While GABA provides emotional and behavioral support by reducing excitability and promoting relaxation and calmness, melatonin provides physical sleep support by directly regulating the sleep-wake cycle. It improves sleep quality, increases total sleep time, and decreases the amount of time it takes to fall asleep.
In addition to helping people feel sleepy, GABA may make it easier to fall asleep by reducing anxiety. Stress and anxiety can interfere with sleep and have been associated with low levels of GABA.
In a small study of 40 people with insomnia, 300 milligrams (mg) of GABA one hour before bed for four weeks improved sleep quality by reducing sleep latency (the time it takes to fall asleep).
Melatonin, the body's sleep hormone, is used as a supplement to improve sleep, with the strongest evidence for insomnia and delayed sleep phase syndrome. GABA, the body's calming neurotransmitter, is used as a supplement to improve sleep and reduce anxiety.
Melatonin and GABA are both effective sleep aids, but taken together, they can enhance each other's effects. Melatonin helps transition your body to sleep while GABA gets your body out of fight-or-flight mode and into rest-and-digest mode. The combination of the two makes for a more powerful sleep aid.
I often recommend taking GABA and melatonin together. GABA helps you relax and quiets the worrisome thoughts that can keep you tossing and turning, while melatonin, the sleep hormone, facilitates sleep. The usual doses are 100 mg of GABA and 1–3 mg of melatonin, taken 30–60 minutes before bedtime.
For this reason, it's best to play it safe and not use GABA if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Interactions. Not enough is known about how GABA may interact with drugs, foods, or other herbs and supplements, but use with caution if taking with blood pressure medications.
The potential side effects of GABA supplements haven't been properly studied, so it's hard to know what to expect. Some commonly reported side effects include: upset stomach. headache.
Getting enough GABA
Studies show that the natural form of GABA has a number of sleep-improving effects including helping people fall asleep faster and sleep longer after taking 100 mg of GABA before going to bed. People who suffer from insomnia should talk to a doctor about how GABA can help provide more restful sleep.
Clinical studies suggest that taking up to 120 milligrams (mg) of GABA per day as supplements for 12 weeks is unlikely to cause adverse effects. People should take care when using them with other drugs. Using them with medications for high blood pressure or epilepsy may increase the impact of those drugs.
Best time to take GABA
People who are using GABA to enhance the quality of their sleep are best to take a single, larger dose half an hour before bed.
Gabapentin and magnesium can interact with each other. Magnesium can lower the effects of gabapentin. If you've been prescribed gabapentin and take a medication or supplement containing magnesium, it's recommended to take gabapentin at least 2 hours after taking it.
Just one hour after taking GABA, they saw a significant increase in alpha waves, which caused feelings of calm and relaxation. The effects of GABA can be used to stabilize blood pressure in people with hypertension.
But is it safe to take L-theanine and melatonin at the same time—say, both of them together right before bed with the intent of helping you get better sleep? The answer is yes. Especially if you take L-theanine and melatonin at the recommended dosages (see below), there should be no issues with the combination.
It is possibly safe when taken in larger amounts as medicine. Doses of up to 1.5 grams daily have been used for up to one month. There isn't enough reliable information to know if GABA supplements are safe when used for longer than one month.
It slows down your brain by blocking specific signals in your central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord). GABA is known for producing a calming effect. It's thought to play a major role in controlling nerve cell hyperactivity associated with anxiety, stress and fear.
A lack of GABA leaves your central nervous system with too many neuronal signals and causes conditions like epilepsy, seizures or mood disorders. Meanwhile, too much GABA means not enough brain activity and can lead to hypersomnia or daytime sleepiness.
The NNHPD monograph for Cognitive Function Products recommends a daily intake of 50–3000 mg GABA that does not exceed 750 mg per single dose; it also says to consult a healthcare practitioner for use of products providing 300 mg/day or more when GABA is used for longer than 4 weeks [48].
Low GABA activity is linked to insomnia and disrupted sleep. In one study, GABA levels in people with insomnia were almost 30 percent lower than in people without the sleep disorder. And these low GABA levels also corresponded to more restless, wakeful sleep.
It may increase the amount of time spent in REM sleep.
This clinical trial also proved that GABA in the supplemental form was effectively and quickly absorbed (peaking in the blood at 30 minutes after ingestion).
As a general rule you will get the best results if you take GABA on an empty stomach or away from food. If you can't take it away from food, don't worry, it will still work, it may just not be as fast acting. For anxiety or chronic stress take 1-3 caps in the morning – and then take 1-3 caps in the afternoon.
Magnesium stimulates the activity of cerebral GABAergic systems by behaving as a modulator of GABA receptors, increasing their activity.
One of the key benefits of magnesium is that it increases our gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels. The magnesium binds to and stimulates GABA receptors in the brain, which puts the brakes on brain activity.