Are energy drinks worse than coffee for stress and sleep?

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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Preparing for the Night Shift

Preparing for the Night Shift

How do you get more energy when you work the night shift? How do you prepare for the night shift and recover from sleep-deprivation? Learn everything you need to know about preparing for the night shift in this virtual chat. Featuring Sleep and Fatigue Specialist Clinton Marquardt and Caffeine Scientist and Author GreenEyedGuide.

Topics:

  • Inexpensive Fatigue Prevention tips – How to get a better night sleep when you work night shift
  • The 5S of Caffeine – How to get MORE energy with LESS caffeine
  • Other Fatigue Countermeasures – What can you do when you’re tired at work?

Ready? Let’s go!

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Sleep Tips for Newborns and Toddlers – More Sleep, Less Caffeine

I’m an expert when it comes to caffeine science and energy drink safety. With my expertise, I help people survive sleep-deprivation. However, it’s also important to treat the root cause. Have you ever tried to convince a toddler that, yes, in fact, it is Bed Time? Do you dread waking up at midnight and 3 am to take care of a newborn? Getting better sleep means needing less caffeine. This is why I decided to team up with a fellow Mompreneur for some sleep tips for newborns and toddlers.

Meet Erin Meinel, Sleep Consultant

As the wife of a first responder, I have been no stranger to struggles with sleep…and having to stay awake when fatigued.  Early in our marriage, my husband worked third shift and got plenty of overtime.  Between working and trying to sleep, there wasn’t much time for anything else.  We tried all the tips and tricks in the book.  He’s now working second shift, still gets a TON of overtime, but now also has to wake up earlier than he’d prefer to help care for our two little boys.  We are now part of the “2 Under 2” Club, having both a 22-month-old and a 4 ½-month-old.  I thought our schedules before kids were crazy; fast forward a few years.  We NEEDED to make sleep a priority so we could function during the day, both to make a living and to care for our children.

Sleep tips for newborn and toddler from Lake Country Sleep

Between prioritizing sleep in our household and utilizing some of Danielle’s caffeine hacks to maximize our efficiency and energy when we are awake, I guess you could say we have gotten pretty good at juggling all the things!

I thought that having a background in early childhood development and education would serve me well when I became a mom.  It did, and has, with many things…just not sleep!  I had no idea there was so much science behind newborn and infant sleep, nor was I aware this was something I needed to learn about when I became a parent…until I was in the thick of it.  After the birth of my first son and experiencing the sleep deprivation that accompanies life with a newborn, I became motivated, wait, let’s find a better word – INSPIRED – to help other new parents find their way out of this form of torture.  

Building a Healthy Sleep Foundation

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Get Better Sleep While Traveling

Do you have trouble getting good sleep while traveling? Do you spend the night tossing and turning? Struggling to silence your thoughts? Staring at the ceiling counting the hours til your alarm goes off?

I’m an expert at helping you survive the day after a night of sleep deprivation. If you need help picking the best energy drinks for working the night shift, I’m your girl.

But managing fatigue is complicated. And figuring out WHY we can’t sleep (when it’s NOT due to excess caffeine) is tricky.

This is why I’m happy to be partnering with Clinton Marquardt, Sleep and Fatigue Specialist. In this post, Clint shares some interesting science behind why it’s so darn hard to get that precious sleep, even when do make it a priority.

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