Fuel
Game Fuel has 90mg of caffeine and 23g of sugar per container.
Game Fuel is an energy drink designed specifically for gamers. And, if the numbers are any indication, it lives up to its name.
In terms of gaming, Game Fuel is in the same league as Red Bull. It provides just enough caffeine to keep you safe while still providing the boost you need to get an edge.
Still sugary, as expected, but nowhere near the amounts found in other popular brands that others may consider.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, energy drinks with a low sugar content but a high caffeine content are the best choice for gamers.
Sneak Energy, G Fuel Powder, Red Bull, and Game Fuel are examples of energy drinks that meet these requirements.
When you get into it, gaming can be surprisingly difficult. Long hours in front of the computer, time passing without anyone noticing, and excruciating tasks that never seem to end. But if the popularity of energy drinks has taught us anything, it’s that there’s always something for everyone.
However, I don’t believe that everybody should consume energy drinks especially every day. Although anyone can become a gamer at any age, minors should avoid any type of energy drink. The same can be said for people with pre-existing medical conditions, pregnant women, and caffeine-sensitive individuals.
Games are enjoyable and certainly worth your time, just as a tasty drink is, but neither is worth your health.
If you want a second opinion on what energy drinks might be beneficial to gamers, watch the video linked above.
It could also be a good way to see what people think suits various types of gamers’ needs and find something that works for you.
After all, people like me who only play for a couple of hours a day are very different from the more serious gamers who play for 6 hours or more every day.