stimulation aids e.g. energy drinks and pro plus

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what do you guys make about this?
i get enough sleep-i go to bed between 10.30 and 11.30pm, wake up at around 9 or 9.30am-but i start feeling tired by about 5 or 6pm. but with them i "function" so much better! i take 2 pro plus tablets when i wake up, and wash them down with a can of cheap energy drink from the local supermarket(which i can get them 4 for £1) and that keeps me going until about 1 or 2 in the afternoon at which point i can feel the drink and tabs wearing off but i wait for a while before i take any more. i usually put the two tablets in my mouth, wash them down with 2 or 3 sips of the energy drink then sip at the energy drink at regular intervals until its all gone, which as mentioned is usually by about 1 or 2 in the afternoon. at this point i wait until an hour before my work shift starts then i take 1 tablet washed down with a swig of energy drink 45 minutes before my shift starts, then sip at the energy drink until half an hour before my shift starts, at which point i take another tablet and finish off my energy drink
good practice/bad practice? what do you guys make of it?

Unhealthy. Energy drinks have 5 times the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee.
The limit for redbull is 2 cans a day.
They can cause electrolyte disturbances, nausea, vomiting and heart irregularities.
Just think how jittery someone gets from drinking a lot of coffee. They also get irritable very easily and can't concentrate.

Read this: http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=6090364
It shows what drinking energy drinks can do to you over a long period of time.

I wouldn't even risk drinking one can.
Although I admit to downing 3 or 4 jagerbombs followed by more jagermeister - straight from the bottle. I could of had a heart attack. All I did was vomit and pass out about 5 times.

i dont do this every day, i do get a break from it, so to speak.
i dont do it on fridays, saturdays or sundays, and now that i think about it, i dont actually do the morning "dosage" very often at all, and i find it hard to keep up with the routine i have just before i start work and sometimes miss a day here and there

You mentioned how much sleep you get and your usual schedule for energy drink and tablet supplementation but you didn't mention the rest of your diet.

Are you eating actual meals periodically through out the day?

Between them and your supplementations to them I'd check the sugar contents. You might be consuming too many carbohydrates
which in turn can make your pancreas churn out too much insulin
which in turn wipes out most of the sugar in your blood leaving you hypoglycemic (which makes one feel as if they have no energy besides some other symptoms like vision problems and nausea).

A way to deal with low blood sugar is not to eat even more sugary foods or drinks.

To slow down the production of insulin to what's reasonable
(because its highly possible with periodic extremely high levels of insulin you might eventually give yourself insulin resistant/ type 2 diabetes)
you'd need a reasonable diet with a good balance of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins.

Your doctor can test you for hypoglycemia. If nothing impressive registers on a simple blood sugar test, there's a couple hour long blood test that measures how one's blood sugar fluctuates over the course of a couple hours.

The big GTT (Glucose tolerance test) is pretty boring from the outside. Take a book to read so you're not too bored.

If you are hypoglycemic they usually try to deal with it first through diet and your doctor would send you to a dietician to consult with for that.

if you check the ingredients, they usually have around 10mg of caffeine per ounce of liquid. that equates to around 80mg for an 8oz can, which is about one cup of coffee. the thing about them is that they've got a lot of sugar, sodium, and some other ingredients that aren't very good for you.

so if you're drinking 2 cans (i'm assuming 8oz cans, the smaller ones) of that energy drink, and taking 4 pro plus pills, that's about 4-5 cups of coffee per day. i'd say it's unhealthy, the energy drinks aren't good for you and that much caffeine probably isn't a good idea.

as for you feeling tired, you may be dependent on caffeine (it's ok, the vast majority of the working population is) so if you don't have any you feel tired, irritable, might have headaches, stomach aches, etc. you could also be sleeping too much. you're getting 9.5-11hrs of sleep, which is pretty significant. i find that when i sleep more than 9hrs i get tired, my ideal sleep range is 7-9hrs, less than that and i'm tired, more than that and i'm tired.
also, as mentioned by the other poster, you haven't mentioned your diet, which could play an important role in your fatigue.

