First off, if you want to know the answer real quick, I think the best energy drinks for mental focus are Mountain Dew Kickstart, NOS, and REIZE!
Keeping yourself mentally focused on something for a long period can be one of the most difficult things to do.
This can happen due to several reasons like suffering from hyperactivity, feeling sleepy, or having too many distractions around you.
If you’re having problems focusing on your tasks, energy drinks can surely help you. Because energy drinks contain caffeine, it acts as a stimulant that’ll jolt you awake and enhance your mental alertness.
You’re probably thinking I’m making this up. Nope, I’m not.
Read on to find out how energy drinks help enhance your mental focus, and I’ll also recommend you a few good options at the end.
Does caffeine help you focus?
Yes, a healthy dose of caffeine can definitely help you focus!
It has been proven through several experiments that caffeine does help you focus. Many studies have investigated and discovered the positive effects caffeine has on the brain and body.
A study conducted on 24 young men reported that caffeine could improve their alertness and vigilance compared to a placebo.
That’s the reason you have a hankering for a cup of java in the mornings when you feel groggy. Caffeine provides you with a surge of energy that’ll wake you to get into the mood to work. As a result, you’ll be more mentally focused and motivated.
Coffee isn’t the only thing that contains caffeine, by the way. There are other options like tea, sodas, colas, energy drinks, and caffeine pills (yes, those exist) that can help maintain your mental focus.
But caffeine needs to be consumed in moderation.
The FDA set 400 mg as the caffeine limit per day. Exceeding this amount can lead to overdose and other caffeine-related symptoms.
Usually, my caffeine intake in a day ranges from 50 to 100 mg. Going over that means getting jitters and feeling dizzy, which is absolutely not a good way to start my mornings.
So make sure your caffeine consumption doesn’t exceed the 400 mg limit. This amount includes caffeine you get from other sources like tea, sodas, and chocolate.
Do energy drinks improve mental focus?
Yes, energy drinks do improve your mental focus. The caffeine present in energy drinks is capable of helping you to stay focused on your day-to-day tasks.
Energy drinks are usually marketed as energy-boosting beverages that elevate your performance level. These drinks are popular not only because they come in different delicious flavours, but because they actually work.
Plus, they’re easily found in supermarkets and vending machines and are sometimes cheaper than a cup of coffee.
If you want to know more about the best energy drinks that can improve concentration, I’ve written a detailed piece about this here.
Can energy drinks enhance your cognitive performance?
Energy drinks are capable of enhancing your cognitive performance.
Apart from caffeine, energy drinks contain sugar and other ingredients like ginseng and guarana that boost your cognitive performance.
Cognitive performance refers to how well your brain can learn, think, remember, create reasoning, solve problems, make decisions, and pay attention.
When you’re tired, you’re unable to concentrate and think, which leads to deteriorations in your cognitive performance.
This is where energy drinks can help by supplying a burst of energy into your systems and jolting you to full alert mode to get you back on track.
Can energy drinks help with your mental focus while studying?
Yes, energy drinks can definitely help with your mental focus when you’re studying.
Studying requires a lot of attention and concentration. And some research has shown that energy drinks can enhance memory capacity, increase the ability to focus and solve difficult problems that require reasoning.
Maintaining full concentration while studying can feel like a daunting task, especially when there are many subjects to cover in a limited period of time. Apart from that, you may get distracted by your phone, the internet, and internal and external noises.
With energy drinks, you’ll no longer be distracted, as the ingredients in these drinks will kick your brain into high gear and send you into study mode.
If you’re a student who’s worried about the upcoming assignment deadline or exam, energy drinks will help maintain your attention and mental focus for a good few hours.
However, keep in mind not to overshoot the recommended caffeine intake. Otherwise, you’ll be losing all your energy and focus instead. After all, moderation is the key.
If you’re looking for recommendations for the best energy drinks for studying, read my article here.
Can energy drinks help me to concentrate when I’m gaming?
Energy drinks contain lots of ingredients that can help you focus and improve your reaction time. As a result, it helps you to concentrate when you’re gaming.
There are even energy drinks catering to gamers like Gfuel and Rogue Energy.
Though energy drinks are helpful when you’re gaming, you must drink plenty of water as well. Gaming for hours on high levels of caffeine and sugar leads you to dehydration, sugar crash, and many other fatal consequences.
A more detailed article about the best energy drinks for gaming is on my blog here.
Can energy drinks help me focus while driving?
The caffeine in energy drinks works in such a way that helps to keep you stay focused while driving.
A study conducted on 24 volunteers who went highway driving for 2 hours explains how energy drinks reduced their sleepiness and enhanced their driving performance.
If you’re worried about having to drive overnight, you don’t need to because energy drinks have your back in that department too!
The caffeine in energy drinks will keep you stay alert and attentive. Studies found that caffeine reduces the time to exhaustion by 25% and maintains performance even in a sleep-deprived state.
There are many good energy drinks that are great for driving, and if you’re curious, you can check this list out.
Does caffeine help with mental focus when I have ADHD?
Yes, caffeine does help with mental focus even if you have ADHD.
It was discovered through an experiment done in 2005 that the administration of caffeine to hyperactive rats improves spatial learning deficits.
Over the years, studies have produced various positive results regarding the use of caffeine as a treatment for ADHD patients.
The reason caffeine efficiently works on hyperactivity is still a mystery today.
Some researchers believe it’s because caffeine makes blood vessels smaller, thus reducing blood flow. When blood flow is reduced, the activity in overactive regions of the brain decreases, leading to better functioning and cooperation with the rest of the brain.
Other studies claim that hyperactivity decreases as a result of caffeine because it works as a stimulant. Once the caffeine is absorbed into the body, the brain releases chemicals that are related to pleasure, attention, and movement like dopamine, in high amounts.
