Red Bull Fail

Despite having fallen off the caffeine wagon back in November (after 7 years caffeine-free), I had still never tried Red Bull… until about 2 weeks ago. Driving home from Albany, New York, we stopped at a rest stop and I was feeling a bit low-energy, so I figured I’d give the Red Bull a try–and to my surprise, it worked! I felt alert for the remainder of the drive home.

Since then, I thought it might help at those times during the work day when I began to feel that low energy kicking in. I would walk over to Rite-Aid, pick up a Red Bull, drink it, and feel restored for the rest of the afternoon. Not every day, but a couple of times a week. And that usually seemed to work, too. In fact, it had an added side-benefit. By the time the effect would wear off and I would “crash”, was right about my bed time, so I’d sleep particularly well on those nights.

But yesterday: not so lucky. Around 11am I felt that weariness come on and I braved the 113 F temperatures to get a Red Bull. I drank it and continued my work, waiting for the energy drink to kick in. No dice. Not only did Red Bull not “give me wings”, if anything it took them away and I felt even wearier. To the point where I napped during lunch–which I haven’t done in a few weeks because I’ve been too busy. I still slept well last night, but the disappointment over yesterday’s Red Bull fail still lingers.