protein shake keeps me awake?

[Alobar]

Is this normal? I checked the lable and there isnt any kind of stimulant in it (at least that Im aware of), but I've noticed if I drink it in the evening Im wide ass awake until like 3am (when I otherwise would normally fall asleep around midnight or 1am). It's not like Im wired like if I had a redbull or something. Im tired, but i just lay there not being able to sleep (which is usually never a prob for me)

[Blarg]

Any aspartame? That has an amino acid in it that can be a stimulant.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
Any aspartame? That has an amino acid in it that can be a stimulant.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is Aspartic acid, is that the same thing?

[Blarg]

It sounds like it. Aspartame is a trade name, not a real chemical name, so I don't think you'd find an "aspartic acid" extant before the guys who make aspartame made the term up.

Phenylalanine is the amino acid that has the "perk you up" effects. It has been used to treat schizophrenics, and is probably the reason some people complain of neck tightness or spaciness when drinking a lot of sodas with aspartame. Those are the exact symptoms you get from having too much phenylalanine. Different people react very different to different levels of it, so some can take a lot of it and some can't. Usually somewhere around my second can of coke, I've had a little too much. In pill form, it's strong enough that its positive effects rapidly diminish for me, making it not worth taking. You'll find it in some "smart drink" and "smart pill" complexes too, because it can be a minor mood elevator and help a little with alertness.

[Alobar]

awesome, thanks blarg

[kevin017]

aspartic acid is an amino acid. aspartame contains it (and phenylalanine), but aspartic acid is unrelated to phenylalanine and would be metabolized differently.