When you’re living a college schedule of all-night cram sessions, classes, and work, energy drinks are probably going to be a staple in your perpetually sleep-deprived diet.

 

Exploiting the wonders of modern heart-speeding chemistry in concoctions of caffeine, taurine, guarana, and a battery of vitamins and minerals, these drinks deliver an eye-widening jolt to the brain, heart, and nervous system.

 

With an ever-growing assortment lining the grocery aisles, to help you sort the power-packed heavyweights from the prettied-up soda cans, here’s a rundown of 10 of the most popular and potent energy drinks on the shelves.

 

 

1) Red Bull

 

The original energy drink and number-one seller by far, Red Bull carries about the same amount of caffeine as an average cup of brewed coffee (72 mg per six fluid ounces) or twice as much as a can of Coke (40 mg per 330-ml can).

 

For a potent, sweet tart-flavored dose of energy, try it in either original or sugar-free.

 

Caffeine Content: 77 mg/8 oz 

 

 

2) Monster

 

Available in eight-ounce, 15-ounce, “XXL” 24-ounce, and the colossal, self-proclaimed “BFC” 32-ounce cans, Monster is the second highest seller behind Red Bull and an excellent power drink for anyone who wants a range of choices between a quick pick-me-up and the heavily artillery.

 

Choose between the original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Energy Assault, Khaos Energy Juice (with fruit juice concentrates and Splenda), M80 (80 percent juice), Mixxd (30 percent juice mixture, heavy on the grape flavor), and Java Monster (coffee and milk blends in three different flavors).

 

Caffeine Content: 80 mg/8 oz

 

 

3) Rockstar

 

A perennial power drink favorite, Rockstar is stocked at pretty much any gas station or convenience store, where you can usually get it for about a two bucks, which makes for a cheap but powerful charge of energy.

 

Available in original, sugar-free, and zero-carb varieties, as well as in three Juiced flavors (mango, guava, and pomegranate) that are 50 percent juice. For even more of a caffeine boost, try Rockstar Punched or the Rockstar Roasted espresso and cream blends, which come with 50 percent more caffeine than Original Rockstar.

 

Caffeine Content: 80 mg/8 oz (Original); 120 mg/8 oz (Punched, Roasted)

 

 

4) AMP

 

Manufactured by PepsiCo under the Mountain Dew brand, AMP, in original and sugar-free, combines taurine, ginseng, B vitamins, and guarana with the classic Mountain Dew flavor formula.

 

AMP Overdrive adds yerba maté for an extra turbo boost and switches up flavors with a strong dose of cherry.

 

Bottom line? If you love Mountain Dew but need it supercharged, AMP is the power drink to reach for.

 

Caffeine Content: 72 mg/8 oz

 

 

5) SoBe Adrenaline Rush

 

If you love the sweet tastes of SoBe teas, juices, and elixirs, but need an extra kick to start your day, Adrenaline Rush is what you’ve been looking for. Pick from original or sugar-free.

 

Caffeine Content: 78 mg/8 oz

 

 

6) Wired X

 

With almost 20 combinations of sizes, flavors, and caffeine charges, Wired X drinks give you your choice of energy formula.

 

Each Wired variety is enhanced with its own energy blend, fusing ingredients like taurine, L-carnitine, B vitamins, inositol, guarana extract, and white and green tea derivatives.

 

Caffeine Content: 172 mg/8 oz (X505, X344); 94 mg/8 oz (X3000); 75 mg/8 oz (XXX); 50 mg/8 oz (X5000, Berry Rush); 47 mg/8 oz (all others)

 

 

7) Cocaine

 

At the center of a tornado of controversy over its name, Cocaine packs a mind-blowing barrage of caffeine to anyone with hands steady enough to drink it.

 

Yanked from stores nationwide last May, after the Food and Drug Administration issued the makers a warning letter saying Cocaine was being illegally marketed as a street drug alternative and dietary supplement, the drink is back with modified labeling and an FDA-compliant marketing plan.

 

You may still have trouble finding Cocaine on your local store shelves, but that’s what the Internet’s for.

 

Caffeine Content: 267 mg/8 oz

 

 

8) POWERSHOT

 

A product of Blue Spike Beverages in Canada, POWERSHOT packs a heart-thundering 100 mg of guarana-derived caffeine into a tiny one-ounce shot, putting it at the top of the energy-drink charts in terms of caffeine-per-ounce.

 

Choose from blue raspberry or cherry for your POWERSHOT energy mega-dose that will jolt your system, shock your soul, and possibly transport you to a whole other plane of hyper-caffeinated existence.

 

Caffeine Content: 800 mg/8 oz

 

 

9) Redline

 

Redline is a zero-calorie, zero-carb thermogenic energy drink geared toward fitness fanatics who like to push themselves to the limit.

 

Mixing a heavy-duty dose of caffeine with yerba maté, green tea, Evoburn, and as much as 750 percent of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C, Redline is marketed as a fat-burning supplement and not just an energy drink.

 

Until recently, you weren’t able to find Redline at your corner gas station or neighborhood supermarket; it was only available online or at a health store like GNC.

 

And be warned: Unlike most energy drinks that are sweetened with sugar or a substitute, Redline has no sugar and can taste a lot like vitamins and minerals — in others words, like a health supplement. Make sure you shake well.

 

The three Redline varieties — the original RTD formula, plus Redline Xtreme and Redline Princess, which add beta-alanine for enhanced muscle development — are available in apple, cherry, and grape.

 

Caffeine Content: 250 mg/8 oz

 

 

10) 5-Hour Energy

 

If you’ve stood at a gas station counter in the last year or so, you’ve probably seen these — fist-sized, bold-colored bottles, promising to give you that quick boost you need to keep going during the long day ahead without crashing later.

 

The exact amount of caffeine in these drinks is unknown, but the manufacturer says each two-ounce shot contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of “the leading premium coffee.”

 

And amazingly, there’s a decaf version that has only 6 mg of caffeine per two-ounce shot — about half as much as a cup of decaf coffee.

 

Berry-flavored and only four calories with no sugar, 5-Hour Energy combines a mix of enzymes with an energy blend that includes caffeine and taurine, topped by a wallop of B vitamins (100 percent of your recommended daily intake of folic acid, 150 percent that of niacin, 2000 percent that of B6, and over 8000 percent your recommended daily intake of B12).

 

Caffeine Content: Unknown

 

(A word of caution: Although the FDA doesn’t regulate caffeine, too much caffeine can cause adverse side effects, such as nervousness, irritability, insomnia, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and, in extreme cases, heart arrhythmias. Use caution when drinking beverages high in caffeine and other stimulants. And know that none of the statements of increased energy, stamina, focus, etc. made by these drink manufacturers have been evaluated by the FDA.)

 

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