my suggestion: stop drinking caffeine for now. if you find you have withdrawal symptoms when you stop (headache, sore stomach, etc.) then slowly reduce your consumption until you're no longer drinking any. if that doesn't do the trick, try waking up an hour earlier and doing some exercise during the day. i suggest doing this anyways, but adjusting my sleep schedule always makes me tired until my body's adapted, so it might be too much if you do it while trying to get off caffeine. lastly, if your diet consists of a lot of simple starches, you're not eating regularly, you're eating a lot of sodium, then try to fix that. if you can, eating 5 or 6 small meals a day is ideal, if not, then having your regular 3 meals with some light (emphasis on light, you don't want to start munching all day) snacking in between meals can help. eat whole wheat products, avoid high salt and high sugar foods and drinks, and make sure you're getting all your nutrients, picking up a multi-vitamin can help with that.

if that STILL doesn't do it, then check with a doctor, you could have a thyroid problem, hypoglycemia, or any number of conditions that can make you tired if left untreated. it's my opinion that if you can fix a problem with simple lifestyle changes, then it's usually better than going the medical route (not saying medicine is bad, i've used many medical treatments myself, but if you can fix a problem effectively without drugs, then it's probably safer)

energy drinks are like liquid crack. i was hooked on energy drinks for a little while, drinking them and taking my adderall at same time was a bad combo.

I agree with beef_bourito, macushla and pensieve.

Let's start with the drinks. As the above three mentioned, these drinks often have unhealthy amounts of 'quick-fix' stimulants such as caffeine and sugar (a certain brand with a red bovine on its can was banned in several countries due to unhealthy levels of caffeine) and other chemicals such as flavouring and colouring.

About Diet:
EAT A GOOD, HEARTY BREAKFAST. I find this helps my clients who, like you, have energy problems in the afternoon. When I say hearty, I mean lots of LEAN protein, vitamin-n-mineral-rich vegetables and fruits, with a mix of complex and simple carbohydrates. A large boiled egg, peas with chopped carrots and corn, oatmeal with milk, banana and strawberries, as well as a glass of freshly squeezed juice would be the basis for an ideal breakfast (I take that EVERY morning. Seriously. I just double the portions because I have a crazy metabolism that can literally shrink me to skin-and-bones if I don't eat enough )

EAT LITTLE BUT OFTEN periodically thoughout the day. Again, emphasis on complex carbs and protein. Mid-morning, lunch, tea-time, and dinner should be half of or less than the regular "three-meals" portions. This not only maintains blood sugar at regular levels, but also reduces hunger pangs, so you're less likely to binge on sugary and salty stuff like chips and sweets.

DRINK LOTS OF WATER. Really. Lots of people don't realize it, but you need water to metabolise properly. This is even more important if you work in a closed office enviroment, where you may get dehydrated and not realise it. Dehydration makes our blood thicker, resulting in sluggish flow, which ends up with that sluggish feeling by mid-afternoon. Sip constantly, about 100ml or more depending on how active you are, every 20-30mins. THIS APPLIES ESPECIALLY IF YOU TAKE A LOT OF CAFFEINE. Caffeine is a known diuretic, and can play havoc with the osmotic pressure in your bloodstream.

About Sleep:
ARE YOU SLEEPING WELL? You may have the quantity, but not the quality. Do you find yourself waking up at the slightest noise or disturbance? Do you have disconcerting or strange dreams? Do you wake up feeling achy and/or sluggish? If yes to any of the above, you may not be sleeping well.

Check your sleeping conditions. Are there any lights on? Electronic equipment left on while you slept? Is the room cluttered? Is there enough ventilation? Is the sleeping surface comfortable? The last two are often surprisingly strong influences on sleep quality. A proper bed (just the matteress, actually) can do wonders, as well as airing the room every morning. I like my creature comforts, and my beauty sleep.

Finally, I suggest that, if you are having a healthy diet and getting enough sleep, you should check for hormone imbalances such as diabetes or hypothyroidism. They might be influencing your natural energy levels.

I'm interested in your diet habits, though. If you want you can PM me what do you eat on average, how often, and how much, and then I can PM a few suggestions on how to modify it to suit your needs.

Hope this helps.

i like energy drinks too but i dont push it all it takes is one for me and im ready to rock and roll