Travelling long distances will increase the chance of you getting into an accident more than the typical daily drive to and fro work or school.
Good thing energy drinks are designed for keeping you awake and focused while on the road.
To cut to the chase, I consider Guru, XS, and REIZE to be the best companion when I’m driving.
Aside from music, energy drinks are indeed a good companion for when you’re on the road. So, let me help you pick the best energy drink for a long drive!
Keep reading!
What to look for in energy drinks?
Ingredients
It’s no secret that caffeine and sugar are the main ingredients in energy drinks, that’s what provides the energy.
Choosing an energy drink with the appropriate caffeine and sugar content would be a vital step in ensuring that you stay awake and focused on your long drive.
You do not want to consume it in excess amounts as you’ll be in for a crash (I mean a caffeine or sugar crash, not a car). A caffeine or sugar crash won’t help you on your drive as it would leave you feeling lethargic instead.
In order to avoid it, I would recommend you choose an energy drink with moderate amounts of caffeine and sugar that are suitable for your tolerance level.
Energy drinks nowadays also come with many added ingredients like guarana. Guarana adds to the caffeine content in energy drinks that is not accounted for in the overall caffeine content.
Therefore, if you’re sensitive to caffeine, you might want to make sure there’s no guarana in your energy drink.
Price & Availability
Why pay more for energy drinks that basically contain the same ingredients?
To save you from that, you can choose to buy your energy drinks in bulk beforehand, which not only is a cheaper alternative, but also a convenient one as you can have them at hand whenever you need to.
If you have a small car, you might be worried that you don’t have extra space for your cans of energy drinks. In that case, powdered energy drinks might just be the thing for you as they come in compact sachets!
It doesn’t take up space and can easily be mixed in water for you to enjoy anytime, anywhere.
Why do I get sleepy while driving?
Sopite syndrome could be an explanation as to why you get sleepy while driving. This syndrome is a part of motion sickness, where you don’t feel nauseous, but instead, only feel drowsy.
The subtle vibrations that you feel when your car is in motion could further enhance this syndrome, driving you into a sleepy town and a potential accident.
Other than that, you’re more prone to be sleepy behind the wheel when you’re driving alone and sleep-deprived. These two factors can cause you to doze off.
Watch the video for tips on how to stay awake during a long drive.
Can caffeine help me with a long drive?
Yes, caffeine can definitely help you get through a long drive safely.
Research suggests that drivers who consumed 200mg of caffeine managed to stay “alive” for up to 40 hours in a 50-hour driving simulation.
On the other hand, drivers who had not consumed any caffeine only managed to survive without crashing until the 20th hour in the 50-hour driving simulation.
This suggests that caffeine can help you drive safer while on a long car journey.
Can energy drinks help against microsleep while driving?
Energy drinks can help against microsleep. This is due to caffeine that inhibits sleep-inducing adenosine in the brain, which helps you stay awake.
Microsleep occurs when you lose consciousness for a few seconds, on average it’s 4 to 5 seconds, some up to 30 seconds.
You could microsleep in monotonous situations, which sounds pretty harmless. Even if you happen to microsleep during a meeting or while watching a boring movie, it’s still relatively harmless.
However, microsleep on the road is a different story. All it takes is 5 seconds of losing consciousness for a crash to happen.
Therefore, if you’re prone to microsleep, I would highly advise against you driving alone. In instances where you do need to do so, consuming energy drinks could help you, but only as a temporary solution.
How can I stay awake on a long drive?
Other than relying on energy drinks, there are also many tips and tricks to stay awake on a long drive.
A little fun on your drive could drive you away from boredom. You could prepare a playlist for you to sing along with, or simply just crank up the volume and have your own mini-concert in your car.
Preparing little snacks are also good practice to keep you awake. Some nuts or a bar of chocolate would be ideal, as sometimes, hunger could be the cause of you losing focus as well.
In cases where you start to feel sleepy or stuffy, you could also open the windows and get some fresh air in. That should help you freshen up and stay awake on a long drive.
