Nurses’ top 20 “power fuel” beverages

Whether you were up all night thinking about an exceptionally stressful shift or up all night working, one of the greatest challenges every nurse faces is a lack of sleep. But even when you’re feeling completely zonked at work, the shift must go on…so what’s a sleepy nurse to do? Well, gulp something great to give you energy, for starters! We asked our Facebook fans for their no-fail, 12-hour-shift “power fuel” beverage of choice. Check out which beverages (and a few other energizers!) are most popular…where does your fave rank?

TOP FIVE WINNERS

1. Coffee – 1,887 votes
“Age-old coffee works every time.” —Nicole Shelton

2. Mountain Dew – 622 votes
“A 16-ounce espresso with four sugars and 24-ounce Mountain Dew chaser.” —Kevin James Fleming

3. Coke (Coca-Cola) – 95 votes

4. Tea – 88 votes

5. Pepsi (Pepsi-Cola) – 79 votes
“Any cola, preferably Pepsi, with added chocolate syrup (about two tablespoons). After five minutes, you will get the rush.” —Kathleen Marie

And the rest of the list:

6. Water – 67 votes

7. Monster – 45 votes

8. Prayer – 43 votes

9. Diet Coke – 35 votes

10. Starbucks – 34 votes

11. Diet Pepsi – 30 votes

12. Dr. Pepper – 27 votes

13. Red Bull – 25 votes

14. 5-Hour Energy – 24 votes
“I’m usually okay until about 3 a.m., then I take a shot of 5-Hour Energy. It’s just enough to perk me up until the end of my shift without making me jittery.” (Dawn Menke)

15. Diet Dr. Pepper – 24 votes

16. Sleep – 18 votes

17. Rockstar – 18 votes

18. Sprite – 13 votes

19. Gatorade – 11 votes

20. Diet Mountain Dew – 11 votes

What do you drink to give yourself energy on the job?