Enjoying a cup of green tea is particularly delightful on gloomy days. Green tea offers a comforting solution when the weather is dreary, the house feels chilly, and worries about work, relationships, or global affairs are overwhelming.
After the first sip of tea, a cozy warmth spreads through your body, reaching your fingertips and imbuing your soul with peace.
But did you know that the source of this calmness is not just the hot water but an amino acid called L-theanine, found in green tea? L-theanine (or theanine) not only soothes your nerves but also enhances brain function and offers cardiovascular protection (1).
In this article, we'll explore how theanine impacts the body and its role in promoting overall health and longevity.
Unpack benefits of l-theanine to your health and longevity
L-Theanine: Benefits for Sleep, Stress, and Longevity
L-theanine, an amino acid found in tea leaves, is renowned for its calming properties and ability to help fight stress and promote restful sleep. Here's more about some of L-theanine's main effects and health benefits:
- Calming Properties: It promotes relaxation, enhances sleep quality, reduces anxiety, and facilitates easier sleep. It can potentially help improve mood and cognitive function by enhancing deep sleep and minimizing nocturnal awakenings (1).
- Helps Support Cognitive Function: Theanine aids in maintaining focus and attention, especially under stress, by affecting neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which regulate mood (2).
- Possesses Antioxidant Activity: In addition to its effects on mental well-being, L-theanine acts as a powerful antioxidant, reducing oxidative stress and mitigating cellular aging (3).
- Supports Heart Health: It may also improve cardiovascular health by helping regulate blood pressure levels and lipid profiles (4).
- Has Anti-inflammatory Effects: Theanine supports a robust immune system, helps defend against infections and diseases, and reduces chronic inflammation, slowing the development of age-related diseases (5).
Theanine’s Positive Effects on Sleep and Stress
Given how busy and stressed many of us regularly feel, achieving tranquility and quality sleep can seem unattainable. Amid various supplements, theanine stands out for its ability to instill calm in both mind and body by modulating mood-regulating neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which are responsible for motivation and feelings of pleasure and contentment (6).
Theanine targets glutamate receptors, competing with glutamate and stimulating GABA and glycine release, which helps calm cellular activity. This mechanism allows theanine to mitigate the excitatory effects of glutamate while enhancing the calming effects of GABA. Additionally, theanine can lessen caffeine's disruptive effects on sleep (7).
Moreover, theanine promotes both a sense of calm and alertness by enhancing alpha brain waves, which are associated with activities like daydreaming and meditation. This effect may help reduce symptoms of depression and boost creativity (8, 9).
Additionally, theanine supports a robust immune system by improving the health and efficiency of immune organs and cells, and by managing immune responses under stress. These benefits are largely due to its impact on the P38 signaling pathway and important immune-regulating proteins (10, 11, 12).
How L-Theanine Aids in Healthy Aging and Longevity
Theanine is a valuable ally in the pursuit of healthy aging, offering a unique pathway to longevity. It inhibits the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are linked to age-related decline (13). It also helps protect against liver and brain dysfunction (14). By reducing stress and improving cardiovascular health, theanine contributes to longevity and healthy aging (15).
Moreover, L-theanine's ability to enhance sleep quality directly impacts longevity by promoting better night rest and reducing anxiety (16). Theanine's anti-inflammatory effects and antioxidant properties further support its role in healthy aging by moderating inflammation and oxidative stress (17).
L-Theanine Dosage Recommendations and Combination Insights
The optimal dosage of L-theanine varies depending on individual sensitivity, desired effects, and specific usage. Here are general guidelines regarding L-theanine dosage:
- For Relaxation and Stress Reduction: Start with 50-100 mg twice daily, in the morning and before bedtime.
- For Increased Concentration: For stress-filled events, 50-200 mg about 30-60 minutes beforehand can help.
- For Sleep Improvement: For enhancing sleep, doses can range from 200-400 mg in the evening, with higher doses leaning towards stronger calming effects.
L-theanine is often paired with caffeine in a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio to boost alertness without the jitteriness typically associated with caffeine alone (18). It makes a great accompaniment to caffeine because it generally supports cognition and mental well-being without causing side effects due to the consumption of high amounts of caffeine or interfering with sleep.
Conclusion: L-Theanine's Benefits for Sleep, Calmess, and Longevity
Theanine, plentiful in green tea, is a remarkable compound that offers benefits for sleep, calmness, and longevity. It not only promotes relaxation and improves sleep quality by regulating neurotransmitters but also supports healthy aging due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
While achieving the recommended daily intake of L-theanine from green tea alone is challenging, incorporating supplements like Advanced Sleep Repair into your routine can be effective.
Advanced Sleep Repair not only provides you with theanine but also helps address broader health needs tied to aging and longevity. It's made with a powerful blend of ingredients—including L-theanine, GABA, glycine, magnesium, vitamin B6, L-tryptophan, sour cherry extract, taurine, and zinc.
Together, these ingredients help to enhance DNA repair, support metabolic balance, and support healthy neurotransmitter levels, all of which are crucial for sleep-wake cycles and metabolic health.
Explore the positive effects of theanine supplementation on your well-being.
Theanine can be a significant ally in your holistic health journey, enhancing relaxation and sleep quality and potentially contributing to healthier aging. The multifaceted benefits of theanine for sleep, stress, and longevity underscore this natural compound's value, whether sourced from green tea or integrated into supplements like Advanced Sleep Repair.
References:
- The Effects of Green Tea Amino Acid L-Theanine Consumption on the Ability to Manage Stress and Anxiety Levels: a Systematic Review (2020). Plant Foods for Human Nutrition.
- The neuropharmacology of L-theanine(N-ethyl-L-glutamine): a possible neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing agent (2006). Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy.
- L-Theanine protects against excess dopamine-induced neurotoxicity in the presence of astrocytes (2016). Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition.
- The effects of green tea supplementation on cardiovascular risk factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2022). Frontiers In Nutrition.
- L-Theanine and Immunity: A Review (2023). Molecules.
- Neurotransmitters Regulation and Food Intake: The Role of Dietary Sources in Neurotransmission (2023). Molecules.
- Theanine maintains sleep quality in healthy young women by suppressing the increase in caffeine-induced wakefulness after sleep onset (2023). Food and Function.
- L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state (2008). Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
- Upper alpha activity during working memory processing reflects abnormal inhibition in major depression (2010). Journal of Affective Disorders.
- Effects of L-Theanine Administration on Stress-Related Symptoms and Cognitive Functions in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial (2019). Nutrients.
- Immune-boosting role of L-theanine in broiler poultry production under stress conditions (2022). Open veterinary journal.
- L-Theanine alleviates heat stress-induced impairment of immune function by regulating the p38 MAPK signalling pathway in mice (2023). Food and Function.
- l-Theanine attenuates liver aging by inhibiting advanced glycation end products in d-galactose-induced rats and reversing an imbalance of oxidative stress and inflammation (2020). Experimental Gerontology.
- Health Benefits of Theanine in Green Tea: A Review (2015). Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research.
- L-Theanine: A Unique Functional Amino Acid in Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) With Multiple Health Benefits and Food Applications (2022). Frontiers In Nutrition.
- Effects of L-Theanine on the Release of α-Brain Waves in Human Volunteers (1998). Nippon Nōgeikagaku Kaishi.
- L-Theanine extends lifespan of adult Caenorhabditis elegans (2012). European Journal of Nutrition.
- L-theanine and caffeine improve task switching but not intersensory attention or subjective alertness (2010). Appetite.
