You may call me old fashioned, but I usually just grab a coffee when I’m feeling low on energy. However, HerCampus HQ sent us writers a box of goodies to help us get through, I grabbed the 5-Hour Energy bottle and decided to give it a try. Like any good scientist (political scientists are scientist too), I wrote my observations and recorded my data to try and give you the most accurate oppinion on whether or not this stuff actually works.
First, the type I tried is “peach mango” flavored and it did not taste bad at all. It was pretty strong and pretty fake tasting, but I definitly thought that it would be worse. Also, apparently this is sugar free? Unfortunately I am only a political scientist and do not know how the science behind that one works.
This bottle is slightly less than 2 ounces (about the size of a standard shot of alcohol) so it goes down quick, and it kicks in quick too. Now, I cannot 100% differentiate how much of my energy boost was actually from the product vs. me THINKING I was going to be energized and thus exhibiting somatic symptons of it, but after about 20 minutes I was feeeling the energy.
I took the drink right before starting an essay which due date is swiftly approaching. I started writing and after a few minutes or so I could feel my energy levels rise and my focus sharpen, soon enough I checked the time and couldn’t believe that 30 minutes had gone by and that I had written about 4 solid paragraphs. I seriously couldn’t believe it and thought my laptop clock was wrong. But too my amazent, what felt like 15 minutes was actually 30 minutes of intense work.
However, 45 minutes in and I started to get pretty jittery and scatter brained. But it was energy nonetheless, and I could still focus for the most part.
One hour in and I had the brilliant idea to play music. Oh my god, do not play music. My jitters and excessive energy I had basically forced me to into dancing it out. My jittery movements had grown to me violently swaying and moving my arms around while sitting at my desk. I wanted to turn off the music and focus, but dancing was just SO MUCH MORE FUN and was so much easier to do (sidenote: highly recomend taking 5-hour energy if you need motivation to go to the gym).
An hour and a half in and I do not feel energized. Now, I’m tired and unfocused and craving brie and crackers (my go-to snack).
Based off of my experience, I would recomend 5-Hour Energy for someone who needs a final push to finish an assignment or if you need motivation to get to the gym. I would discourage using this before starting to study as the crash can be harsh and sooner than expected. Also, do not play music when you get the jitters because the need to dance will just be too strong– and then your roommate will walk in and think you’re crazy.