Energy drinks to the extreme

With all the changes happening around us all the time, it’s difficult to find the energy to keep up with everything. Things around us are ramping up two notches at a time – whether it’s the break-neck pace of technological advances, mounting economic pressures, or even just the amount of entertainment that is pumped out and available on-demand – everything has become more extreme. But, there’s one thing that’s been lagging behind, in my opinion. Energy drinks – a great marketing term, if anything, and one that has been popularized thanks to brands like Monster (NASDAQ: MNST) and Red Bull.

By now, every extreme sport under the sun has an energy drink brand all over it. No doubt, those athletes need all the energy they can get (along with a good dose of fearlessness). But can these energy drinks help us average folk to keep up with this ever more demanding world? Not really. Much like a motocross bike ramping off to do a backflip – what goes up must come down. And the energy crash will be particularly harsh if you don’t have a soft landing to fall into, like your bed at the end of your workday. 

It’s easy to blame all that sugar and caffeine. But it’s not much better with ‘healthy’ alternatives like Campbell’s (NYSE: CPB) ‘V8’ energy drink, where the caffeine comes from green tea, and the sugar is replaced with stevia. It seems they all can’t quite give that ideal sustained energy boost throughout your day. 

What is it about energy drinks that they can’t just be engineered to perfectly help us smash through the daily grind, every day? Perhaps energy drinks and supplements are great for physical activities, but not so much for a long, stretched-out office day. But it’s strange to think that there hasn’t been some clever hack or sleek product to supercharge our personal energy, without side effects.

Maybe that’s for the best. If anything, with our biology being as complex as it is, it’s a lot easier to mess up your daily energy levels by downing tons of drinks and supplements. Sadly, a boring diet, strict sleep regimen, and regular exercise routine are probably more likely what us non-extreme work, rather than half a litre of B-vitamin-infused caffeinated sugar-water.

That being said, when in need of that quick boost during a particularly extreme schedule, keep a can at hand to stay on top of your game. Just consume with caution.