If you’re anything like me, last week was immensely stressful. Being the last week of the quarter, and having the workload of five AP classes looming over me, I had around four mental breakdowns throughout the week and found myself indulging in any source of caffeine I could find. Yet, despite my normal habits to turn to my Keurig at eleven pm, I decided to mix it up.

I find that coffee doesn’t keep me up anymore; a sad but true fact. The warmth of the beverage consumed late at night has the potential to actually lull one to sleep. These two alternatives have helped me stay up later:

1. Redbull

Despite popular hatred to this unnatural beverage, I love it. It’s available at all gas stations which stay open much later than your regular Caribou or Starbucks. It’s also cheaper than coffee purchased from the previously stated coffee shops. Not to mention it’s served cold, which also wakes one up.

2. Dirty Chais

This is a drink than can be served hot or cold and can be purchased from majority of coffee shops. It’s essentially a chai tea latte with however many espresso shots you choose to put in it (I usually ask for two.) You can’t make a desperate late-night caffeine run with this drink, but it is definitely worth the effort; I was able to stay up until 3:30 on a Sunday night to finish my University of Wisconsin-Madison application, I approve this latte.

Have any favorite drinks or ways to stay up? Tweet them to us at @mtkabreezes !