Top Recommendation: REIZE Energy!
We all need the occasional caffeine fix in the morning, in the middle of the day, or late at night to study or meet deadlines.
However, with caffeinated drinks, like coffee and energy drinks, you might sometimes feel jittery if you consume too much caffeine.
This is a conundrum. Is it worth risking the jitters for caffeine or not?
The good news is that you can still enjoy energy drinks without worrying about jitters. That’s right! Energy drinks like XS and REIZE are just some of the energy drinks you can try minus the jitters!
Let’s jump into the details.
Ingredients in Energy Drinks
Caffeine
Caffeine is the main cause of the jitters you get after drinking energy drinks.
Caffeine is one of the main energy-boosting ingredients in energy drinks. It’s a natural stimulant that affects the central nervous system, boosts energy and improves your mood.
The amount of caffeine in an energy drink varies from brand to brand. Some brands have a huge amount of caffeine in them to give a powerful energy boost while others have less.
If you’re concerned about the jitters, you probably want to avoid some of the most powerful energy drinks on the market because of how much caffeine they contain.
Sugar
Sugar is also another common ingredient in many energy drinks. However, these days there are plenty of sugar-free energy drinks available if sugar.
Sugar-free energy drinks contain artificial sweeteners instead of regular, simple sugars.
Too much sugar can also cause jitters. Therefore, it’s wise to choose a sugar-free energy drink, or at least avoid the brands that contain the most sugar.
Read here to find out what’s the best sugar-free energy drink for you.
Guarana
Guarana is found in some but by no means all energy drinks.
Guarana increases the caffeine content in energy drinks.
With a higher caffeine content in your energy drink comes a higher possibility of jittery side effects.
Watch the video below to learn more about guarana and its benefits.
Caffeine Tolerance and Jitters
The jitters that you may experience following caffeine consumption depend on your caffeine tolerance. The higher your tolerance to caffeine, the less likely you are to feel jittery.
Like our unique thumbprints, everyone metabolizes caffeine differently. Many factors go into our caffeine tolerance such as gender, genetics, metabolism, and medical history.
Someone else may be able to drink 3 cups of coffee without any jitters, but you might feel uneasy after just a single cup.
Jitters from consuming caffeine occur because the stimulant boosts your adrenaline levels, which in turn causes your blood pressure to rise.
The basic rule about consuming caffeine is to listen to your body.
If you drink caffeinated beverages on a daily basis, you’ll find that your body craves them in order to function. This might be a sign that you’re becoming addicted to caffeine.
Personally, I can only tolerate between 50 and 100mg of caffeine per serving and a total of about 200mg per day. That’s about 200mg short of the recommended maximum daily intake of 400mg.
If I have any more than that, I know I’m likely to suffer some jitters and other symptoms of too much caffeine.
What do caffeine jitters feel like?
Jitters are a physical sensation of a rush and then a sudden crash afterwards. It can cause you to feel nervous and uneasy too.
The caffeine that courses through your bloodstream increases your heart rate.
The jitters that you’re feeling due to caffeine can also trigger anxiety, stress, or overstimulation, which could cause you to lose focus.
Jitters are often caused by too much caffeine, but caffeine can actually help you be more alert and focused if taken in moderation.
How long do caffeine jitters last?
Depending on your body’s tolerance to caffeine, you might still be feeling jitters a few hours after drinking an energy drink.
Basically, how long your caffeine jitters last depends on how much caffeine you’ve consumed and how fast your body is able to produce the enzyme CYP1A2, which metabolizes caffeine.
In rare cases, the effects might still be noticeable the following day.
The maximum effect of caffeine in our body occurs 30-60 minutes after consumption. That’s when you might start to notice the jitters.
Caffeine’s half-life is about 5 hours. Half-life means the time it takes for the amount of caffeine in our body to be reduced to half.
If you’ve consumed 100mg of caffeine, after 5 hours, the amount remaining in your body would be 50mg.
Contrary to some reports, you can’t flush caffeine out of your body any faster by drinking a lot of water. You need to wait for the half-life to gradually remove the caffeine from your system.
Can sugar make you feel jittery?
Yes, sugar can also make you feel jittery.
After consuming sugar, you might experience a “sugar high” whereby your blood sugar levels are elevated.
Once your blood sugar levels drop, you may experience a “sugar crash“.
That’s when you’re likely to feel jittery.
You may experience symptoms through the course of a “sugar high” and “sugar crash”, including nervousness, irritability, and feeling lethargic.
Do coffee and tea give you the jitters?
Yes, coffee and tea both contain caffeine which can give you the jitters.
However, the caffeine content in tea is less. Tea contains polyphenol, which slowly releases caffeine resulting in fewer jitters compared to drinking coffee.
Green tea has less caffeine than black tea, and the amount of caffeine depends on the length of time that you allow the tea to steep before consumption.
The caffeine content in coffee varies too.
A regular cup of coffee contains an average of 95mg of caffeine, but a venti-sized coffee at Starbucks can contain up to 415mg of caffeine.
Decaf coffees aren’t always caffeine-free and may contain up to 7mg of caffeine per cup.
If you are very sensitive to caffeine, you can, in a way, customise your intake when drinking a cup of coffee or tea in order to try to prevent the jitters.
Do soft drinks give you the jitters?
Yes, soft drinks contain both caffeine and sugar, which can both trigger jitters.
