So, should you take L-theanine in the morning or at night? If you're looking to get a good night's sleep, take L-theanine at night. For example, if you need help getting to sleep, you won't want to drink caffeinated tea at night, so you should opt for caffeine-free or herbal tea before bed.
Overall, research suggests that L-theanine promotes relaxation, which helps people fall asleep faster and sleep better.
L-theanine is one of my most common treatments for anxiousness and may help any of the three sub-types. It's usually taken in doses from 50-100 mg once or twice daily. In more severe cases, it may be taken 3 or 4 times per day. It is not habit forming like many anti-anxiety medications.
Supplements for Sleep
You might now be wondering how much L-theanine you need for sleep, and the answer may vary depending on your individual needs. However, a dose of around 200mg is a good starting point, especially when combined with melatonin to enhance the effect.
Keep a glass of water and a bottle of L-theanine by your bedside. When you awake in the night, take 200-400 mg of L-theanine to put your mind at ease and fall back to sleep.
You can take L-Theanine multiple times daily, including in the morning before work and at night before bed. Taking a daytime dose of L-Theanine may help you focus and maintain mental clarity as you go about your daily tasks. A nighttime dose, on the other hand, can help you wind down before getting ready for bed.
If you're using L-Theanine to help you wind down at night, it's best to take the supplement between 30 minutes and an hour before your bedtime. This gives the compound time to calm and ease your mind before you start trying to fall asleep.
When taken by mouth: L-theanine is possibly safe when used short-term. Doses of up to 900 mg daily have been safely used for 8 weeks. It isn't clear if L-theanine is safe to use for longer periods of time. It might cause mild side effects, such as headache or sleepiness.
“A combination of magnesium with L-Theanine (an amino acid) will ease the tension in the physical body and settle anxiety as L-Theanine supports the production of calming neurotransmitters. Take this combination now twice daily rather than waiting until you feel tense or anxious.”
The most common side effects of L-theanine dosage include headaches, nausea, and irritability. However, the nausea appears to be mostly linked with L-theanine being administered through green tea rather than dietary supplements.
L-theanine, on the other hand, promotes relaxation and stress reduction without sedating. L-theanine can help foster a state of calm, attentive wakefulness. L-theanine has positive effects on both the mental and physical symptoms of stress, including lowering heart rate and blood pressure.
However, if we're looking for a natural compound that can simultaneously improve your daytime mental performance and nighttime cognitive relaxation, L-theanine takes the cake—whether compared with melatonin or any other natural substance.
A calming effect is usually noted within 30 to 40 minutes after L-theanine is taken at a dose of 50 to 200mg, and typically lasts 8 to 10 hours. Moderate anxiety symptoms often improve with a regimen of 200mg once or twice daily.
If you're someone who wants a natural remedy to help cope with everyday stress, L-theanine might be a good place to start. Similarly, if you want to increase your concentration, or ability to think, or you want to increase your energy while also increasing relaxation, give it a shot.
If you're taking L-theanine to help with anxiety, it's recommended to take two split-up doses in the morning and night—for example, 100mg at breakfast and 100mg at dinner. To boost mental focus or energy, try taking L-theanine first thing in the morning, ideally about 30 minutes before breakfast.
Magnesium can decrease the absorption and effectiveness of numerous medications, including some common antibiotics such as tetracycline (Achromycin, Sumycin), demeclocycline (Declomycin), doxycycline (Vibramycin), minocycline (Minocin), ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), moxifloxacin (Avelox) and ofloxacin ...
Magnesium and calcium/multivitamin
But if you do take magnesium, Erin Stokes, ND, recommends not taking it at the same time as your multivitamin, as it may interfere with the absorption of smaller minerals found in the multivitamin, like iron and zinc.
Conclusion: Our study suggests that chronic (8-week) l-theanine administration is safe and has multiple beneficial effects on depressive symptoms, anxiety, sleep disturbance and cognitive impairments in patients with MDD.
54 They found that all the components suppressed weight gain. Green tea powder, catechins, and theanine also reduced triglyceride levels. The researchers concluded that not only can caffeine help prevent weight gain and fat accumulation, but theanine can, too.
L-theanine is a naturally occurring, non-protein amino acid found in tea that promotes relaxation by reducing stress and anxiety levels. Although L-theanine is not a sedative and does not cause drowsiness, it may help improve sleep quality by promoting a more relaxed state.
l-theanine (γ-glutamylethylamide), an amino acid in green tea, has been shown to affect brain functions by relieving stress disorders, improving mood, and maintaining normal sleep.
Substances that cause the release of high levels dopamine can be addictive, resulting in a compulsion to seek the perceived feeling of “reward.” However, L-theanine produces low enough levels of dopamine that has not been shown to produce “seeking” or addicted behavior in lab tests on rats or in the (more limited) ...
L-theanine may reduce brain fog symptoms such as memory problems and delayed reaction time when taken as a supplement. It may also help reduce stress and improve sleep, which may relieve brain fog symptoms.
In a randomized controlled trial in patients with mild cognitive impairment, L-theanine taken with green tea extract for 16 weeks had no significant effect on memory and attention, though a trend for an improvement in memory was seen midway through the trial [1].