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Do Energy Drinks Make You Awake? (Revealed)

A man in white t-shirt yawning
Energy drinks include ingredients like green tea and L-theanine which are known to give you a mental boost

Energy drinks have become the most popular beverage, in fact, it’s the largest industry, and no beverage can or will ever come close. Energy drinks are your energy potion, and I don’t judge you for it, because these drinks were made to make you feel energetic.

Energy drinks are known to significantly affect your brain, which helps you stay awake, and that is why I wouldn’t drink one before bed.

Energy drinks include several ingredients like guarana and l-theanine, but the most used one is caffeine. Caffeine is considered the most reliable and strong source of energy.

However, that boost of energy comes with a price tag. While caffeine makes you energetic, it can also cause side effects, especially when consumed in immoderation.

Nowadays, people start off their mornings with a caffeine-jacked energy drink, which shouldn’t be considered healthy whatsoever.

If you want to know how energy drinks can be bad for you, I suggest you keep on reading.

How Long Can Energy Drinks Keep You Awake?

Well, that depends on the content of caffeine, however, researchers say that a moderate dose of caffeine can last up to 6 hours.

Energy drinks include large doses of caffeine which usually even exceeds the daily recommended dose. According to the FDA, people are supposed to limit their everyday caffeine dose to 400 mg or less.

Now, many energy drinks include more than 200 mg of caffeine which means you can’t consume more than one or two servings. If you do you might face side effects linked to excessive caffeine intake, and they may stop you do your best.

Here’s the list of side effects linked with overconsumption of caffeine:

  • Restlessness.
  • Shakiness.
  • Insomnia.
  • Headaches.
  • Dizziness.
  • Fast heart rate.
  • Dehydration.
  • Anxiety.
  • Dependency.

In addition, while 400 mg is for people with high tolerance, research doesn’t suggest the same dose for caffeine-sensitive people. There’re several side effects that can get triggered if a caffeine-sensitive person consumes even a small dose of caffeine, let alone 400 mg.

Here’s the list of side effects of caffeine sensitivity:

  • Rapid Heartbeat.
  • Headache.
  • Jitters.
  • Nervousness.
  • Having anxiety.
  • Restlessness.
  • Insomnia.

Furthermore, while caffeine sensitive can’t consume energy drinks with immoderate contents of caffeine, here’s the list of energy drinks with low caffeine contents:

Why Do Energy Drinks Make Me Tired Instead Of Energized?

A person in blue t-shirt sleeping
Excessive sugar intake causes crashes which can make you feel tired and sleepy

Energy drinks include high contents of sugar as well, which is known to spike your energy levels for about 1 hour, and as soon as that clock ticks down, you’ll feel that sugar boost wear off immediately leaving you feeling tired.

Moreover, sugar is primarily included to mask the bitterness of ingredients like caffeine, it’s often included in large doses, which shouldn’t be common. There’re healthy artificial sweeteners such as sucralose that the manufacturers of energy drinks can use.

Sugar is far more dangerous than caffeine, research has linked many mild and severe side effects to excess intake of sugar.

Here’s the list of those side effects:

  • Headaches.
  • Irritability.
  • Fatigue.
  • Difficulty in concentrating.
  • Feeling jittery.
  • Anxiousness.
  • Feeling shaky.
  • Dizziness.
  • Acne.
  • Hunger.
  • Bloating.

While in severe cases, sugar can easily lead to:

  • Higher blood pressure.
  • Inflammation.
  • Weight gain.
  • Higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
  • Fatty liver disease.
  • Increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

Now, you may be thinking that these side effects are nothing but exaggeration, well I hate to break to you that people have experienced heart attacks as they had a habit of chronic and immoderate intake of energy drinks like Monster.

In fact, Monster energy drink has been slapped with several lawsuits, as the consumers claimed to experience extremely rapid heartbeat.

While research recommends women and men keep an intake of 24 g (6 teaspoons) and 36 g (9 teaspoons) of sugar per day, one can of Monster includes 54 g of sugar.

Mind you that, it’s common for people to consume more than 1 serving in a sitting, so if you’re consuming 2 servings of Monster, the total sugar dose in your body will be up to 100 g, so if that doesn’t scare you, nothing will.

Check out this video to see what the consumers of Monster energy drink have to say:

Is Monster energy drink killing you?

Is One Energy Drink Ok In A Day?

Energy drinks are popular among people who undertake any kind of physical activity, however, teenagers consume them as well to get that rush. The consumption of energy drinks is at its peak, in fact, energy drinks have become the most popular beverage out of all the beverages.

While it’s impossible for many people to limit their energy drink servings to only one, it can be good for your health. If you’re consuming anything in moderation, whether it’s an energy drink or not, it’ll be safe and your health will thank you for it.

Moreover, even an energy drink like Red Bull can be bad for your health. Red Bull is the most consumed energy drink, it’s every teenager’s first drink even though it isn’t marketed to them.

One can of Red Bull includes 80 mg of caffeine, 110 calories, and 27 g of sugar with some vitamins, however, that doesn’t magically make it healthy.

As the consumption of Red Bull was increasing, researchers put it to many tests, which mostly ended in negative results.

Yes, research has associated a number of side effects with the chronic and immoderate intake of Red Bull which include:

  • Higher blood pressure levels and heart rate.
  • Increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
  • Can harm your teeth.
  • May induce side effects on your kidney health.
  • Increases high-risk behavior, especially among teenagers.
  • Can cause caffeine overdose and even possible toxicity.

If you’re a consumer of Red Bull, I suggest you only keep its intake to one serving because two servings will increase the sugar dose.

Can You Drink Coffee And Energy Drinks In The Same Day?

One cup of cold brew and two cup of latte
Coffee may just be much healthier than energy drinks as it doesn’t include unnecessary ingredients

Yes, you can drink coffee and energy drinks on the same day, nevertheless, I suggest you keep track of your caffeine contents and not consume more than 400 mg.

Most energy drinks include 200 mg and one cup of coffee has 100 mg of caffeine, which adds up to 300 mg, so basically there’s only room for one more cup of coffee or one can of a low-caffeinated energy drink.

Furthermore, I also recommend you check the sugar levels in your energy drink as most energy drinks include excessive doses of sugar which are often over the daily recommended sugar dose.

Alternatives To Energy Drinks

Let’s face it, energy drinks aren’t healthy, at least the ones with high sugar content. If you want some alternatives to energy drinks with high sugar contents, check out the list below:

While these above-listed energy drinks are sugar-free which may protect you from sugar-related side effects, they still are energy drinks.

So, here’s a list of some healthy beverages that you should introduce to your diet:

  • Green and Fruit Juice.
  • Green and Fruit Smoothies.
  • Herbal Tea.
  • Green Tea.
  • Kombucha.

Conclusion

  • Energy drinks are created to wipe out that morning sleepiness, however, I don’t recommend you consume energy drinks first thing in the morning.
  • The ingredient that helps you wake up is caffeine and energy drinks include it in high doses, so after consuming them, you are bound to be fully awake.
  • Energy drinks can make you develop a dependency on them, they’re quite evil. However, you can prevent that from happening by keeping your energy drink intake to one can a day.
  • In addition, keep your distance from energy drinks that include too much sugar, because you’ll get sugar crashes, which are worse than any side effect linked with caffeine.
  • If you’re a consumer of Red Bull or Monster, I suggest you switch to some healthy alternatives that I have listed above.
  • Furthermore, you can drink coffee first thing in the morning because coffee doesn’t include any active or strong ingredients besides natural caffeine.

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