Nootropic Ingredients in Energy Drinks

August 10, 2020September 17, 2020greeneyedguide

Welcome to the GreenEyedGuide Quick Tips to Start Your Week series!

Should you even bother with nootropic drinks if you already drink energy drinks? While the term “nootropic” isn’t new, marketing something as a nootropic is a new, growing trend. As a result, let’s look at five of the top” nootropic ingredients which are also found in energy drinks. Are they safe? Do they even work?

Short on time? Skip this blog and >>watch it on Instagram TV (IGTV) instead!

According to Caffeine Informer, “Nootropics are one of the fastest-growing supplement categories and these products are flooding the marketplace.”

What is a nootropic?

According to Webster’s dictionary, the word means “a substance that enhances cognition, memory, and facilitates learning.”

Therefore, nootropic supplements contain a blend of herbs and other ingredients believed to promote optimal brain function.

[Source: Caffeine Informer, “Nootropics: Caffeine, Ingredients, and Warnings”]

Caffeine Effects on the Brain – Part 2

July 16, 2019September 5, 2019greeneyedguide

Welcome to GreenEyedGuide, your guide to the science behind caffeine and energy drinks. This is a series on How Caffeine Affects the Brain. Since this is a complex topic and we have a lot to cover, I’ve broken the key questions into different posts. In this part, we compare coffee versus energy drinks to determine what makes the best study aid and why.

Later in this series, we’ll also talk about:

Why does caffeine work differently after an all-nighter?
What ingredients in energy drinks help you focus during gaming?
Does your brain get addicted to caffeine and energy drinks?

Coffee Versus Energy Drinks – Which is Better for Studying?

If you don’t have time to watch the full episode, don’t worry! The highlights are below.

Caffeine Effects on the Brain – Part 1

July 15, 2019November 2, 2019greeneyedguide

Welcome to GreenEyedGuide, your guide to the science behind caffeine and energy drinks. This is a series on How Caffeine Affects the Brain. Since this is a complex topic and we have a lot to cover, I’ve broken the key questions into different posts. In Part 1 we’ll discuss how caffeine makes you feel awake and alert, we’ll review the biochemistry (which you can skip), and we’ll summarize the ways caffeine does and does not help you focus.

Later in this series, we’ll also talk about:

Why does caffeine work differently after an all-nighter?
What ingredients in energy drinks help you focus during gaming?
Is coffee or energy drinks better for studying?
Does your brain get addicted to caffeine and energy drinks?

Part 1: How does caffeine help you focus?

Can supplements really help you focus? Science Behind FocusAid

July 4, 2018September 5, 2019greeneyedguide

To say it was difficult getting good grades in high school while balancing competitive sports, family obligations etc. feels as silly as admitting I cried over a difficult physics exam. Now I laugh at my previous concept of “difficult” with the context of college, grad school, and adulthood. But balancing everything in high school was hard, and I was in high school during the early 2000s, before energy drinks and Starbucks took over the world. Then energy drinks came along, and I balanced two jobs while I was a full-time student in college, then two different jobs while I was in grad school. Caffeine changed my life in more ways than one, and I’ve been studying the science behind energy drinks since the day I declared myself a biochemistry major back in 2003. Read more →

Energy Drinks in the News – The effects of Alpha-GPC versus caffeine on mood, cognitive function, and performance

December 3, 2017September 6, 2019greeneyedguide

Here at GreenEyedGuide.com, my goal is to share the science behind energy drinks and their ingredients. In a study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, caffeine goes head to head against Alpha-GPC in a battle of jitters and performance metrics. Which do you think is going to win?

This article is Open Access (hurray!) but, because it’s a poster presentation, it’s only two-pages long (aww….). Still, let’s dissect the details, shall we? Read more →