We all know that studying for the LSAT is a ton of work. This is why you should drop out of school, quit your job, and check your children into an orphanage. Of course, that’s not always entirely feasible, though, so sometimes you’ve got to work with limited time. And this generally necessitates some sort of upper for many people. You don’t want to be studying if you’re not really learning anything, and if you’re dead-on-your-feet tired, then caffeine will keep you awake, but it won’t keep your mind sharp. So if that’s where you are at any given point, leave the LSAT work for the morning and go to sleep. But if you’ve had a full day working/going to school/hunting squirrel, and then need to do your LSAT work that night, then the caffeine is coming out. This week, in a study that is entirely unscientific and entirely un-based-on-anything-other-than-Wikipedia, we’ll review the different caffeine offerings.

Coffee – Naturally, this is your first line of defense. Most of us couldn’t get through the day without it. If you’re like me, and drink six cups per day, then if you don’t have coffee by 2 minutes after waking up you’ll start punching orphans in the face. But you don’t need to feel bad about this. Regular coffee drinkers have higher IQs, and a lower chance of developing Alzheimer’s. Hurray for everyone’s favorite mild addiction.

Tea – Tea, apparently has a lot of caffeine, as you’ve probably heard from some tea-drinking pansy. I’ve never been able to notice its effects, but again that might be due to my already drinking 6 cups of coffee per day. If you’re not a regular coffee drinker, this is a good way to get some light caffeine. Black tea has the most (Early Grey, Irish Breakfast, etc), but green tea still has some. And herbal tea of course has none. So if you’re a big baby who can’t handle coffee, then there’s always its weaker, more British cousin.

Energy Drinks – I’m a strong believer that you should steer clear of these. True, one of the main reasons I think this is that Red Bull tastes like cool piss in a can. But these give you so much caffeine that, at least for me, there’s a big spike in energy where you feel awesome, and then you crash and feel terrible. And the whole time your mouth tastes like old Jolly Ranchers. And even after your mind has crashed and you can no longer do any sort of mental work, it still keeps your body awake and prevents you from sleeping.

5-Hour Energy – I’ve had a couple students swear by these, but I’m skeptical. First of all, they don’t actually have much caffeine. It appears to be composed largely of B-Vitamins and other things that I take as synonymous for bullshit. Also, their commercials look like they were made by a 9 year old.

Whatever you end up using, bear a couple things in mind. First of all, don’t overdo it. Caffeine overdoses are just about the worst thing ever. Second of all, don’t make any major changes. If you never drink coffee and suddenly are at multiple cups a day, that’ll mess up your rhythm, and the LSAT is all about consistency. And lastly, don’t be afraid to choose sleep over caffeine. If you are truly exhausted, sleep is going to do a lot more for your studying abilities than will a ton of stimulants.