L-Theanine as the #1 Remedy for Stress Management 

Stress is a fairly common issue that affects virtually everyone in the world.

We all lead busy, active lives filled with work and activities that demand full focus and attention and can often add to the mental burden of worries and concerns that weighs on us. Over time, that burden can grow out of control, until we feel like we’re crumbling under the weight of all that stress.

The key to living a healthy life is finding ways to reduce the stressors in your life, but also mitigating the physiological and psychological effects of stress as best you can.

For some people, that may mean spending more time relaxing or doing activities they love. For others, it means doing more exercise or sleeping better.

But what if there was a simple yet highly potent stress-managing nutrient you could consume on a daily basis to help curb stress? No fancy foods or special pills, just a drink you likely already have in your closet.

If that sounds too good to be true, then keep reading to find out about one of the most effective health-boosting and stress-fighting remedies on the planet: L-theanine.

What is L-Theanine and Where Can You Find it?

L-theanine is an amino acid that is found in particularly high concentration in the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant—the plant from which tea is made.

Black tea, white tea, oolong tea, and green tea all come from the same plant. All of them have L-theanine, though in different dosages. The tea that contains the most L-theanine is green tea—especially matcha green tea.

You see, green tea and matcha green tea are made using young, green leaves that are rich in this particular amino acid (along with antioxidants like catechins and polyphenols). Those leaves are either steamed or pan-fried—both quick heating methods that don’t reduce the levels of amino acids or antioxidants—before being dried and turned into the tea you drink.

L-theanine is a non-essential amino acid, meaning it’s not necessary for your body to produce muscle. However, it is critical to the healthy function of the human body, and as you’ll see below it offers some pretty amazing benefits.

The Benefits of L-Theanine

Research [1] has shown that L-theanine can improve sleep quality.

L-theanine is necessary for the production of GABA, a neurotransmitter and chemical messenger that plays a significant role in sleep. GABA creates a calming effect in your brain that helps you to relax and feel sleepy at night, ultimately drifting off. An increase in GABA caused by L-theanine can not only make it easier to fall asleep, but also increase sleep duration (especially in REM sleep) and improve sleep quality.

L-theanine can also enhance mental clarity. L-theanine increases alertness and mental clarity throughout the day. By improving sleep quality at night, it can also decrease daytime drowsiness.

But what makes L-theanine really useful is its ability to reduce stress and anxiety.

The GABA that is produced as a result of increased L-theanine intake can help you to feel relaxed and calm not only around bedtime, but all throughout the day. L-theanine also increases your natural production of serotonin and dopamine, two “feel-good” chemicals that can improve your sense of wellbeing while also combatting anxiety.

One 2019 study [2] examined the effects of L-theanine and found that it had “potential to promote mental health in the general population with stress-related ailments and cognitive impairments”. Of the 30 individuals involved in the study, those who took L-theanine supplements for four weeks reported significantly lower stress-related symptoms.

As a bonus, their sleep quality improved, with less sleep latency and fewer sleep disturbances. Even overall use of sleep medications decreased as a result of L-theanine.

Improving sleep quality is another amazing way to reduce stress. Research [3] has proven that “Sleep loss triggers our body’s stress response system, leading to an elevation in stress hormones, namely cortisol, which further disrupts sleep.”

The high levels of stress—and the hormone cortisol, in particular—can impair sleep, stop you from drifting off, and wake you frequently throughout the night. But by improving sleep quality, you decrease cortisol production and prevent stress from impacting your life negatively.

A few other benefits of L-theanine include:

• Better focus and concentration [4], especially when paired with mild doses of caffeine.

• Enhanced immunity [5], the result of both the amino acid and the catechins and antioxidants present in tea.

• Improved cancer-fighting abilities [6], thanks to the natural anti-tumor effects of the amino acid. L-theanine may make chemotherapy drugs more effective and may even be able to prevent cancer formation.

• Lower blood pressure [7].

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Risks of L-Theanine

L-theanine has no confirmed side effects or health risks associated with it. For the vast majority of people, it’s fully safe to consume without worrying about adverse effects.

However, the caffeine content in green tea can have negative side effects—including irritability, nausea, an upset stomach, or a jittery feeling—for those who are sensitive to caffeine.

Drinking green tea late at night may make it hard to sleep due to the presence of caffeine in the tea.

Pregnant and nursing mothers should take L-theanine with extreme caution, and only on the recommendation or with the permission of their doctor.

For cancer patients, it’s also worth noting that the catechins in green tea and matcha green tea may interfere with certain chemotherapy drugs [8].

Where to Get More L-Theanine in Your Life

The simplest way to consume more L-theanine is to simply drink more tea.

A single cup of green tea contains 6.56 milligrams of L-theanine per gram of tea. For the sake of comparison [9], you should know that black tea has the least amount of theanine (5.13 mg per g), followed by oolong tea (6.09 mg per g) then white tea (6.26 mg per g).

However, matcha green tea has the potential to contain up to 400% more L-theanine than even green tea (though it will vary depending on the methods of cultivation and processing). This is because the shading techniques used to grow leaves used for matcha green tea prevents sunlight from deteriorating the amino acids in the leaves.

But what if you’re not a tea drinker? You’ll be glad to know that certain mushrooms (particularly porcini mushrooms) contain small doses of L-theanine.

Green tea and matcha green tea are the best sources of this amino acid, but you can get some from eating mushrooms, too. Better still, consume both foods to maximize your L-theanine intake.

How Much L-Theanine Should You Consume Every Day?

There has been no official research into how much L-theanine is considered an “appropriate dose”.

Though no side effects have been registered, it’s possible that consuming L-theanine foods—particularly green tea—in excess may trigger adverse reactions in your body.

You should be safe drinking green tea “in moderation”, which according to some experts [10], is up to 8 cups per day. Any more than that may be “possibly unsafe”.

In Conclusion:

We hope you’re starting to have a clearer picture of just how amazing L-theanine has the potential to be!

It’s one of the most potent stress-reducing and sleep-improving remedies on the planet—and, best of all, it’s totally natural.

All you have to do to get more L-theanine in your life is add a cup or two of green tea, matcha green tea, black tea, white tea, or oolong tea to your day.

Green tea and matcha green tea, in particular, are both excellent sources of L-theanine and can replace your daily coffee intake with a source of caffeine that can actually decrease stress and anxiety and improve your stress response.

Now that’s a remedy you can get behind!

But if you want to take the extra step and ensure you get enough from this stress relieving nutrient, then check out our propriterary Restore Sleep magnesium supplement with L-Theanine.

Restore Sleep formula is the only formula of its kind on the market that combines the 7 most potent forms of chelated magnesium as well as L-Theanine that boosts the effectiveness of this supplement to help achieve deep restorative sleep, enhance cognitive function and improve the relaxation response.

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Click here to learn more about Restore Sleep and how it can change your life for the better through providing your body with the best magnesium complex and thus improving your brain function, sleep quality and relaxation response.

Resources:

[1] health.clevelandclinic.org/l-theanine/'

[2] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6836118/

[3] www.bcm.edu/news/how-stress-can-affect-your-sleep

[4] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21040626/

[5] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3049752/

[6] cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/15/12_Supplement/A157

[7] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3518171/

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