L-Theanine (r-glutamylethylamide) is a non-dietary amino acid found in tea. And especially high levels in green tea (camellia sinensis). L-Theanine was first isolated from green tea in Japan by Sakato in 1949.
As an analogue of glutamate and glutamine, it’s hydrolyzed in your intestine and liver into l-glutamate and ethylamine. And easily crosses your blood-brain barrier.
It is used for many benefits today:
Caffeine is its bestie - and potentially yours too
L-theanine couples well with caffeine as it can temper the effects of caffeine making its stimulating effects more gentle and less edgy. That is why we use L-theanine and caffeine together in Livener. It provides the desirable uplifting effect that has no crash, unlike red bull or an espresso.
Got a deadline to hit? Enhance your focus
Get ready for an increase in cognitive performance. L-theanine promotes super-learning, flow states, and joy. It communicates with nerve impulses and the GABA receptor in the brain.
It's a mood booster for those down days
For those needing a boost to their mental wellbeing, l-theanine increases dopamine and serotonin production, providing you with those pleasure and feel good hormones. We use a green tea extract especially high in l-theanine in Social Elixir to help you find your flow, take the edge off and let go.
Stressed out? Increased relaxation
But best of all, it does this without drowsiness! Unlike alcohol or perhaps some of our plant ingredients in Nightcap, It affects the alpha brain waves which are associated with relaxation. Think of it as an alert calmness, the kind you find from walking alone through a forest on a sunny day than drifting in and out of dreams in a massage chair.
