If you&#;re reading this blog post, you&#;re likely one of the millions of people who are beginning to take notice of the many benefits of L-Theanine. A naturally occurring amino acid found in green tea, black tea, and some mushrooms. L-Theanine has a variety of benefits such as improved focus, anxiety reduction, and it can even be used as a sleep aid.
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Given its massive increase in popularity, there has been a corresponding bump in the number of L-Theanine supplements for you to choose from. Typing &#;L-Theanine&#; into Amazon or Google returns over 1,000 results!
With all these options, how are you supposed to pick the one that&#;s right for you? Luckily, we&#;re here to help you wade through the thousands of different supplements on the market and pick the right one for you.
On first glance, most of the options on the market seem very similar other than the colors on their packaging. But upon closer inspection, there are actually a few key differences to take into consideration.
You&#;ll first need to decide what your L-Theanine goals are, as well as your preferred ingestion method. After you&#;ve gotten clarity on those two questions, you can take a look at the active ingredients as well as dose size and pick the right product for you.
Let&#;s take a closer look at each of these differences.
The biggest difference between L-Theanine supplements is whether or not they contain other active ingredients. It&#;s extremely important for you to take a close look at the active ingredients list before purchasing.
On just the first page of Amazon&#;s &#;L-Theanine&#; search results, you&#;ll see the following &#;extra&#; active ingredients listed: melatonin, caffeine, magnesium, glycinate, citrate, taurate, apigenin, passion flower, valerian root, gabapentin, 5-HTP, and chamomile.
Overwhelmed yet? Don&#;t worry, we&#;ll break down the most important combinations to consider.
Energy & Focus
If your goal is energy, focus, and concentration, try an L-Theanine and Organic Caffeine combination. There is a growing list of studies that suggests the synergistic effects of these two supplements when used together.
L-Theanine can help offset some of the negative physical side effects of Caffeine such as jitters, crashes and headaches. It also works to calm the racing mind giving a long lasting feeling of smooth focus and energy to help you get into the zone for long periods of concentration without feeling on edge.
If you&#;d like to continue drinking your morning coffee but still love the sound of long lasting focus and concentration, choose a pure L-Theanine supplement with no added ingredients to pair with your coffee.
Sleep
If your goal is instead to use L-Theanine as a sleep aid, consider a supplement that includes melatonin. Most of this type will have the word &#;Sleep&#; somewhere on the packaging so it&#;s usually easy to spot this variation.
Anxiety & Stress
For anxiety and stress reduction, we recommend sticking with a pure L-Theanine supplement with no added active ingredients. Some supplements include other natural additives with supposed benefits to help give a calming effect but the science on many of those ingredients looks dubious at best.
The number of different dosage options can be overwhelming and the dosage level you choose can make a big difference on the effectiveness towards your desired outcome.
The first page of Amazon shows dosage levels between 25 mg all the way up to 250 mg with later pages of the search results going all the way up to 400 mg. With all those choices, how do you pick the one right for you?
Unfortunately there is no easy answer to this question as factors such as age and body weight can alter the strength of specific doses. Therefore, some trial and error might be required to find the optimal dose for you.
That being said, here are some guidelines to help you get started:
If you&#;re looking for focus and concentration, try starting with 100 mg of L-Theanine paired 100 mg Caffeine. This 1:1 ratio seems to be the sweet spot for many people looking for mental clarity and energy. 100 mg of Caffeine may be lower than you usually take, but the powerful synergistic effect of Caffeine and L-Theanine can enable you to use lower doses of Caffeine.
For sleep and anxiety relief, the most common dose is 200 mg but you&#;ll likely need to do some trial and error to find the sweet spot for your body and mind.
Given L-Theanine supplements come in pills, gel caps, powders, drops, and shots, you have a large range of options to choose from. This choice mostly comes down to personal preference, however there is one important difference to consider.
Your body tends to absorb liquids more quickly and completely than solids so drops and shots are an excellent choice, especially if your goal is focus and concentration.
While there are many pills on the market, one of the only L-Theanine shots on the market is Proper Wild&#;s Clean All Day Energy Shots. Proper Wild contains 120 mg of L-Theanine paired with 100 mg of Organic Caffeine from green tea, providing the ideal ratio for energy, focus and productivity.
Their 2.5 oz liquid shots come in three delicious flavors: Peach Mango, Blackberry and Ginger, and are much easier to take than swallowing pills.
And because they are a liquid supplement, the energy and focus will hit you much more quickly and you&#;ll get increased absorption of the active ingredients.
If your goal is energy and focus and you dislike taking pills, give Proper Wild a try.
It&#;s actually somewhat difficult to find a supplement that only contains L-Theanine and Melatonin but Nature Made Softgels fits the bill. Containing 200 mg of L-Theanine and 3 mg of Melatonin, it&#;s an excellent combination to test out as a sleep aid.
For stress and anxiety reduction, Sport Research 200 mg liquid gels offer a high quality and strong dose of L-Theanine. They are manufactured in the US and Sports Research has been around since .
If you&#;re big into Nootropics and morning routine, you may be one of the many people who love to combine their supplements with fresh fruits and veggies into a power shake. If that sounds like you, you might prefer simply adding another powder to the mix.
