Years ago, I read in a social sciences study that people feel more pressed for time than ever before, and that this feeling can undermine your sense of well-being and adversely affect mental health. The article called it the “time famine of modern life.”

That phrase, found in the July 2017 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, helped me understand this irony. That much of the new technology that feeds our current lifestyle actually consumes time and creates that pressed-for-time feeling.

It’s why I avoid much of today’s new technology - and occasionally write product reviews.

Because when done the right way, a product review article assuages time famine. With that said, it’s time for you - in a rather coarse but correct allusion - to consume some already digested info regurgitated by this lead dog for the pups in his pack.

The first bite’s about a relatively new player in the energy drink game.

It’s clear that many working Americans are now drinking beverages besides coffee and tea to battle late-afternoon lethargy and maintain mental clarity. According to data from Circana, a leading provider of consumer-behavior information, the top 10 energy drink brands alone generated $18.5 billion of business for the 52 weeks ending on May 21, an increase of 12.9% over the year before.

Enter into this fray, BioLift, an energy drink that’s not loaded with caffeine like so many others, but chock-full of chronobiology, the science of time.

According to their website, studies on time show you have natural resting phase between 1 and 4 p.m., a “sleep gate,” so to speak, “which bumps up against peak work time.” So all three flavors of BioLift contain the company’s patented WakeUp! formula, which has been shown to improve cognitive performance and focus “by up to 20% within minutes.”

So I told my two taste testers all that, gave them a can of each flavor that the company supplied, and asked them to drink one a day just about the time they sensed their sleep gate opening.

I’m referring to my helpers as taste testers for good reason. With so many similar products available, a new one needs to taste great to make a dent in the market regardless of how effective it is.

Both really liked the taste of the Mandarin Orange flavor.

One called it the “big winner” because “it tasted great from tongue all the way down.” The other in earthier language - that will be softened so as not to offend - said, “This is good [stuff]. I’d buy this [stuff] in a heartbeat.”

And both found, regardless of the flavor, BioLift kept their sleep gate well locked - and then some.

The earthy-language guy reported an increase in energy without the “sudden sense of craziness” he gets from consuming many types of energy drinks. The other said, “I tried it in late afternoon and it made me feel more clear-headed, like I just got up from a really good night’s sleep.”

But their advice is to stick to the Mandarin Orange flavor. While the taste of the Mixed Berry was “okay,” Peach Mango was “bland with a bad aftertaste and too carbonated.”

A second product that could better help you function and prevent late day fatigue no one sipped, but I slipped into my shoes.

They’re not quite prescription orthotics but much more than the innersoles offered at a drugstore. They’re Protalus T-75 and T-100 Elite insoles and I agreed to slip them into my sneakers, slippers, and biking shoes because at the time I was offered samples, I was feeling, for lack of a better phrase, lower-body misaligned.

It was increasing my typical early-morning aches and late-in-the-ride discomforts in what I call “my injured areas,” primarily my hips and glutes, and also caused what I previously self-diagnosed as sciatica to flare up.

The sciatica really isn’t severe. If I massage the coccyx bone as I walk around the house in the morning, it normally abates in about an hour.

But since I’ve inserted the half-sized T-75 insoles in my slippers, the discomfort disappears in about 10 minutes.

Replacing the innersoles in my biking shoes with the full-sized T-100 Elite insoles also helped me considerably.

Because of that aforementioned lower-body misalignment, many of my four-hour weekend rides had been getting cut short. The ride before I made the swap, for instance, had to be reduced by 45 minutes.

On that day, the toothache-like sensation I usually experience in my left hip for a few minutes during every ride at some time, started early, intensified, and never went away. So it’s noteworthy to report that the next day’s long ride using the T-100 Elites went better expected and with minimal discomfort - and that about 90% of the rides since the time have followed suit.

Now I have a theory why both insoles work for me, but it revolves around something you don’t have - metal rods screwed into your femurs - so now’s not the time for that.

Instead, it’s time to say if you want to increase the comfort of your footwear, check out all the available Protalus products.