5 Hour may be small in size, but you’ll be surprised by its performance in keeping you awake.
Manufactured by Living Essentials LLC, 5-Hour Energy was first launched in 2004 and is now one of the top-selling energy shots that’s competing with popular energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster.
Now, how much can you drink of strong shot that is 5 Hour? Read on to find out.
Here’s a short answer: 5-Hour shot might be small in size, but is jam-packed with 200mg of caffeine. That being said, it’s advisable to limit yourself to drinking only one serving (1 bottle) of 5-hour occasionally.
For more information about 5-Hour Energy and whether or not you should be having it every day, read on to find out.
Contents
5-Hour Energy Nutrition Facts
First thing, a quick look at the nutritional value of the standard 1.93 fl oz of 5-Hour Energy you can get off-the-shelf, and what you’re getting out of its nutritionally.
| Standard Value | 5 Hour Shots (1.93 fl.oz) |
| Energy | 4 calories |
| Protein | 0g |
| Fat (Of which Saturated) | 0g (0g) |
| Carbohydrate (Of which Sugars) | 0g (0g) |
| Sodium | 15mg |
| Potassium | 15mg |
| Caffeine | 200mg |
| Vitamin B3 (Niacin) | 30mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 50mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 500μg |
| Choline | 2mg |
For a more detailed look, my 5 Hour Energy Nutrition Facts article should prove to be beneficial for knowing what exactly you’re getting out of these bottles.
5-Hour Energy Ingredients
Here is a quick list of ingredients in 5-Hour Energy:
- Purified Water
- Natural and Artificial Flavors
- Sucralose
- Potassium Sorbate
- Sodium Benzoate
- EDTA
- Taurine
- Glucuronic Acid
- Malic Acid
- N-Actyel L-Tyrosine
- L-Phenylalanine
- Caffeine
- Citicoline
As you can see, not much goes into a serving of 5-Hour Energy. The main takeaway from this is the caffeine content is probably what’s going to be driving you for the most part, with the other ingredients being potentially beneficial extras.
Now, let’s break down these ingredients and what they can do to your body.
5-Hour Energy Calorie Content
5-Hour Energy only contains 4 calories and there is no sugar present in its blend.
Since there is little to no-calorie in 5-Hour, it’s definitely a lot ‘healthier’ for you when compared to other sugary energy drinks, such as Monster or Red Bull, and won’t really affect your diet from a calorie perspective.
Knowing this, a majority of the ‘energy boost’ you’ll get from a 5 Hour Energy Shot solely relies on its high caffeine content, so if you’re looking for something to give the old blood sugar a raise, you might want to look somewhere else.
Granted, its low-calorie content does make it very appealing if you’re someone who watches your calorie intake, but do be aware that you’re not getting any actual ‘energy’ from this either.
So be sure to stock up on actual calories before diving off the caffeinated deep-end, and if you have the choice between 5-Hour Energy and an actual meal to keep your energy levels up, the latter is a far healthier option.
Sucralose
While free of sugar, 5 Hour Energy does use sucralose,
Sucralose is a no-caloric sweetener that is popular among products that opt-out of any added sugars, but still want to give their products a sweet taste.
Sucralose is said to be 600 times sweeter than sugar; that’s why only small amounts of sucralose are being used as long as it matches the sweetness of sugar.
While artificial sweeteners are generally approved by the FDA, it doesn’t mean that you can indulge yourself in them, as having to consume more than enough always leads to downsides such as:
- Increased risk for diabetes
- Disruption of gut bacteria
- Headaches
- Seizures
Caffeine in 5-Hour Energy
A shot (1.93 fl.oz) of 5-Hour Energy contains a whopping 200mg of caffeine per serving, making it an exceptionally strong caffeinated product.
Be it energy shots or energy drinks, caffeine plays a pretty important role in how they function. Crucially, caffeine blocks the adenosine receptors in your brain, which mainly prevents you from feeling fatigued, but also has benefits such as reducing reaction times and improving exercise performance.
Coming back to 5 Hour Energy, while the drink can definitely keep you awake, the Energy Shot does seem to have a fairly excessive amount of caffeine, especially from a per fl.oz perspective.
For reference, some of the strongest energy drinks (such as Reign and Bang) have 300mg per 16 fl.oz serving, whereas a single 5-Hour Energy Shot has 200mg per 1.93 fl.oz, which makes it a lot more concentrated.
It’s small size also means you’re consuming a lot of caffeine very quickly, and you can’t exactly ‘pace’ yourself as with other energy drinks.
As such, while 5 Hour Energy’s caffeine content is well within the FDA-recommended 400mg daily caffeine limit, the fact that can introduce such a large amount of caffeine in a short amount of time is definitely worrying.
Having more caffeine than you can tolerate may lead to a variety of side effects, among which include:
- Restlessness and shakiness
- Anxiety
- Rapid heart rhythm
- Dizziness
- Headaches
As such, I wouldn’t recommend having 5-Hour Energy Shot on a casual basis, especially if you have a relatively weak tolerance to caffeine.
Other Ingredients Found in 5-Hour Energy
Taurine
Taurine is an amino acid that naturally occurs in the body. Its main role is to stimulate metabolism and benefit the brain, heart, and immune system.
