A note for anyone who found this blog post while researching 5-hr energy. The stuff works pretty well. I made 3 mistakes the night I took this. 1 – I took it in the evening, which was a mistake since caffeine affects me. 2 – I drank powerade with taurine later that night, and 3 – I drank more powerade with taurine later that night.
So in retrospect, I don’t think it was the 5-hr energy that kept me up all night. I think the powerade was more to blame. But I’ve decided not to edit the post and leave it as it is, including the title “Don’t Mess With 5-hr Energy”. Should you try it? Absolutely. Just don’t take it in the evening and chase it with taurine-laced energy drinks.
I’m here to tell you a tale.
A tale that is sort of like a nightmare, only worse.
At least in a nightmare you actually get to sleep.
Sunday night i only got about 4.5 hours of sleep. Erica and I went to bed late, i didn’t sleep well, and I was up early. On Monday I was dragging. I mean really dragging. I felt like I had pulled an all-nighter. This was sort of a problem because i had a softball doubleheader on Monday night.
So on my way home from work yesterday i picked up this small bottle of 5-hr energy for $3.70 at the local Hess. On my way to my game (roughly 6:15pm) i drank about 3/4 of the bottle. The packaging says that for maximum energy to drink the whole thing, for less energy drink half. I split the difference. According to the label, you get 5 hours of energy from the equivalent caffeine of a cup of coffee, plus some other red bull type ingredients like taurine and what not. Sounded fairly harmless. A cup of coffee after dinner is never a good idea for me, but since i was dead tired already, i figured it would be just enough to get me through my set of games.
Well, the games went late, and i didnt get home until after 11pm. Erica and I went to bed at Midnight. Only problem was, my mind was as awake as someone who just fell into an ice fishing hole.
I laid in bed for an hour, until 1am, and then couldn’t take it anymore. I went downstairs, grabbed a few Cheez-its, and watched the Red Sox game on my DVR, hoping i would doze off. No luck.
At 2:30am, the game was over and i went back to bed. 3am came. Then 3:15am. Suddenly i started to realize that my window for falling asleep was quickly shutting. I had moved my alarm time back to 7am, but at what point is it even worth going to sleep?
3:30…3:45…4am. Forget it. I’m not going to sleep at this point. I was tempted to call in sick to work, but the problem is, i don’t know how much longer i would have been lying awake in bed. That crap might only give you energy for 5 hours, but it can keep you up for 10. Jack Bauer should be using this stuff to torture terrorists.
At 4:15am I woke Erica up and told her that i hadn’t slept a wink and that i was going into work. So here i sit. It’s 6:30am, the sun is shining bright, the office is about to fill up, and i feel like a pile of steaming road apples. I’ve slept less than 5 hours in the past 2 nights and I’ve got the bags under my eyes to prove it. Not sure how long I’ll last today, but i’ll give it a shot.
As for 5-hr Energy? Don’t mess around with that stuff. At least not after Noon.
Believe it or not, it actually works.
Posted by Bryan Allain
Oh man. That sucks.
When you get home, do two things:
1. Drink lots of water. Although you should be doing that today anyway.
2. Take 3mg of melatonin. That’ll help you sleep a normal night’s sleep.
thats sad
i guess you just cant stand all that caffiene like me.
The 5-Hr shot doesnt do anything for me at all
plus it tasty like royal ass thats the sure.
I have started taking the Mr Energy 8-hr energy
pills and they work super well for me, they keep
me going all day.
Sorry the 5-hr shot didnt work for you.
I had the same problem the first time I took it. Now i gauge it at the beginning of my work nite and leave it at that. It helps me stay awake on the road. And i have no problems sleeping, as long as I don’t drink it at least 7-8 hrs before I want to sleep. I’ve tried Redline also, but I don’t think it helps as much. I am a 120 lb woman that drives a big rig all nite for UPS. So if anyone has any good advice to help keep awake when the nite is long I would love the help !!! Thanks, Terri
One might as well snort a line of cocaine. At least its effects wear off in 5-7 hours.
I JUST DRANK ONE.
OH GEEZE.
LOL
Thanks for the info!
Like anything else, the worse time to try a fix is when you *need* it.
I’ve been experimenting with 5 Hr Energy. I think it’s better than the cans of Diet Mt Dew I’ve been using. We’ll see though.
I love it. I take it when the fatigue comes in the afternoons and I need to stay up till about midnight. I have been taking 5 hr energy for about one month now. After about 5 hours, I just go to bed exhausted and sleep well. THe frist few times I took 5 hr energy too late in the afternoon and had trouble sleeping. What I like most is I can stay alert and focus on my reading, study or working then just crash ( i mean go to bed).
Drink lots of water-
It’s great for me, but i only use a small amount at the beginning of my day. One bottle lasts 4-5 days. Doesn’t make me jittery like tea or coffee.
Well, Comming from a guy that works at a coffee shop ( you’d figure i would drink the coffee rite Lol) Sundays are hard to wke up early for me , so The first thing I did before i lef the house was drink my moring coffee, then i Bought a red bull (the big big one) and I just finished with a five hour puke tasteing orange drink . So I hope i will be able to stay awake today . The thing for me is that caffeen does not effect me , becasue i drink about a gallon of black coffee a day ( its a good source of anti oxidens ) I need alot for anything to touch me.
I actually spoke with the lady who invented this product last night at a wedding (very interesting lady)…she developed it for the israeli military and the company that makes 5hr energy ripped off her idea but couldn’t do it right so they asked her to help them get it right. apparently it’s a series of chemicals that provide a constant boost rather that a quick jolt (i.e monster, rockstar etc) and also there’s no crash, but rather a gradual wearoff . so basically it seems that you’re complaining that it works too well…lol
i wish i could remember all the technical details but from what i was told yesterday, it’s a way safer alternative to these caffeine shots in a can that are marketed to teens.
sounds like a testament to how well they work. They work wonders for me cuz I know some days at work I wouldn’t be able to make it without one. Definitely no gittery burst and no crash. I love this stuff. Fair warning, no matter how tired you are DO NOT!!! drink one of these AND a Monster at the same time. It probably looked like I had Tourettes Syndrome. LOL
oMG, i love this 5hr shot. Seriously this is the best thing since slice bread. Yes i’ve had a bunch of days since taking this that i’ve gone 24+ hrs without sleep. If i feel tired in the morning after not sleeping, i just drink half of another one to get me through the day. This is awesome, too good to not have some side effects…hmmm
THat stuff is the worst tasting thing I’ve ever had, I don’t know how anyone can drink it… makes red bull taste like heaven..
I have a bottle of this on my desk.
I was about to drink it, and then I remembered this post.
Ah hell … here goes.
Phew, now that makes Red Bull taste pretty good.