How do passengers stay awake on a long car journey?
Personally, I don’t feel comfortable dozing off and letting the driver stay awake driving by themselves. Therefore, I would try to stay awake as well, or at least take turns with other passengers to nap.
Passengers too can drink energy drinks on a long car journey to stay awake.
Sometimes it’s also nice to sing along to songs, or play games in the car like “I spy”. It’ll be good to keep the environment lively so the driver doesn’t doze off in boredom.
Can energy drinks reduce driving fatigue?
As energy drinks are meant to boost energy levels, they can help in reducing driving fatigue too.
The caffeine and sugar content in energy drinks will enable you to feel less tired and stimulate your brain for better concentration on the road.
How to prepare for a long drive?
Before a long drive, you should always ensure that your vehicle is in good condition, and if possible, send it for a quick service before travelling the distance.
If you’re driving on an unfamiliar route, do a quick Google search on your route and take note of pit stops along the way.
Make sure that you are well-rested before heading out, and remember to bring along some energy drinks.
How do you get energy for a long drive?
Aside from getting a boost from energy drinks, here are other ways to get energy for a long drive:
- Stay hydrated.
- Get enough rest before going on a long drive.
- Enjoy a healthy meal.
- Take some multivitamins.
- Have some calorie snacks while on the road.
How often should you stop when driving long distances?
When driving long distances, it would be important for you to stop and take breaks occasionally. As a general rule of thumb, you should stop every 2 hours or so depending on how you feel.
You could also plan your stops to coincide with meal times or pit stops along the way. It’s also good to stop every time you need a bathroom break, as holding it in could cause you to lose focus on the road.
What energy drinks keep you awake the longest?
In my experience, these are the energy drinks that have kept me awake the longest:
- NOS Energy
- Rockstar Energy
- Red Bull Blue Edition
- Monster Zero Ultra
- Bang Star Blast/Cotton Candy
What is the best energy drink to have when driving?
| Energy Drinks | Caffeine (mg) | Sugar (g) |
| Guru Energy Drink | 100 | 21 |
| XS Energy Drink | 80 | 0 |
| Advocare Spark Energy Drink | 120 | 0 |
| REIZE Energy Drink | 50 | 0 |
Guru Energy Drinks
Guru Energy Drink has 100mg of caffeine that is derived naturally from guarana extract and green tea leaf extract.
It’s also marketed as a healthy and natural energy drink with echinacea flower and Panax ginseng root extract.
However, it contains 21g of sugar from cane syrup and white grape juice concentrate, so you decide for yourself whether it’s something you would like.
I personally think the sugar content is a bit on the high side.
XS Energy Drink
XS Energy Drink comes with only 80mg of caffeine and it’s sugar-free. I think it’s actually a pretty decent choice of energy drink for your journey.
There’s also a variety of flavours to choose from and 2 caffeine-free options if you wish for that.
The one thing with XS though, is that you have to buy it online, either on the Amway website or on Amazon, so you can never hope to find it lined up in stores.
Advocare Spark Energy Drink
Advocare Spark Energy Drink stands out on this list as it contains the highest amount of caffeine—120mg of caffeine. That should be a sufficient amount to help you on your drive without giving you any side effects.
However, if you have low caffeine tolerance like me, I would recommend that you pick one with a lower caffeine content, preferably below 100mg.
Advocare Spark is also sugar-free and comes in 10 different flavours, so you would never be stuck with one flavour especially if you’re a fan of choosing flavours.
REIZE Energy Drink
With only 50mg of caffeine, REIZE Energy Drink doesn’t have as much caffeine as most energy drinks on this list, but sufficient enough to give you the energy boost you need.
The low levels of caffeine and the fact that it’s sugar-free would rid you of any worries about experiencing any crashes afterwards, which is good news when you’re on the road.
At around $1 per drink including shipping right to your door, REIZE is definitely the most affordable energy drink option on this list.
What are you waiting for?
Give REIZE a try for yourself and you might just find that it quickly becomes your favourite energy drink companion for the long drive.