Today, taurine is synthetically made and can also be considered vegan and non-gluten. But besides that, Taurine can also be found in meats, fish, and dairy products.
Some potential benefits of taurine include:
- regulating calcium levels in certain cells
- creating bile salts
- balancing electrolytes in the body
- supporting the development of the nervous system
Malic Acid
Malic acid is mainly found in fruits and is also naturally produced by the body. One of its functions is to convert carbohydrates into energy.
Besides converting carbohydrates into energy, Malic acid is also known to be added to skincare products. That’s because Malic acid has the ability to diminish acne and hydrates skin. Moreover, it has been tested and proves to increase collagen production and decrease signs of aging.
Along with skincare, Malic acid may also boost physical performance when taken as a supplement. It is also claimed to relieve muscle fatigue, promote energy production and increase exercise endurance.
Citicoline
Citicoline is another chemical that naturally occurs in the body. As a supplement, its general purpose is to help memory loss due to aging, improve vision for glaucoma patients, and help recover patients with stroke.
Citicoline seems to increase a brain chemical called phosphatidylcholine. This brain chemical is important for brain function. Citicoline might also increase the amounts of other chemicals that send messages in the brain.
WebMD
However, even though Citicoline is one of the treatments stringed to any neural conditions, there is insufficient evidence that the amount used in 5 Hour Energy is anything more than salad dressing to make the drink sound healthier.
Other Supplements in 5-Hour Energy
To further explain the supplements of 5 Hour Energy, here’s a table:
| Supplements | Functions | Benefits | Recommended Intake |
| Vitamin B3 (Niacin) | It helps convert food into energy by aiding enzymes, and as a supplement, it may help lower cholesterol, ease arthritis, and boost brain function. | Lowers LDL cholesterol, increases HDL cholesterol, lowers triglycerides, and may help prevent heart disease. | Varies according to age |
| Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) | Helps your body to use and store energy from protein and carbohydrates in food. | May improve your mood, reduce symptoms of depression and promote brain health | 1.3–1.7mg for adults over 19 |
| Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) | It supports the normal function of your nerve cells. Also, it’s needed for red blood cell formation and DNA synthesis. | Can boost your energy, improve your memory , and help prevent heart disease. | 2.4 mcg. (However, the recommended intake is higher for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.) |
| Folic acid | Helps make the body make healthy new red blood cells. | Can help prevent birth defects of your baby’s brain and spinal cord | Depends on your age |
| Glucuronolactone (as Glucoronic Acid) | Usually used in energy drinks to increase energy levels, improve alertness, and can even be used to reduce brain fog. | Delays fatigue and improves the quality of resistance exercise. | N/A |
| N-acetyl L-Tyrosine | A non-essential amino acid that the body makes from another amino acid called phenylalanine which is used in place of as a tyrosine precursor. | May improve mental performance in situations that are stressful and might help people with phenylketonuria, . | Recommended dosing depends if you’re an adult or a child, you can see read about it here. |
How Many Bottles of 5-Hour Energy Can I Have A Day?
| 5-Hour Energy Drink (Per 1.93 fl.oz) | Daily Max Limit (Female/Male) | |
| Calories | 4 calories | 2000 calories/2500 calories |
| Sugar | 0 | 25g/36g |
| Caffeine | 200mg | 400mg |
Based on 5-Hour Energy Drink’s Nutritional Facts, one bottle for a day is satisfactory enough to stimulate you throughout most of your waking period (and then some)
While there’s no sugar or calories, a bottle of 5-Hour Energy Drink still contains 200mg of caffeine, which is already a lot for a caffeinated beverage, an excessive when it comes int a small 2 fl.oz bottle.
You can technically have 2 shots of 5 Hour Energy a day (the max daily limit is 400mg), but you can consume them so quickly that it’s pretty inadvisable to actually do so unless don’t plan on sleeping.
If you’re wondering how 5-Hour Energy works, here’s a product review by your CaffeineMan, who gives a quick run through of the product:
Can You Have 5 Hour Energy Every Day?
Despite the high caffeine content, it is pretty feasible to have a shot of 5 Hour Energy every day, although between you and me, there are a lot more interesting ways to get your daily caffeine fix.
Sure, a 5 Hour Energy Shot may be a quick way to get your morning caffeine boost, but it’s certainly not all that interesting, especially when there are plenty of energy drinks, coffees and teas out there, readily available.
As such, I would only recommend 5-Hour Energy Shots if you happen to be exceptionally pressed for time and need a quick boost to get you going. In all other circumstances, it’s probably not recommended that you have 5 Hour Energy as a casual affair.
Final Thoughts
To summarize all this, while you can have 5 Hour Energy every day, I don’t particularly recommend you do, and you can have only 1 shot max, so you don’t end up with a caffeine-induced headache later.
All-in-all, 5 Hour Energy Shots are definitely more of a ‘panic button’ type of beverage instead of something you sip while gettting work done.
It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you need something to get you going quick, having a shot of these will definitely invigorate your system. Just be sure you’re not going over the daily caffeine limit if you do.