Highball, Red Bull, Bang, Monster, and Rockstar are the most popular energy drinks on the market, bringing in millions every year. The advertisement of these drinks appeals to younger crowds because of the rush of adrenaline and the need to stay energized. I personally don’t drink energy drinks, but I decided to see what all the excitement was about.

Energy drinks are commonly known for being full of sugar and having an insane amount of caffeine; however, Rockstar and Red Bull produce sugar-free drinks with less than three carbs and no sugar; these drinks are great for people who want a buzz and want to stay in shape. I decided that one of these would be the best for my experiment.

I went a whole day with no coffee, normally I drink around three cups a day, but for this article, I went the whole day coffee-free. I tried the fruit punch flavored, sugar-free Rockstar. This drink contains zero calories, zero sugar, and zero carbs. The drink stands at two servings per can, each with 80mg of caffeine. I decided that one-fourth of the bottle would be enough to give me a buzz.

When I first opened the drink it smelled like normal fruit punch. I tried it; it tasted like carbonated fruit punch mixed with chemicals. At first, it was decent, but the aftertaste was horrific; it made me never want to drink an energy drink again.

About 10 minutes passed before I felt the effects of the drink. The amount of caffeine that entered my system made me feel shaky and jittery. I drink Starbucks coffee daily and every day I get a french vanilla cappuccino, it has never given me the rush that I received from that fruit punch flavored, sugar-free Rockstar.

Three hours later I was still shaking but not as bad. At this point, all I could do was take a nap, and hope when I woke up the Rockstar would be out of my system. Somehow, after a two-hour nap, I woke up even more tired than when I fell asleep.

Maybe it was the flavor that made the drink taste bad or just the drink itself. Regardless, I now can say that for me, energy drinks are bad in every aspect. Even though I didn’t try all five flavors, I can assume that they give the same effects. I think from now on, I’ll be sticking with my coffee.