I am not a regular consumer of energy drinks. Occasionally, I will buy and drink a can of a specific store brand energy drink, especially when the day is really hot. I enjoy the flavour.
What I’ve been taking note is that, usually, two days after drinking it, I will feel extremely psychically tired. I can sleep normally, even better, to a degree, have more dreams and even feel more mentally active during that period but after those 48 hours, I get extremely tired, to the point I can fall asleep if I stay still for to long. I can maintain myself awake if I remain active.
The drink itself has no unusual ingredients - taurine, guarana, caffeine, ginseng - but for some reason I am still unable to understand, it is the only one that affects me like this.
Note 1: I do not drink coffee. Caffeine from real coffee somehow alters my blood pressure radically. These energy drinks do not.
Note 2: I once drank one specific energy drink - a Battery - that kept me awake and functioning for nearly 60 hours. I was physically unable to sleep. When whatever kept me going ran out I slept for 30 hours straight.
Has anyone ever went through something like this?
Absolutely.
You’re sensitive to caffeine because you never consume it. Your body may be a bit more sensitive than average.
When you drink one, besides the effects you perceive, the caffeine will interrupt your sleep. Particularly if you drink it later in the day, because it’s hotter in the afternoon than morning. The half life of caffeine is the half life. A massive dose of caffeine takes time to get out of your system, and while the decline is exponential, it’s still going to be meaningfully present for 12+ hrs, which is definitely going to interrupt your sleep.
Add on a lot of cortisol and probably some extra activity, which could be physical or psychological, and you got a recipe for exhaustion.
I call this effect borrowing energy from the future.
I used to drink around 3 big mugs of coffee a day. Then I just stopped, cold turkey. Took a few months to get adjusted. But what surprised me, is that ALL tolerance to caffeine is gone. If I drink a cup of black tea, I will feel more focussed for a few hours, and less focussed a day or two afterwards.
I now only drink caffeine strategically. If I think todays problems are more important than the next two days problems, I drink some black tea or a cup of coffee. Otherwise I stick to decaf coffee, which fills the habit of drinking coffee perfectly.
What goes up must come down. Cause And effect. I feel this deeply. I been thinking about this a lot. Glad to see someone else nailed it.