The 3pm slump: what to do about it without a second coffee or a can
Somewhere between two and four in the afternoon a lot of people hit a wall, and the usual answers are another coffee, a can, or something sweet. This page is about what each of those actually gives you, what it costs you at bedtime, and where a caffeine pouch fits. It is written by the people who make PAX, so it also says when the right answer is none of the above.
PAX is caffeine. There is no nicotine in it and there never will be. If it is caffeine you are reaching for at 3pm, the only questions that matter are how much and how late.
What is a second coffee at 3pm actually doing?
Adding 80mg to 200mg of caffeine to your day, and a share of it will still be in you at bedtime.
Caffeine's half life runs somewhere between roughly three and ten hours, and the spread between people is nearly fourfold. A 100mg serve at 3pm can leave anywhere from about a fifth to about two thirds of it still in you at 9pm, depending on how fast you clear it. That is the caffeine once it is in you, whichever way it got there. Research has found that 400mg of caffeine taken six hours before bed still disrupts sleep. Afternoon caffeine is not a mistake; taking it without counting it is.
So before the question of what to have is the question of how much you have had. A morning flat white is anywhere from 95mg to 200mg. An instant is about 80mg. The daily ceiling for a healthy adult is 400mg from everything. Where each of those numbers comes from is on our caffeine pouches vs energy drinks vs coffee page.
What about a can, or something sweet?
A can gives you the caffeine plus 27g to 57g of sugar. Something sweet gives you the sugar without the caffeine. Neither is a mystery, and neither is free.
The sugar is the part worth noticing at 3pm. Research on eating patterns has found that a high sugar, high glycaemic load is associated with more fatigue, not less. That was whole diets over weeks, not one can. A 250ml Red Bull is 27g of sugar; a 500ml Monster is 57g. The sugar-free versions of both exist and take that out, which we say plainly.
A PAX pouch is 100mg of caffeine, 0 sugar and 0 calories, so there is no sugar crash. That is the only crash claim we make, because a pouch is still caffeine, and caffeine's own timing problem is the one in the section above.
Where does a caffeine pouch fit at 3pm?
As a known 100mg dose you can take at a desk, on a site or in a ute without stopping, when you have counted your day and there is room for it.
That is a narrower pitch than the marketing in this category usually makes, and it is the true one. A pouch is 100mg of caffeine, about one coffee, to help you feel more alert. It sits between your lip and gum, no cup, no can and nothing to spill. We keep ours in for 20 to 30 minutes and take them out when the flavour goes. Do not chew it and do not swallow it. It costs 75c from a single tin, or 46c on the six-tin subscription, against about $5.20 for the coffee you were going to walk out for, and that coffee is anywhere from 95mg to 200mg against the pouch's 100mg.
What it does not do is make 3pm caffeine any better for your sleep than 3pm coffee. Same caffeine, same half life, same arithmetic.
When is the right answer no caffeine at all?
When you are already at the ceiling, when bed is close, or when the wall is really sleep debt.
If you are at three or four caffeinated serves by 3pm, the fifth can put you over the line whatever it comes in. If you are in bed by 9pm, 3pm is inside the window that research at 400mg found still disrupts sleep, and the honest move is to skip it or take it earlier next time. And if the afternoon wall is really a short night catching up with you, caffeine helps a rested person feel more alert; it does not restore performance under serious sleep loss. Water, food, a walk and an early night are boring and they work.
Who should not use a caffeine pouch?
Anyone under 18. Anyone pregnant or breastfeeding. Anyone sensitive to caffeine. And anyone with a medical condition who has not asked their doctor first.
One pouch per serving, and no more than four a day. PAX is for adults 18 and over. It is not for you if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you are sensitive to caffeine. PAX contains caffeine, and too much caffeine can cause an accelerated heart rate, nervousness, irritability and trouble sleeping. The reasons behind each exclusion are on our are caffeine pouches safe? page.
Questions?
Email hello@paxenergy.co.nz or call 027 777 2899. If something on this page is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
