Focus, People!

What is this stuff? Essentially, it’s a shot that’ll wake you up a bit and help you focus. The wake-up part comes from the 150mg of caffeine (which is about a cup and a half of coffee’s worth, by the way; so, a nice kick to the pants, but not, like, a troubling amount to have in a single dose). The focus part comes from a blend of nootropics and some adaptogens. Oh, and by the way, it’s formulated so you don’t get super jittery or crash hard when it wears off.

Now, all of that sounds well and good, but with every product like this, there’s always the central question: does this stuff actually work, or is this all a big pile of bullshit marketing?

We feel pretty confident saying that the caffeine will give you a little pick-me-up, as we’ve lived caffeine-powered lives for many centuries on this earth. It’s the rest of the stuff that seems a little suspect. So, we decided to check the Amazon reviews and see what people had to say.

Here’s a 5-star review from Robert Bransky:

I have ADHD and this is the best non prescription product that seems to give me the focus I need. I use it before any meeting or conference call. I do not notice and jittery affect I get with energy drinks.

And here’s a 4-star review from Bryan Calhoun:

Is a good product. Works just like it said. Flavor wasn’t my favorite but was okay

And, for posterity, here’s a 2-star review from Dinesh:

Formula works, it keep me up/focused for few hours, however, the taste is horrible, I will buy again if they come up with a better flavor. In fact, the guava flavor on their sleep formula is more tolerable.

On the one hand, Dinesh makes a good point here. Why are companies who make stuff like this so insistent on pushing the berry flavor, one of the more artificial-tasting of all the artificial flavors there are? Why not lemon or mango or some other citrusy fruit that tastes a little sweet and a little tangy and is easier to pull off? On the other hand, if we’re totally honest, treating this stuff as something that needs to taste good feels a bit disingenuous to us. It’s more like cough syrup than Snapple, by which we mean, something you consume all at once to achieve a desired effect. It’s not a treat.

But still, it bears noting that up and down the Amazon page you find testimonials saying this stuff works, even from people who don’t particularly like it.

So get some if you want to wake up and/or focus!