The number of people drinking energy drinks is quite large, and that number does not seem to be slowing down. People love the effect that energy drinks have on them. The problem is some people are feeling the exact opposite after some time.
It might seem strange that one of the outcomes of drinking these drinks is fatigue, but all we had to do was take a closer look at some of the ingredients in these drinks to see why some people are experiencing fatigue after drinking these beverages.
Why Do People Drink Energy Drinks So Much?
Energy drinks are popular because people feel they need a pick-me-up, and we surely understand that need.
Energy drinks usually promise the following:
- These drinks promise better mental acuity.
- Of course, the beverages promise more energy.
- Some of these drinks promise to optimize physical performance.
- These beverages are meant to improve productivity.
A quick look at this list and we understand why people are tempted to drink them. Some people actually drink a number of them throughout the day to keep pushing forward.
It should be pointed out that, at the moment, a number of people are suffering from chronic fatigue. This is not necessarily talked about often, but a lot of people feel tired.
There are many reasons people may feel like this, but there could be other factors causing people to feel tired all the time. At the moment, many people are taking on several jobs at a time.
Some people have two jobs or one job and a few side gigs. All this activity throughout the day could make people feel tired. This is definitely one reason people are turning towards these magic drinks.
The problem is that these beverages may not be delivering what they are promising, even if it seems like they are at first.
Why Do Energy Drinks Make You Feel More Tired?
Okay, most people who drink these drinks may feel an energy boost for a moment, but that moment is relatively short. Sometimes, that energy boost is followed by fatigue that makes it harder to go on with your day.
Some people start to doze off, and that can be pretty scary depending on the job you have, such as drivers or workers who use heavy machinery. The following are some reasons people are having these kinds of effects after drinking an energy drink:
The Sugar Content
One reason people may be experiencing a certain amount of tiredness is because of the sugar content in these drinks. There is a considerable amount of sugar in each can.
One can easily find a drink with 24 to 29 grams of sugar per can, and that is a lot of sugar. That means that you could be drinking a little more than two tablespoons of sugar for each energy drink that you drink.
There is no doubt that sugar can definitely give you a high, and it helps boost your energy for some time. That could prove quite helpful at certain times of the day. This concept is probably not new to you, especially if you are parents and have seen what a little sugar can do for a child.
The body definitely needs sugar to give you energy, so a certain amount is always needed, but that level needs to remain relatively constant. The problem is that some people give the body too much sugar at a time, and it causes the body to go into crisis control to attempt to re-balance the sugar content in the blood.
The body does this by overproducing insulin, which eats up too much sugar and makes you feel more tired than you were before. People sometimes refer to this moment as the sugar crash, but it is also known as hypoglycemia.
Of course, this crash is also linked to a number of other symptoms that we thought you should know, just in case you are experiencing these types of crashes after drinking an energy drink. The following are some additional symptoms:
- Unexplained hunger
- Irritability that comes out of nowhere
- Feelings of discomfort
- Anxiety that you can’t control
- Getting headaches or dizzy spells
- Excess sweating
- Experiencing jitters or shakiness
Of course, many of these symptoms are going to make it hard for you to concentrate or go on with your day as normal. Things could get even worse for people with diabetes, who might even experience total loss of consciousness.
The Caffeine Content
Regrettably, the sugar content in energy drinks is not the only thing you have to worry about because each can contains a considerable amount of caffeine. One energy-boosting can could give you up to 242 milligrams of caffeine per serving.
It is not too surprising that a drink that contains sugar and a powerful stimulant like caffeine could boost your energy now that you know a little more about it, but there is a downside to caffeine just as there is with sugar.
For one, caffeine seems to block adenosine receptors in the brain. These receptors are there to catch the neurotransmitter responsible for sleepiness.
The problem is that the body is still producing these receptors, but they are getting caught up in a neurotransmitter traffic jam. Once your caffeine wears off, all of these neurotransmitters hit your adenosine receptors in droves, making you feel so sleepy you can’t stop yourself.
The other reason you are feeling tired deals with dehydration. Coffee makes you go to the restroom a little more often than other drinks, and that is because coffee is a diuretic.
These types of drinks are good for you if you want to clean house, but you should also be drinking plenty of water if you have to consume them for some reason. The problem is coffee drinkers are probably just drinking the coffee throughout the day without really thinking of hydration.
As you lose more water throughout the day, the blood in your body begins to thicken and slow down, making you feel sluggish. This is because thick blood has a harder time moving in the body, feeding you all the energy-giving oxygen your brain and muscles need to function effectively.
Sometimes, people feel these symptoms and simply drink more energy drinks throughout the day. This may temporarily fix the problem, but it could also make you dependent, and that is not good.
It should also be pointed out that these drinks carry a lot of calories. This could end up hurting your body even more as you consume more of these drinks to combat the issues they are causing. Try to consider some of these points the next time you reach for another energy drink.
There are other options out there for you to get the energy you need throughout the day that do not make you crash, such as nuts, organ meats, raw honey, and other foods. You can get other ideas from your nutritionist. Make sure you drink enough water throughout the day as well so that your blood is pumping as it should.