L-Theanine
| Ⓒ By Jonathan Roseland |
I'm not a doctor, medical professional, or trained therapist. I'm a researcher and pragmatic biohacking practitioner exercising free speech to share evidence as I find it. I make no claims. Please practice skepticism and rational critical thinking. You should consult a professional about any serious decisions that you might make about your health. Affiliate links in this article support Limitless Mindset - spend over $150 and you'll be eligible to join the Limitless Mindset Secret Society.
The most praised quality of L-Theanine is that it delivers relaxation without sedation.
It is popular amongst Biohackers because it takes the edge off or tranquilizes some of the intense sensations resulting from stimulating Nootropics, this results in a neurotransmitter cocktail fine-tuned for a kickass day, which is why it's a key ingredient in many Nootropic Stacks.
Scientific Research
Alpha Brain Wave Stimulator
Sources
Memory
Attentional Control
Working Memory
Umami Taste
Vs Anxiety
Neuroprotective
Longevity
Recommended Daily
Side Effects
L-Theanine Videos
This article is mostly going to focus on decoding what the human studies are saying about L-Theanine and how this squares up with the anecdotal experiences of Biohackers online. For more of my own personal experiences, thoughts, and comparisons please see the written and video reviews in the sidebar.
This is one of the most popular Nutraceuticals because it is frequently validated by everyone from researchers and health gurus to consumers and patients that claim this ingredient...
- Boosts focus
- Increases creativity
- Reduces the body's stress response
Scientific Research
Over 140 human scientific papers have been done on L-Theanine according to Pubmed. The pharmacological implications of supplementing it have a wide variety of applications...
Alpha Brain Wave Stimulator
L-Theanine has been proven to stimulate alpha brain waves, especially in the posterior portions of the cortex, thus producing a feeling of relaxation, it is also very effective at reducing blood pressure. These four recent double-blind human studies all showed 'statistically significant' positive results in...
- Stress response.
- Anxiety and nervousness.
- And even schizophrenia.
'Statistically Significant' is scientific jargon for something that actually works for real people, the data collected in a given set of experiments is enough to say there is both correlation and causation.
Sources
My favorite source of L-Theanine is Green Tea (of which I sometimes consume as much as three liters a day), which has, for millennia been regarded as a fast-acting tool for relaxation, stress relief, and summoning creative genius. Theanine aminos are actually what gives green tea its Umami taste.
Powdered L-Theanine is the most economical form and it doesn't taste bad at all.
Taking it individually in 100-milligram or 200-milligram capsules runs $20 - $30 monthly, you can also buy it pre-paired with other ingredients for a synergistic effect in Nootropic Stacks ranging from $40 - $125 Monthly.
If you've ever thought...
I'd love to start Biohacking myself to be more productive and happy but I just can't afford all the expensive supplements, organic food, testing, and equipment.
L-Theanine is the ideal gateway smart drug for you as green tea can be bought at any grocery store for just a few bucks!
Downloadable L-Theanine?
You may be interested in taking it as an infoceutical - a non-pharmacological, side-effect-free version of the supplement that takes advantage of the phenomenon of water memory - which is imprinted on water via quantum collocation and electromagnetism using this device...
Infocueticals typically have 1/3 or half the effect of the actual medicine being imprinted. If you're skeptical of Infopathy that's understandable, it's a game-changing application of a little-known scientific phenomenon. But I'd urge you to evaluate the scientific evidence (presented in my biohacker review) that downloadable medicine is no longer science fiction...
Memory
Scientists have speculated that L-theanine may improve one's memory recall ability and improve their learning habits. It does so by stimulating the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.
Attentional Control
In addition to streamlining focus, dopamine, and serotonin are largely involved in mood regulation. One behavioral study conducted with rats indicated that L-theanine consistently increased the animals' performance accuracy by nearly 20%. To quote a University of Shiga human study:
Results evidently demonstrated that l-theanine clearly has a pronounced effect on attention performance and reaction time response in normal healthy subjects prone to have high anxiety.
This means that supplementing L-Theanine is a great idea for professionals whose day-to-day responsibilities require high attention performance such as:
- Bankers and finance professionals, who can get fired for as little as missing a single (yet oh so important!) comma in a stack of paperwork.
- Surgeons, practicing physicians, and anyone in the medical industry that deals directly with patients.