If so, give Bulk Supplements L-Theanine Power a try. Its ingredients list is extremely simple and the bulk packaging is excellent value for the money assuming you have the cabinet space to store it.
If you dislike pills and prefer gummies instead, try Nature&#;s Way gummies. They come in 200 mg doses and are fruit punch flavored.
Their formula&#;s only active ingredient is L-Theanine so they are a good choice for stress and anxiety reduction.
Given there are so many options on the market, I sincerely hope you now have a much better understanding of how to choose the one that&#;s right for you.
L-theanine is an amino acid found in tea leaves and the Bay bolete mushroom. Since the amount you might get in a cup of tea depends on variables like the type of tea plant and how long you brew the leaves, some people use L-theanine supplements to help them relax, destress, and sleep better.
L-theanine also shows promise for cognitive and mental health issues, potentially boosting attention and working memory, relieving depression, and improving symptoms caused by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, more research is needed to confirm these benefits.
Researchers have studied L-theanine's effects for several conditions.
However, it's important to note that better-designed clinical trials are still needed.
Researchers have investigated L-theanine for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.
Attention issues can have the following causes and/or associations:
Addressing any underlying issues is worth considering. If you have questions about your child's symptoms, it's best to contact their pediatrician.
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A study was conducted in male children (8 to 15 years) with ADHD. L-theanine improved total cognition compared to a placebo (an inactive substance). Both L-theanine alone and an L-theanine-caffeine combination also reduced mind wandering.
Some children with ADHD may also have significant issues with sleep. Sleep disturbances can impact both a child's and family's well-being.
A clinical study suggested L-theanine helped sleep quality in male children 8 to 12 years with ADHD.
Further, higher-quality studies are needed to confirm these results.
Anxiety affects around 12.5% of adults and 9.4% of children in the United States. Unresolved anxiety can cause further health issues.
Scientists found L-theanine has anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) effects. A systematic review (a collection of research on a single topic) suggested L-theanine reduced anxiety in people under stress.
Researchers conducted a study in children between 4 and 17 years with Tourette&#;s syndrome (a nervous system condition causing sudden twitches, movements, and sounds). L-theanine with vitamin B6 reduced tics with anxiety. It&#;s challenging to fully understand L-theanine's effects in this study alone as it was used in combination.
While there's promising evidence, conflicting evidence of theanine&#;s effectiveness for anxiety also exists.
Speak with your healthcare provider if you're experiencing anxiety.
Scientists have suggested caffeine may bolster L-theanine&#;s impact on cognition (processing and understanding information) and working memory.
In a study of young adults, L-theanine with caffeine helped with attention.
However, in other studies of healthy adults, L-theanine alone (no caffeine added) had the following effects:
Theanine has been investigated for its anticancer effects in in vitro (in cells in a laboratory) and in vivo (animal) studies.
However, clinical trials (research in humans) are needed before recommendations can be made.
In one study, researchers added L-theanine to current medication in people with major depressive disorder. The following symptoms improved:
Further, high-quality studies are needed.
L-theanine impacts the immune system. In a study of professional athletes, L-theanine affected different immune system markers. It was associated with decreased interleukin-10 (IL-10).
Further study is needed.
In people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, L-theanine was added to regular treatment with beneficial effects.
L-theanine supplementation was associated with the following improvements:
Consult with your healthcare provider before adding supplements to your medication regimen.
Chronic sleep disorders can seriously affect your quality of life. Sleep disorders are linked with or can worsen the following conditions:
In healthy adults, L-theanine reduced sleep latency (the time it takes to fall asleep), sleep disturbance, and the use of sleep medication.
Some children with ADHD have associated sleep problems, affecting both the child's and family&#;s well-being. In a clinical study of male children 8 to 12 years with ADHD, L-theanine improved sleep.
Researchers studied theanine for its stress-reducing effects. In young adults, L-theanine reduced stress. It also lowered blood pressure in high-stress situations.
Further study is needed to confirm these results.
L-theanine has been mostly well-tolerated in clinical trials. However, adverse effects or interactions are still possible, including the following:
Researchers believe L-theanine improves sleep quality via anxiolysis (reducing anxiety), not sedation.
Scientists believe these effects may be due to theanine's ability to benefit levels of the following:
L-theanine also impacted levels of the following when used with antipsychotic medication:
Researchers think BDNF may help the brain heal itself, which may explain some of theanine's positive benefits.
L-theanine is available in the following forms:
Theanine is also found in tea. It's often combined with other ingredients. Vegetarian and vegan products are available.
The following are dosages used in clinical studies. They are not meant to substitute for a consultation with your or your child's healthcare provider:
Supplements with anxiety-lowering and/or sleep-inducing effects include but aren't limited to the following:
Physical activity, including but not limited to aerobic exercise and yoga, lowers stress levels and can improve sleep.
Acupuncture has also been touted for its anxiety-lowering and sleep-inducing effects.
Since its discovery in the s, researchers have investigated L-theanine for ADHD, anxiety, cognition, stress, and more.
While results are promising, more research is needed.
Consider avoiding L-theanine in the following situations:
And please do your best to speak with your healthcare provider, registered dietitian nutritionist (RD or RDN), and/or pharmacist about your supplements, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medication.
This way, you can collaboratively come up with a plan that optimizes safety and helps successfully meet your health goals.