Category: Energy Drinks vs Coffee

Comparing health benefits and side-effects of coffee versus energy drinks

Are energy drinks worse than coffee for stress and sleep?

Are energy drinks worse than coffee for stress and sleep?

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Does drinking energy drinks instead of coffee give you worse stress and sleep? One research paper says, “YES”, but this might not be the case for all energy drink users. In this post, we’re going to take a closer look at that study and what it means to YOU. In other words, I’m going to give you three things you should look for to see how energy drinks might be affecting YOUR stress and sleep.

Short on time? This blog post is available in podcast format too! Click the player below, and don’t forget to subscribe to this show on your favorite podcast platform.

Nurses Drinking Energy Drinks Report Worse Sleep and Stress

To begin with, we should briefly discuss this research paper. The paper is called, “Nurses Consuming Energy Drinks Report Poorer Sleep and Higher Stress” [see Reference 1, below]. In this study, they asked nurses about their stress levels, their sleep habits, and their caffeine intakes.

Most of these nurses worked 10-hour shifts back to back to back. So you know these nurses were legitimately tired! Furthermore, in this study, there WAS a statistically significant difference between the coffee drinkers and the energy drink users. In fact, those who drank energy drinks had worse sleep. They had worse stress too, but it wasn’t a statistically significant difference compared to the coffee drinkers.

But let’s talk about what this means to you.

coffee vs energy drinks sleep stress
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5 Ways Coffee is Better Than Energy Drinks

5 Ways Coffee is Better Than Energy Drinks

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I enjoy my caffeine in many different forms. But sometimes, coffee is a better choice than an energy drink.

In terms of biology, caffeine is caffeine is caffeine. However, sometimes, coffee offers things energy drinks cannot. Sometimes, coffee is better than an energy drink.

Hi. I’m Caffeine Scientist GreenEyedGuide. In this episode of the Caffeine at Midnight podcast, I’ll share 5 benefits of choosing coffee versus energy drinks.

You can listen to this short podcast below or on your platform-of-choice by clicking the button.

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how coffee beats energy drinks

Podcast and Show Notes

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Energy Drinks and Hospitalizations Checklist: How to Ask The Right Questions

Energy Drinks and Hospitalizations Checklist: How to Ask The Right Questions

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It’s happened again: someone was admitted to the hospital after consuming an energy drink. Reporters covering the story warn readers about the dangers of energy drinks…something is missing. In this post, I’ll review real headlines about energy drink to demonstrate how the omission of a few minor details hurts consumers, as well as the scientists who study energy drinks.

If you read a news story about someone being hospitalized because of a vegetable, you’d have some questions.

On the surface, the mere idea sounds ridiculous.

“Hospitalized…because of a VEGETABLE? People eat veggies all the time without dying, why would someone go to the hospital?”

In fact, leafy green vegetables were the number one source of foodborne illnesses from 1998-2008. Moreover, this hypothetical news story is a perfect example of how asking the right questions can save lives.

When someone is hospitalized because of a vegetable, scientists and doctors are able to piece together the clues and figure out whether or not to issue a recall, if so, what food and even what brand and lot numbers. The end result is information which saves people from eating something that could hurt them. If only we could do the same thing for energy drinks.
(Hint: we are not)

When it comes to energy drink-related hospitalizations, we are not asking the right questions. There are several examples of real energy drink news stories where small but critical details were omitted. Not only does this hurt consumers, but it also hurts scientists who desperately need this data to study the health effects of energy drinks.

The good news is these missing critical details can be summed up in just five questions.
Yes, just FIVE QUESTIONS!
Let me walk you through these five questions and why they matter so much, using real news stories about energy drink-related hospitalizations.

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Should you be afraid of this Monster Energy Drink? Science and Safety Behind Caffe Monster Energy Coffee

Should you be afraid of this Monster Energy Drink? Science and Safety Behind Caffe Monster Energy Coffee

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Updated 3/26/2020 by Danielle Robertson Rath (the “GreenEyedGuide”)

When Energy Drinks Look Like Coffee Drinks

Monster Energy hit US markets in 2002 and helped establish the energy drink stereotype. Over 10 years later, there are still plenty of energy drinks that still fit this stereotype, but is Caffe Monster one of them?

Monster Energy is undeniably an energy drink company. In fact, they’re one of the Big Three responsible for the “Energy Drink Boom”. In this post, we’ll discuss whether Monster Energy’s wannabe-coffee warrants the same level of concern as their standard energy drinks.

GreenEyedGuide smiling

Hi there, I research energy drinks.

I declared myself a biochemistry major in 2003 – right at the beginning of the Energy Drink Boom. I’ve always been fascinated by caffeinated drinks and all the fears surrounding their use. That’s why I’ve put my education toward understanding the science behind energy drinks and their ingredients.

Get the FREE Guide: 3 Tips for Feeling More Awake with Less Caffeine

After 10+ years in this field, I believe parents have a right to be concerned about energy drinks, but that concern needs the right context to do anybody any good.

How concerned should we be about the safety of Caffe Monster Energy Coffee?

An In-Depth Review of Caffe Monster

For this month’s in-depth review, we’ll assess:

  • Caffe Monster Energy Coffee ingredients 
  • A comparison between Caffe Monster and a Stereotypical Energy Drink
  • A comparison between Caffe Monster and Starbucks Frappuccino
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8 Facts for Caffeine Awareness Month [infographic]

8 Facts for Caffeine Awareness Month [infographic]

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March is Caffeine Awareness Month! To commemorate this occasion, I’ve assembled the information (all of it with reference citations) every caffeine consumer should know.

March is caffeine awareness month

This infographic was prepared by food scientist and biochemist Danielle Robertson Rath, founder of GreenEyedGuide.com and author of “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks”. This infographic is possible thanks to the generous support of CaffeineInformer.com. Thanks also goes to Dr. Clay Jones.

REFERENCES: