The Vitamins and Supplements Your Body Needs to Support Your Mental Health
Focus & Fitness
L-Theanine is a natural and efficient way to promote a state of calm and relaxation, even when you’re feeling overwhelmed or uneasy.
If you’re thinking of taking L-Theanine to promote calmness, you may want to know a bit more about it. Read on to learn what L-Theanine is and some tips for when taking it.
What is L-Theanine?
L-Theanine is an amino acid that can’t be produced naturally by the body. This type of “essential” amino acid must always be supplemented.
It’s water soluble and found mostly in green and black tea leaves, so you can get some by drinking green or black tea. It can additionally be found in certain types of mushrooms but is otherwise rare in nature. It can also be produced synthetically.
How Does L-Theanine Work?
L-Theanine is particularly useful in promoting relaxation, increasing focus, and supporting healthy sleep patterns. It can help alleviate feelings of anxiousness and stress, help reduce uneasiness, lower blood pressure, and decrease heart rate. Many people report that L-Theanine helped them to feel calm yet simultaneously alert.
Supplementing with L-Theanine can also help to improve sleep. Whether this is because it helps naturally calm you so that sleep comes easier, or getting better sleep helps decrease uneasiness isn’t fully clear. Regardless, those who supplement with L-Theanine both fall and stay asleep more easily.
Several small studies have shown that L-Theanine decreases stress scores in subjects taking it compared to those taking a placebo. While further large, well-designed studies need to be done to confirm the findings, L-Theanine is generally considered safe to take and is classified as a dietary supplement in the United States.
If you decide to supplement with L-Theanine, follow the tips below.
- Purchase a supplement that is pure theanine/L-Theanine. Make sure there aren’t any fillers or other chemicals.
- L-Theanine is typically taken in dosages of 100–200mg per day.
- It can be taken along with caffeine but doesn’t need to be.
- The calming effects of L-Theanine usually kick in within about 30–60 minutes after taking it. Therefore, if you’re using L-Theanine to help you sleep, try taking it about 30–60 minutes before bed.
- You can take L-Theanine either with meals or on an empty stomach. However, if you haven’t recently eaten when taking L-Theanine, you may feel the effects a bit more quickly and intensely.
In general, L-theanine provides relaxing properties without making you feel drowsy, making it a great option to help you feel calmer and support restful sleep. In addition to being calming, it can help regulate blood pressure and protect the heart and brain.
For quality L-Theanine products, shop Country Life Vitamins. Our Stress Shield® Nighttime contains 150mg of L-Theanine and is formulated for those looking for a natural supplement that supports sleep and relaxation. If you’re looking for a supplement to help promote mental calmness while also improving gut microbiome health, Gut Connection® Stress Balance™, formulated with 100mg L-Theanine, is for you.