Soft drinks often contain more sugar than energy drinks, thus the sugar crash you experience after drinking them is probably going to be more powerful.
Be warned, you’ll be feeling very lethargic afterwards if this happens to you.
Does Monster make you jittery?
A 16 fl. oz can of Monster Energy Drink has 160mg of caffeine, 54g of sugar, and 210 calories.
The high amount of caffeine can certainly trigger jitters, especially if you have a lower tolerance.
Also, 54g of sugar is approximately 13 full teaspoons of sugar. Not only would you probably never imagine yourself shovelling 13 teaspoons of sugar into your mouth if it wasn’t inside a drink, but it’s also certainly enough to cause a sugar crash and the jitters.
For these reasons, Monster may cause jitters, depending on your tolerance levels.
If you want to learn more about Monsters, I’ve previously covered whether they are bad for you and what happens when you drink a Monster every day.
Both of those articles go into a lot more detail than I can include here.
Does Red Bull make you jittery?
An 8.4 fl. oz can of Red Bull Energy Drink contains 80mg of caffeine, 27g of sugar, and 110 calories.
I am personally OK with this amount of caffeine, so Red Bull doesn’t make me feel jittery. However, everyone’s caffeine tolerance is different, so it may affect you in different ways and might make you feel jittery.
27g of sugar is still quite a lot, even though it’s less than you’ll find in a can of Monster. Depending on your tolerance to sugar, this might be enough to cause a sugar crash and/or the jitters.
If you have a lower caffeine tolerance, then you might prefer Red Bull over Monster. For more information about exactly what makes Red Bull and Monster different, check out my comprehensive article that goes through all of the important differences.
If you’re wondering if it’s safe to drink a can of Red Bull every day, check out my other article for all of the facts.
Furthermore, check out this table of the summary of nutrients in a Red Bull can.
| Ingredients | Amount |
| Caffeine | 80 mg |
| Glucuronolactone | 600 mg |
| Niacin (Vitamin B3) | 5.1 µg |
| Pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5) | 5.1 µg |
| Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) | 5 mg |
| Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) | 5.1 µg |
The Journey to Consuming Less Caffeine
I wouldn’t advise you to immediately cut off caffeine consumption cold turkey, especially if you’re used to having more than one serving of caffeinated beverage per day.
Gradually reduce your caffeine intake so as to not have sudden withdrawal symptoms that can have negative effects on you.
Try to reduce your caffeine intake day by day, or seek other options, like switching from coffee to tea or decaf coffee.
If you love energy drinks, but you want to consume less caffeine, choose one that has a sensible amount of caffeine, like REIZE Energy Drink which has just 50mg of caffeine per serving.
Be aware that you might experience jitters, nausea, headaches, or irritability as part of cutting caffeine, but once you’re completely weaned off caffeine, you shouldn’t experience them anymore.
I have discussed caffeine detox in this article. Check it out!
How to Stop the Jitters
To put it simply, don’t drink what you can’t tolerate.
But I understand, that there are days that we really need to get by with a cup of strong coffee or a can of energy drink that contains a little more caffeine than we’re used to.
Try to reduce your caffeine intake, or try decaffeinated options like decaf coffee, or green tea, as they both have less caffeine.
In order to minimize the jitters, you can also try exercising. This will help to speed up your metabolism and work the caffeine out of your system.
Best Energy Drinks Without Jitters
My choice would always be ones that are lower in caffeine and sugar, just to minimise the chance of jitters.
Many energy drinks contain caffeine and sugar which might set you on a path for jitters if you’re not careful when choosing the brand that’s best for you.
The energy drinks that I’m recommending here are all less than 100mg of caffeine per serving, which is what I prefer.
Mountain Dew Kickstart
Mountain Dew Kickstart has 92mg of caffeine, but it does have 80 calories and 20g of sugar.
However, there are 2 sugar-free options:
- Ultra Energizing Original Dew
- Diet Mountain Dew
If you’re not that concerned health-wise, you might want to give Mountain Dew Kickstart a try.
XS Energy Drink
XS Energy Drink has 80mg of caffeine, 10 calories, and zero sugar.
XS Energy Drink not only has 18 flavours to choose from, but it also has 2 caffeine-free options:
- Caffeine-Free Cranberry-Grape Blast
- Caffeine-Free Mango Pineapple Guava
That’s good news for you if you like energy drinks, but are hypersensitive to caffeine.
One issue I have with XS is the high price. It often sells for around $8 per can, which makes it hard to justify on a daily basis.
REIZE Energy Drink (10 out of 10)
REIZE Energy Drink has 50mg of caffeine, 11 calories, and is sugar-free.
I think you can guess that this is my all-time favourite. 50mg of caffeine is a sensible amount that doesn’t cause me any jitters.
The combination of caffeine, taurine, ginseng, and B vitamins are perfect energy boost, with no crash and no jitters.
It could also be a good transition drink for you if you’ve been drinking energy drinks that have way too much caffeine and you’re on the path to less caffeine or quitting altogether.
Perhaps best of all, REIZE ships right to your door for around $1 per drink, including shipping. That’s amazing value for money.
I love the fact that I can get my caffeine fix and enjoy a nice energy boost without having to worry about any side effects or jitters.
Try REIZE Energy Drink today, and you might just find that it’s the best energy drink without jitters too.