Energy drinks are usually the answer among the youth who likes vigorous nightlife or studies for an intense exam. Whether you’re a caffeine addict or not, you’ve surely come across some type of energy drinks, or at least thought about taking it. Recently, a lot of people are transitioning to caffeine pills which have shown to be extremely effective in boosting your energy for hours. But, which one is better?
In this article, we will make a detailed comparison of caffeine pills vs. energy drinks. This comparison will help you decide which option to choose and what works better for you.
Energy drinks can be used to help you focus at work, with studies, or generally stay awake while driving and during other activities. Interestingly, caffeine pills will help you achieve the same much easier. They’re more convenient as it’s easier to take multiple pills than drink multiple energy drinks for achieving the same amount of energy.
Still, overusing caffeine, in both pills and energy drinks can lead to unwanted side-effects which we will detail more throughout the rest of the article. It’s also worth noting that caffeine is widely consumed in various forms (pills, energy drinks, cocoa, tea, coffee…) resulting in 85% of Americans drinking at least one caffeine-rich drink a day, according to a chapter from the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.
Caffeine Pills
Caffeine pills are one of the ways to boost your energy with caffeine, which is the most popular energizing drug. Caffeine pills, just like every caffeinated drink will focus on your central nervous system to make you more alert and conscious of your surroundings.
In most cases, caffeine is made out of natural caffeine that is extracted during the brewing process. However, some pills also use synthetic caffeine, along with other supplements like emulsifiers, coloring agents, and other ingredients.
There are a lot of caffeine pill manufacturers, and as such, they add different quantities of caffeine. You can expect that one pill will have between 80 milligrams and 200 milligrams of caffeine, which ranges from mild to equivalent of a cup of coffee.
If you compare this amount to an energy drink, you can find that some pill options have less caffeine than the 150-milligrams found in energy drinks. Still, as mentioned earlier, caffeine pills are easier to drink than energy drinks. According to the FDA, you can drink as much as 400mg of caffeine for a healthy lifestyle.
Let’s talk more about the caffeine pills.
Good Sides of Caffeine Pills
There are a lot of good sides to drinking caffeine pills, especially because they can save a lot of time and even money compared to energy drinks or coffee. Let’s share more details.
Increased Alertness
Similarly like with other caffeinated drinks, caffeine pills will help you be more awake and alert with your surroundings. More alert people also have better attention to details and focus. Increased alertness is also good for productivity at work or when studying. Finally, it’ll help you stay awake for longer times.
Whether you’re working on a new project or presentation, studying for an exam, or preparing for an event in your life, a moderate amount of caffeine pills will help you keep alertness even when you’re short on sleep.
Tips: Keep in mind that staying alert using caffeine pills can last longer than when consuming drinks like tea, coffee, or energy drinks. Also, don’t forget that proper sleep hygiene is responsible for keeping you alert the most. Avoiding a healthy amount of sleep and always relying on caffeine pills may make you burnout.
Memory Retention
Multiple studies suggest that caffeine pills and caffeine in particular can lead to better memory retention, supporting the higher wakefulness and alertness from earlier. John Hopkins University tested 160 people and published results in Nature Neuroscience.
The participants took caffeine tablets and after 24 hours tested their memory on altered images. They were showing both similar and same images, revealing that caffeine leads to better memory retention. That said, this approach is perfect for students and people who engage their memory more than others.
Tips: This, however, doesn’t mean that people should rush to consume and abuse caffeine-rich foods and beverages such as pills, energy drinks, coffee, chocolate, and tea. Overtaking these can result in jitteriness and panic attacks, which we will detail in more depth below.
Better Athletic Performance
Athletes should consider their condition coach and health expert to decide how much caffeine they should consume. Then, deciding the right dosage of caffeine pills is easy.
Multiple studies showed that aside from improving focus and alertness which is easily applicable to sport, taking caffeine pills is also good for endurance and condition. The exercising employs the muscles and joints, but caffeine will lead to faster recovery and protection from soreness and exhaustion.
Caffeine pills are especially useful in people who are into heavy lifting because it enhances the overall endurance and doesn’t damage muscles and ligaments.
Tips: Never abuse caffeine for better results, as your body may get used to it too much before exercising. Many athletic regulatory bodies have forbidden the use of caffeine during competitions.
They Help With Migraines
If you occasionally suffer from headaches and migraines, they may be caused by fatigue. Using caffeine pills can help with masking and reducing the pain from migraines. There are even medicines that contain caffeine so that they’d relieve pain.
Tips: You shouldn’t drink caffeine pills more than two to three days a week, because it could lead to the opposite effect. If you have recurrent migraines, you should completely give up the caffeine.
They’re More Affordable
Caffeine pills are much cheaper than coffee or energy drinks. You’ll pay a few cents per pill. On the other hand, you may spend as much as hundreds of dollars per month on coffee or energy drinks, it doesn’t matter which.
More lasting effect
Lastly, it’s important to note that taking a 150-200mg caffeine pill could provide an effect that can last up to 4 to 5 hours. People usually drink an energy drink every two to three hours, which is much harder than consuming pills. Some energy drinks can hold you up for 5 to 7 hours, but the intensity usually starts wearing off quickly.
Tips: That doesn’t mean that you should abuse caffeine. Remember that the recommended caffeine consumption threshold is up to 400-430mg a day. Anything more than that can lead to unwanted side-effects.
Bad Sides of Caffeine Pills
Unfortunately, there are bad sides to caffeine pills worth noting, as compared to energy drinks. Let’s see what they are.
