I'm up, I'm up!: A guide to energy drinks

While in college, it is likely that you will occasionally have to stay up for unnatural amounts of time for assignments, term papers, test studying, or whatnot. If you have ever done this, you will know that it proves quite difficult to think after being awake for 20 odd hours. If only there was some way to stay awake and alert longer... Well, thanks to the miracle of the energy drink, there is! But there are so many kinds to choose from. How can you choose the right one? Don't worry, I'm here to help. I have sampled quite a variety of these kinds of drinks and have found some to be much more effective than others.

When considering energy drinks, you must remember that no energy drink will taste great. There are too many concentrated ingredients in them to be able to easily mask them. There are also two ways energy drinks give you energy: sugar/caffeine rush and vitamin B. Rush drinks just have lots of sugar and caffeine, proving effective in the short term of an hour, maybe two. As soon as these wear off you will find yourself even tireder than before. B drinks aim at giving you excess vitamin B. Vitamin B increases cell metabolism, causing your body to burn food and fat faster and thus produce more energy. These drinks are the ones that prove the most effective in keeping you awake a long time. When getting an energy drink, go for ones that have a lot of vitamin B.

I tend to use Rockstar the most, simply because it works and is widely available. Red Bull seems to work a little better, but you only get a single size for the same price as a double size Rockstar. Monster is basically the same as Rockstar, but I never feel as awake after it for whatever reason. Amp is a rush drink, not a B drink, and is not a good choice for all nighters. Nos is effective and doesn't taste too bad, but it is slightly harder to find. 5 Hour Energy is insanely good at keeping you awake. It has 8300% of your daily reccomended value of vitamin B in it! There is a big crash afterwards though, so be warned. However, I would use it if I had it. Other energy drinks may or may not work, but I haven't had much experience with them. My advice on picking an energy drink is to look at the supplement facts on the can. If it has 100% or more of various vitamin Bs, riboflavin, or niacin (which are both kinds of vitamin B), it will probably work well.