Holistic health and wellness coach Phillippa Quigley takes a look at the partnership between L-theanine and anxiety, and how they react together to massage a calmer, happier you.
Most adults at some point in their life will have suffered from a bout of anxiety. Whether it is the gut-wrenching feeling before a presentation or the daily worry of how you are going to manage to get all your things done. It could be that perhaps it is something you are suffering from all the time and has become overwhelming and exhausting.
Anxiety for some can be a debilitating chronic disease. Whilst there are many medicated routes you can take to treat anxiety, there are other natural solutions which can ease your symptoms.
L-theanine is one of them. It is a naturally formed compound that acts similar to anti-anxiety medication.
In this article we will discuss what L-theanine is and how it helps reduce anxiety. We will also discuss where you can source it from as well as any side effects it may have.
What is L-theanine?
Discovered by scientists in 1949, L-theanine is a non-protein amino acid which is unique compared to most other amino acids. It is also not recognised as an essential amino acid, meaning that your body does not require it to survive.
L-theanine is becoming more recognized as a nootropic, as there is evidence it places a role in enhancing your brain health. It helps boost your cognitive function and alertness.
L-theanine comes from tea leaves, and is mainly found in green and black tea. It can also be found in smaller amounts in mushrooms. Interestingly, green tea has been used to instil calm and relax our brains for thousands of years. It wasn’t until 1949 when the compound of L-theanine was actually recognised scientifically.
With the benefits it has shown to have on people’s brain function, L-theanine is also known for increasing the calming neurotransmitters in our body. The impact of this has shown that L-theanine helps people to relax, ease anxiety and decrease their stress. Collectively, the symptoms that it helps reduce means that it has a positive impact on a person’s overall health and wellness.
Here are some of the health benefits that L-theanine has been said to have:
- Enhance sleep
- Boost immunity
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Manage blood pressure
- Improve cognitive function
- Boost memory
- Reduce neurological degenerative disorders
Anxiety explained
Anxiety is a natural response our body creates when we feel under threat. It is something we feel when we are worried about things that have happened, about to happen, or that we think might happen in the future.
It can affect the way we feel and the way we think, and also cause us to have physical symptoms.
It is normal for people to experience anxious feelings. When we are going through changes or stressful events in our life, we can experience a high amount of stress and anxiety. However, if this anxiety begins to impact your day-to-day life and you are unable to experience life as you would like to, then seeking help and adapting your lifestyle and mindset is crucial to no longer feeling this way.
There are many changes you can make to ease anxiety. This can be through lifestyle changes, nutritional changes, and for some, medication will help as well. If you feel you need extra support with coping with anxiety, then you must go and see your healthcare provider.
How does L-theanine help anxiety?
L-theanine behaves as an anxiolytic. Anxiolytics are medications used to treat or prevent anxiety symptoms or disorders. These medications are known to address anxiety very quickly and tend to only be prescribed for short-term use. This is to avoid addiction and dependency issues.
Due to L-theanine being a natural form of an anxiolytic, it is being studied to see how well it can be used to aid anxiety and stress. It has been found that adults who have taken or consumed L-theanine for a period of four weeks showed a significant improvement in their symptoms.
Let’s take a look at how L-theanine benefits our anxiety and stress levels.
L-theanine and Neurotransmitters
It is thought that L-theanine increases the levels of neurotransmitters which are responsible for altering our mood. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that your body needs to function. Their job is to carry chemical messages from one cell to another.
L-theanine can increase the levels of serotonin, dopamine and GABA. GABA stands for Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, and this neurotransmitter has a calming effect on your body.
When we’re stressed or feeling anxious our brain can release excessive glutamate levels. Glutamate is known as an excitatory neurotransmitter. We need this when we sometimes want a quick release of energy. However, when we’re suffering with anxiety this can increase too much and leads to high blood pressure, increased heart rate and higher levels of stress hormones.
By consuming L-theanine it will increase our levels of GABA. When GABA is high, glutamate levels lessen, creating a calming and relaxing effect being released in the brain and body.
Whilst it hasn’t yet been proven, it is thought that L-theanine can increase our levels of serotonin and dopamine. Serotonin is known as the happy hormone that can make us feel positive and uplifted. Dopamine is responsible for our feeling of pleasure. Both of these neurotransmitters alter our mood, and if we are low in these it can bring on feelings of anxiety and depression.
L-theanine and Brain Waves
It has been shown that L-theanine helps to produce alpha waves in the brain. A brain wave is generated when a group of neurons send an electric signal to another group of neurons. There are five different types of brain waves, and within these waves they vary in speed. Each brain wave indicates a level of activity in the brain.
An alpha brain wave is produced when you are in a calm and relaxed state. Therefore if you are suffering from an anxiety disorder, it is beneficial for you to produce more of these calming brain waves.
If you’re able to generate alpha brain waves it can reduce your stress level and help you feel calm and rested.