As a nurse working 12-hour shifts or more, exhaustion can set in at any time. When you feel like you could fall asleep on the breakroom table, do you reach for an energy drink?

You may have heard stories about the dangers of energy drinks: they can cause anxiety, heart palpitations, nervousness, sweating, nausea and more. It’s no surprise that these drinks raise your heart rate and blood pressure when you consider that one can of a typical energy drink can contain from 80 to a whopping 260 mg of caffeine!

Caffeine is a drug and should be used in moderation. According to Diana Young, a dietician and diabetes educator, 300 mg per day should be the limit, which is contained in about 2 cups of coffee.

Once you’ve reached your daily caffeine limit, there are other ways to give yourself a quick pick-me-up on-the-job. A glass of 100 percent fruit juice – orange or tomato especially – is full of vitamins and minerals and is 90 percent water to keep you hydrated.

Make sure to also drink lots of water throughout the day. Doctors recommend 8 to 12 cups of fluids each day, with 5 of them being plain water.

Sources: “Power Eating,” Fourth Edition, by Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., RD; Diana Young, dietician and diabetes educator.