- Unwanted Inactive Ingredients – Many caffeine pills come with some extra ingredients that not many people are not fond of. For some people, they may even cause some sort of inconvenience.
- They can take longer to act compared to energy drinks – Although this is an individual experience and is based on individual tolerance to different drinks, caffeine pills may take longer to act, while caffeine is faster absorbed into the energy drink.
- They may make headaches worse – As mentioned earlier, caffeine pills can result in unwanted headaches and even migraines if taken in excess amount, especially if you have headaches frequently.
- Laxative Effects – In some situations, caffeine pills could even make you nauseous or trigger your metabolism to work faster. That leads to super-fast digestion which can sometimes result in diarrhea.
- Insomnia – Not to forget, all caffeine drinks have insomnia in common. That’s because taking too much before bedtime can increase wakefulness, making it harder to fall asleep.
Energy Drinks
Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar, and others are popular energy drinks that a lot of people use to feel more energized and alert, especially when there are exams or important deadlines to meet. Depending on the individual tolerance, the effect from an energy drink can last up to 7 hours, or as little as 3 hours. All in all, they boost mental performance just like other caffeinated drinks.
Although some energy drinks are caffeine-free, most of them are rich in this energy-boosting drug, for the sake of increased memory, athletic performance, or some other reason.
Aside from caffeine, energy drinks are rich in highly abundant sugar. Additionally, you can find B vitamins that also stimulate energy, as well as various Herbal extracts like ginseng or guarana. Lastly, some amino acids can be present in the drinks such as L-carnitine, given that they are produced by our body.
But, what is better? Energy drinks or caffeine pills? Let’s look into the good sides of energy drinks.
Good Sides of Energy Drinks
Improved Alertness
Similarly to caffeine pills, energy drinks can also improve brain function and make it easier for you to process some complex contents and terminology. Increased alertness and wakefulness also lead to better focus, so a lot of people drink energy drinks when they’re studying, working, or driving for an extended time.
Tips: Energy drinks can’t replace a healthy sleep schedule, just like with caffeine pills. Practice good sleep hygiene and you will be more rested and boosted through energy drinks.
It’s More Refreshing Than Pills
In most cases, energy drinks are cold and fresh. Especially in the summer, this is a better option than drinking super-hot coffee or settling with pills that don’t feel enjoyable when you drink them. Additionally, you’ll never have to brew, heat, or add additional serving for an energy drink.
Bad Sides of Energy Drinks
Energy drinks come with a plethora of side-effects that you don’t want to experience. Get informed to be more cautious.
They’re More Expensive Than Caffeine Pills
You will have to squeeze $1-$2 per energy drink, and sometimes even $3. The price of caffeine pills is much less, which makes it a more convenient option for people who are trying to save up.
Drinking Multiple Caffeine Pills Is More Convenient Than Drinking Multiple Energy Drinks
It’s easy to drink multiple caffeine pills because all you have to do is swallow them. Drinking coffee or energy drinks on the other side is more of an experience than something you have to do. You may feel uncomfortable, or even need to urinate frequently after drinking energy drinks which doesn’t feel so good when it comes to using the energy you got on finishing your obligations.
They Could Be Bad For Your Heart
More growing evidence suggests that abusing energy drinks can be bad for the health of your heart. First and foremost excessive consumption of energy drinks can lead to various cardiovascular issues, leading to frequent visits to emergency rooms.
Moreover, a study discovered that abusing energy drinks can increase your blood pressure, which ultimately results in a heart attack.
Tips: It’s important to consume energy drinks in moderation. The studies found that people who drank multiple energy drinks daily required emergency help and were diagnosed with heart disease.
You Can’t Mix It With Alcohol
Caffeine shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol, especially in amounts that are present in energy drinks. You may experience the stronger effect of alcohol, which is why a lot of young people at parties mix the two.
People who mix the two are also more prone to experiencing accidents and end up with injuries that are a result of excessive alcohol consumption. One study discovered that excessive mixing of alcohol and energy drinks resulted in heart palpitations and more heart-related problems.
Tips: If you plan to consume alcohol or attend a party, avoid taking energy drinks beforehand, as it may have serious health implications.
They’re Extremely Rich in Sugar
One of the additional ingredients of energy drinks includes sugar, which makes it more refreshing and delicious in the process. However, sugar-rich options usually make it particularly risky for people with diabetes or insulin resistance.
Given that these drinks are rich in sugar, they may make it even more uncomfortable for people who don’t have diabetes but increase their risk for developing diabetes type 2, according to a study.
Risk Groups
Energy drinks are also extremely bad for:
- Pregnancy – the excess sugar amount, as well as other additives, can be bad for the baby.
- Children and teenagers – Various research shows that a certain percentage of children and teens drink energy drinks. However, one study advises that those younger than 18 years old shouldn’t consume energy drinks.
Caffeine Pills vs. Energy Drinks – Which is Better?
Both caffeine pills and energy drinks deliver what they’re suitable for. They increase focus, alertness, wakefulness, memory, and much more. However, energy drinks have a plethora of health-related side-effects, especially if you belong to a certain risk group.
There are a lot of research studies that urge people not to abuse energy drinks, especially if they have high blood sugar, blood pressure, or consume alcohol. It’s also worth mentioning that energy drinks are more refreshing and popular among the younger population.
With that in mind, we believe that caffeine pills are a better option for those people who want to enjoy the extended benefits of caffeine pills, while also looking for a more convenient option to drink.
On the other hand, if you don’t abuse drinking energy drinks and you enjoy the experience, they deliver most of what they promise.
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