- Those in technology sales or sales engineers, who sell a very complicated bespoke product whose commissioned incomes are based upon reacting quickly to the objections and questions of their sophisticated clients.
- Day traders, who need to absorb large amounts of information quickly about financial vehicles and make trading decisions rapidly.
- Pickup instructors or Social Dynamics coaches, whose success or failure in field relies so much on their attentiveness to social cues.
Working Memory
Yet another scientifically verified reason to drink LOTS of Green Tea daily; researchers in the United Kingdom confirmed that combining L-Theanine with caffeine led to faster simple reaction time, faster numeric working memory reaction time, and improved sentence verification accuracy.
Various memory tasks that are commonly used in a laboratory testing environment have all been enhanced in animals that received L-Theanine prior to their behavioral task.
Other voracious consumers of Green Tea will agree...
the beverage results in a not overly energetic creative state where words and ideas flow with grace and style.
The inevitable stress and anxiety of life have not disappeared, but it is emotionally distant from you. You are more of a detached observer of your existence as opposed to a laborer in the trenches of it. At the same time, it does deliver the 'buzz' that Biohackers, Lifehackers, and workaholics rely on. To paraphrase some puffery from a far more expensive, yet dramatically inferior energizing beverage, it gives you wings.
Umami Taste
Green Tea's proprietary taste family, Umami, is a product of Theanine. 200 MG of Zen, an article that appeared in Alternative and Complementary Therapies, noted that Theanine dials down the bitter tastes of other natural consumables popular amongst Biohackers; Zinc, Chocolate, Coffee, Caffeine, Grapefruit, etc. This would suggest it may improve the taste of coffee, yet another reason to alternate drinking cups of coffee and Green Tea.
Vs Anxiety
L-Theanine deserves a prominent place amongst the Anxiolytics Nootropics, which are an irreplaceable ingredient in a biohacker's Recipe for Grandeur. Like other Anxiolytics, it chemically mimics the neurotransmitter GABA.
To quote a study that was published in 2011 in the Journal of Functional Foods:
Normal healthy volunteers with high anxiety and with minimal anxiety propensity were employed [in the study]. 200 mg of l-theanine intake was found effective for healthy people with high anxiety propensity.
If work hard, play hard, and relax hard fit your life philosophy the anxiolytic class of Nootropics is something you want to consume on the days of the week you are relaxing hard.
Neuroprotective
In recent years, scientists have tested whether L-Theanine can effectively act as a protector against brain damage. One particular series of experiments pre-treated animals' brains with this component. They then conducted occlusion techniques to simulate oxygen deprivation which results in brain damage. Animals that were treated with L-Theanine prior to the occlusion actually showed less permanent brain damage as compared to the animals that received the control. The proposed mechanism for this protective ability involves some complex effects on glutamate receptors.
So Freedivers, snorkelers, sexual deviants who enjoy choking and anyone who subjects themselves to oxygen deprivation should strongly consider L-Theanine supplementation.
Longevity
Those of the transhumanist persuasion will be excited to learn that it was demonstrated in a 2012 study to increase lifespan by up to 4.4%.
Recommended Daily
Scientists have also not pinpointed a specific dosing regimen for this supplement, however, the amounts that are commonly used range from 200-300 milligrams.
There are a plethora of preliminary scientific studies that further support that L-theanine has a very probable benefit to many biological processes. Although many of these studies are still in the beginning stages, L-Theanine's ability to affect multiple areas of anatomical concern is profound. Scientists and medical doctors are continually amazed by how efficient this ingredient is at enhancing, improving, and facilitating a myriad of different pathways.
Side Effects
A summary paper on the components of L-theanine reported that there are no scientifically proven side effects from this ingredient. Some users of L-theanine reported symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and upset stomach.
It's completely non-addictive, however, it would seem that the greatest danger of high L-Theanine consumption is falling in love with the creative, energetic yet tranquil person you become on it.
Full disclosure; I just don't feel like myself if I'm not drinking green tea.
Photos
Videos
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L-Theanine: The Nootropic Ingredient of Green Tea that Delivers Relaxation Without Sedation
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![Relaxation and immunity enhancement effects of [GABA] administration in humans](https://www.limitlessmindset.com/media/reviews/photos/thumbnail/220x200c/4b/97/ef/relaxation-and-immunity-enhancement-effects-of-gaba-administration-in-humans-63-1401151722.jpg)
