Turn Yourself Up To An 11 With L-theanine

Looking to relax without getting sleepy, reduce stress without losing your edge, decrease anxiety while still managing to give an adequate amount of fucks? Meet L-theanine, the little amino acid that can.

L-thea-what?

L-theanine is an amino acid commonly found in non-herbal tea leaves and some mushrooms, like bay bolete. While it's been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, it wasn't until 1949 that scientists “discovered” it in green tea. L-theanine's effectiveness stems from its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, which allows it to do work, making you a calmer, more focused, less anxious, better rested human. Read on to find out why you should invite L-theanine to the party inside your head.

Riding the Waves

Often we blame our mood solely on external factors, but it turns out it's usually an inside job. Our brain waves, (listed from slowest to fastest) Infra-Low, Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, dictate a large portion of how we're feeling. While awake, beta usually takes center stage, allowing us to get stuff done, but anxiety takes over when beta gets too high. What's a brain to do? Dial-up the alpha waves, which promote feelings of creativity, relaxation and stimulate learning. Studies have shown that L-theanine lowers the beta wave while increasing the delta waves, creating an ideal environment for you to focus on what you need to. Did we mention Taylor Swift takes it to control her stress and anxiety? If it's good enough for Tay Tay…

Pair with Caffeine

Adding L-theanine to your morning coffee has been shown to improve cognitive performance and increase alertness. Thanks to its ability to keep anxiety at bay and reduce your resting heart rate, the chances of having the caffeine jitters are drastically reduced as well.

Sleep on Cloud L-theaNine

Not only can the L help you function better while awake, it can also help you sleep. L-theanine boosts serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, an amino acid that blocks certain brain signals and decreases activity in the nervous system, producing a calming effect and increasing the quality of sleep. In a study involving 98 boys between the ages of 8-12 formally diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, the consumption of 400 mg of theanine produced significantly higher sleep percentages and efficacy scores.

Liver Protection

In animal studies, L-theanine was shown to protect the liver against alcohol-induced injury and increase the antioxidant our bodies use to detoxify ethanol. We'll drink to that!

With no known or direct side effects and a growing body of scientific literature supporting the benefits of L-theanine, why not see what this darling of an amino acid can do for you? Try our functional mushroom Cold Brew to enjoy the beneficial trifecta of caffeine, L-theanine and mushrooms all in one delicious drink!