[jlee1086]

I often have trouble sleeping but I have to limit my coffee because it irritates my stomach. I felt better taking a caffeine pill in the morning but when I take one at lunch, it still gives me indigestion even after it wears off.

With IBS, carbonated drinks are out of the question, which eliminates most energy drinks. Lots of people depend on caffeine to stick to their study schedule. But if you get side effects from that, what can you do?

FAR 57 (11/2014), 64 (1/2015), 79 (7/2015)
AUD 68 (2/2015), 79 (11/2015)
REG 79 (1/2016)
BEC 81 (4/2016)

[livingbotanics.com]

Maybe you should try kratom, which also comes from Coffee family.
In small dose it have similar effect as coffee and keeps you awake and focus, in larger is more sedative and helps you sleep.

[ADHDCPA]

A great combination with caffeine is l-theanine. It's the perfect ying to caffeine's yang. If you have ever noticed that green tea is stimulating and relaxing at the same time, it's because nature has already combined the two chemicals together – in tea leaves.

You can always drink green tea, but if you are looking for something to pair with your coffee, you can pick up l-theanine at any vitamin store (GNC, etc..). Try 200 mg of l-theanine with a cup of coffee and your focus will be at a different level as the caffeine will not make you jittery and anxious.

AUD - 91 YAAY! (8/4/15)
FAR - 51 BOOO! (8/4/15)
REG - TBD
BEC - TBD

[Lou]

Try tea, I find tea helps me stay awake. Also, they do have caffeinated tea as well which is a lot less noticeable stomach wise if you want to try that

FAR- taken 8/11/16....now the wait begins
AUD- scheduled 9/8/16
BEC- scheduled 10/9/16
REG-scheduled 12/10/16

Live a few years like most people won't, to live the rest of your life like most people can't.

[monikernc]

i think water is the essential study aid. staying hydrated keeps you alert and your brain remains the right size (no kidding.) plenty of rest, a good diet low in sugar, and a brisk walk everyday kept me going. i eat small meals throughout the day and that keeps my energy up, too.

you can also try mati energy drinks: https://www.matienergy.com

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Anonymous]

Most of the well-known energy drinks rely heavily on B-vitamins for their energy source, not just on caffeine, because B-vitamins have a very energy-inducing effect. So, you could look for some caffeine-free vitamin-heavy energy drinks. Taking B-vitamin pills won't work as quickly, but would work over time. However, at least in my experience with B-vitamins, they're more likely to keep you awake at night if taken later, so I'd use them for morning study sessions but not drink a vitamin-laden energy drink at 9pm to try to get 3 hours of study time in before midnight. Basically, vitamins – most of the B's and also D vitamin, if you're deficient in D like much of America – can help make sure you're realizing your full healthy, natural potential. However, vitamins won't make you able to be studying till 1am after getting up at 5am – they're not a wonder drug, just make sure you're at healthy condition. 🙂 Vitamins + sleep = awake and focused, but they rely on health in general, and sleep is part of health in general.

If you can't find any caffeine-free, vitamin-heavy (specifically B-vitamins) energy drinks, then taking B-complex (and D) vitamins first thing in the morning can help with awakeness and alertness, but I'd suggest morning study sessions. Do something like take the vitamins, go take a shower, and then they'll start to be getting in your system by the time your shower is done.

Tea is nice too, but often has caffeine – not sure if that level of caffeine would affect you or not. If some caffeine is OK just not too much, you might look into GFuel – my boyfriend really likes GFuel, and it's much higher energy than caffeine, but it does have caffeine in it.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and I totally forgot about ginseng earlier. Folks around here used to hunt it in the woods locally and sell it during hard times cause if you could find it, it would sell for $30+/pound…but it was also used a lot locally for staying awake for long hours in the mines (for those that weren't using drugs to do so 😐 ). Ginseng is a nice, natural way to improve awake-ness. Again, not as instant as caffeine, but useful.

Also, I didn't use caffeine during my exams, so I don't think it's necessary for everyone. I probably had 3 or 4 cups of coffee the whole time of my exams, and those would've been on a Saturday morning sitting with the grandparents, cause they're always drinking coffee, not during extreme study sessions. I had a few energy drinks, but those were more for fun weekends than long study sessions. I think you get better quality study if you can keep yourself well-rested to be truly awake while studying. I'd often end up taking a nap in the middle of the a study session, but being rested helped me remember what I learned.

[Author]

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