Stimulants are often prescribed to ADHD patients to help them feel calmer and more focused.
In a study exploring the effects of caffeine on different aspects of ADHD in children, it was found that caffeine improved behavior, cognitive functions involving attention and memory, and reduced levels of aggression and hyperactivity.
That being said, although caffeine has positive effects on ADHD, you must not mix caffeine with ADHD medications like Adderall. Since consuming them together can result in unpleasant side effects like jitteriness and insomnia.
Is coffee or energy drinks better for focus?
In my view, coffee is better for focus than any energy drink.
Coffee comes from a natural source while energy drinks contain synthetic ingredients that may pose harm to your overall health.
With coffee, you can usually control what you put in your cup such as sugar and butter. On the other hand, energy drinks are heavily infused with ingredients and some of which are unfamiliar.
Therefore, coffee is the better choice if you’re looking for an energy booster that’ll help you focus.
Does Red Bull help with attention?
Yes, Red Bull can help with attention.
In theory, consuming a can of Red Bull before doing any mental task can help improve attention span. The caffeine in Red Bull Energy may help boost dopamine production which in turn helps the body in terms of movement, focus, and attention.
However, no matter how attractive these may all sound to you, it is important that you know how much caffeine your body can handle to avoid distracting your attention.
Check my article on Does Red Bull Have Caffeine here.
Can I consume energy drinks every day?
It is totally okay to consume energy drinks every day in moderation.
The reason is, that consuming energy drinks that contain high amounts of calories, caffeine, and sugar may deteriorate your health in the long run. Also, if you don’t exercise frequently to burn off the caffeine and calories, you may become prone to some serious health problems.
If you’re really dependent on energy drinks for your daily caffeine fix, you should go for low-sugar or sugar-free energy drinks with small quantities of calories.
Thankfully, there are healthier energy drinks on the market nowadays.
| Age | Recommended Daily Amount |
| Kids | 60-80 mg |
| Teenagers | 100 mg |
| 18 and above | 400 mg |
What to Look for in Energy Drinks for Mental Focus
Now that you know energy drinks can aid in enhancing mental focus, you should also be aware of a few things before going out for that energy drink hunt.
Caffeine
As one of the main ingredients in energy drinks, the amount of caffeine is the first thing you should be aware of. After all, caffeine is what provides you with energy and keeps you concentrated and alert.
A bigger intake of caffeine doesn’t guarantee better benefits. The thing about caffeine is that it works like a double-edged sword.
If you take it in moderate doses you can reap its benefits. But if you consume too much of it, you’ll end up with unpleasant side effects like:
- fast or irregular heartbeat
- shakiness
- vomiting
- confusion
- panic attack
Despite all that, it does boil down to your caffeine tolerance. And logically speaking, if you have a higher tolerance to caffeine, you’ll need more caffeine to experience its positive effects.
But I believe that everything should still be taken in moderation regardless of your tolerance. You’ll never know when your body decides to retaliate against you.
Caffeine resistance is also a thing that develops with your tolerance to the stimulant. But you can reset your tolerance by cutting back on your caffeine intake for a while or completely stopping.
Sugar
While a specific amount of sugar is safe and necessary for your body, too much sugar can be detrimental to your health.
At first, you’ll feel mentally focused and energized after consuming sugar. But after some time, the effects will wear off and you’ll start to feel lethargic. In such a state, you won’t be in the mood to stay focused anymore.
Other ingredients
Other than caffeine and sugar, energy drinks also contain guarana, taurine, B-Vitamins, and various herbal extracts.
These ingredients have been added as components of energy drinks because it’s believed they also contribute to enhancing physical and mental performances.
However, watch out for the amount of added guarana when you’re out shopping for your energy drink, as it contains natural caffeine too. The amount of caffeine in guarana is not often stated on the nutritional labels.
Watch this informative video to learn more about the risks of guarana.
Best Energy Drinks for Mental Focus
My preferred type of energy drink typically is sugar-free, with a sensible amount of caffeine and other ingredients.
Too much of any of these ingredients would give me a case of jitters, headache, and dizziness.
So, here are my top recommendations for energy drinks that can help with mental focus:
Mountain Dew Kickstart Energy Drink
| Ingredients | Key ingredients in a 16 fl. oz can |
| Calories | 80 |
| Caffeine | 90 mg |
| Sugar | 20 g |
Personally, the caffeine content is pretty reasonable. But the sugar level is a little too much for me. But the good news is Mountain Dew Kickstart has two sugar-free flavours:
- Ultra Energizing Original Dew
- Diet Mountain Dew
NOS Energy Drink
| Ingredients | Key ingredients in a 16 fl. oz can |
| Calories | 210 |
| Caffeine | 160 mg |
| Sugar | 54 g |
NOS is one of the strongest energy drinks on the market with a whopping amount of caffeine and sugar in one can.
This energy drink wouldn’t be beneficial to those who can’t stand more than two hundred milligrams of caffeine in one go. But for those with a higher tolerance, NOS might contribute to better mental focus.
REIZE Energy Drink
| Ingredients | Key ingredients of one sachet |
| Caffeine | 50 mg |
| Sugar | ZERO |
| B-Vitamins | LOTS! |
Let me tell you about my favourite energy drink of all time.
Even with 50 mg of caffeine, it’s enough to boost my energy levels and keep me mentally focused on all sorts of tasks at any time of the day.
REIZE also has a healthy mix of guarana, taurine, ginseng, and B vitamins that won’t mess up your body and mind.
The best part is that REIZE only costs around $1, including shipping!
What a deal, isn’t it?
Give REIZE a try and you might just find that it’s the perfect energy drink that will boost your mental focus and concentration whenever you need it.