The Ultimate Nootropic Chill Pill
Have you ever wondered why green tea is way more relaxing than coffee, despite both having caffeine?
Aside from the fact that green tea has a lower concentration of caffeine, green tea also has a uniquely relaxing nootropic not found in coffee - or any other drinks, really.
And that nootropic is: L-Theanine.
Though typically associated with daytime mental performance enhancement, due to the super popular caffeine + L-theanine nootropic combo, L-theanine also works great as a nighttime sleep aid supplement...
...making it one of the most versatile natural nootropics on the market.
So, what’s the deal with this amino?
How is it possible for a single over-the-counter nootropic to boost both daytime performance and sleep quality?
Let’s read to find out.
L-Theanine for Sleep: The Best Natural Sleep Aid?
Whether you’re new to nootropics or a neurohacking veteran, L-theanine is one of the best places to start your day.
This is particularly true if you’re a coffee drinker, given the complementary benefits of stacking L-theanine with caffeine.
However, few people, including those who enjoy nootropics, are aware of L-theanine’s sleep boosting potential.
But before divulging the sleepy secrets of this natural nootropic, let’s first address the basics.
What is L-Theanine?
Simply put, L-theanine is an incredibly effective nootropic for helping the mind simultaneously relax and stay focused.
Best of all, it’s a natural nootropic - meaning you don’t have to worry about any attendant side effects of safety issues with this cognitive enhancer.[1]
Sourced from Camellia sinensis (green tea) leaves, L-theanine is a naturally occurring amino acid.
When taken at high enough dosages, L-Theanine may significantly improve:
- Daytime cognitive performance (focus, mood, alertness)
- Nighttime sleep quality (anxiety and stress relief).
The best way to describe L-theanine’s cognitive benefits is to call it “wakeful relaxation” - sort of like being “in the zone,” but not so amped up that your attention is all over the place.
Likewise, the “relaxation” aspect of L-theanine works without inducing drowsiness or lethargy.[2]
How Does L-Theanine Benefit Sleep Quality?
As a non-stimulatory focus booster and a non-sedative sleep enhancer, L-theanine is a thoroughly unique nootropic.
Exactly how L-theanine’s biomechanisms on the brain work remain somewhat of a mystery.
However, the results of L-theanine’s bioactivities have been well-documented by clinical research.
A couple bio-effects of L-theanine most pertinent to this nootropic’s benefits on sleep quality include:
Modulating Alpha Brainwave Activity
With an electroencephalogram (EEG), the electrical activity of the brain can be measured as brainwaves.
The average electric frequencies of a particular brain region determine that brain region’s brainwave state, and various brainwaves align with various cognitive states.
For example, alpha brainwaves encompass a relatively low frequency brain state that’s commonly associated with conditions related to meditation, creative “free-flow” thinking, and pre-sleep relaxation.
Quick Summary: By promoting alpha brainwave activity, L-theanine seems to hit a “sweet spot” brainwave threshold that’s conducive to both calmed daytime focus and anxiety-free pre-sleep relaxation.[3]
Promoting Calming Neurotransmitters
In addition to modulating alpha brainwave activity, L-theanine seems to also boost the activity of calming “feel-good” neurotransmitters. Such as serotonin, dopamine, and gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) while modulating neurotransmitter receptor sensitivity.[4]
Much has been said about the anxiolytic (anxiety relieving) effects of L-theanine, both in terms of clinical study and anecdotal reports.
With that in mind, it’s likely that L-theanine’s boost on focus and attention performance are tied to this amino’s effect on mood-boosting brain chemical activity.
Quick Summary: Without sedating the mind, L-theanine helps calm excessive brain activity. Allowing the mind to relax and focus on the task at hand, whether it be a work task or the task of falling asleep.
Get Better Sleep with Mind Lab Pro® L-Theanine
Supplying L-theanine in premium Suntheanine® form, Mind Lab Pro®’s Universal Nootropic™ formula delivers this amino’s unmatched “relaxed focus” benefits for better sleep and more.
For a boost on worry-free mental performance, nothing compares to L-Theanine’s non-stimulatory, non-sedative effects on cognition.
With stimulants, you get the focus boosts at the cost of jittery side effects, whereas with sedatives, you get the relaxation benefits at the cost of drowsiness. But with L-theanine, you get both the focus and relaxation without the jittery, drowsy consequences.
As such, there are two good times to take this nootropic:
1. In the morning – with or without caffeine, L-theanine improves mood and focus; however, for those who always wake up to a cup of a coffee, L-theanine is a must-have nootropic to help enhance the cognitive enhancing effects of caffeine.
2. Prior to bed – without caffeine, of course. Though L-theanine lacks sedative properties, the amino’s anxiolytic effects do seem to significantly improve sleep quality, especially under conditions of heightened, sleep-disruptive anxiety or stress.
Few, if any, nootropics work under such polar opposite conditions (morning vs. night) for such polar opposite cognitive goals (productivity vs. sleep).
However, thanks to Mind Lab Pro®’s overall stim-free formula design, this is an L-theanine source that you may take at any time of day (or night) that suits your cognitive needs.
Suntheanine®, the Best L-Theanine for Sleep
The best L-theanine for sleep, Suntheanine® is, really, the best L-theanine overall, thanks to this Suntheanine®’s exceptional quality and efficacy. Supplying 100% pure L-isomer L-theanine, Suntheanine® has been rigorously subjected to clinical study.
- One pertinent study that investigated the effects of Suntheanine® L-theanine on sleep quality among male children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) observed an objectively measured improvement in sleep percentage and sleep efficiency. The researcher’s conclusion: “400 mg of L-theanine is safe and effective in improving some aspects of sleep quality in boys diagnosed with ADHD.”[5]
More on Mind Lab Pro® L-Theanine here.
To get the best deal on Mind Lab Pro®, click here.
Stack Mind Lab Pro® with Performance Lab® Sleep
To take L-theanine’s sleep-enhancing benefits even further, stack Mind Lab Pro® with Performance Lab® Sleep, a natural, cherry-powered sleep booster.
No doubt, for both daytime cognitive performance and nighttime sleep quality, L-theanine is one of the best nootropics you can buy.
But if you’re looking for something a little heavier, something that solely promotes sleep yet still maintains the same all-natural standards of L-theanine, look no further than Performance Lab® Sleep.
Whereas L-theanine may be taken during daytime to acutely promote cognitive performance, Performance Lab® Sleep promotes daytime cognition the night before by ensuring your brain gets sufficient rest and recovery overnight.
And, impressively, Sleep does this with 100% safe and natural ingredients.
To Buy Performance Lab Sleep, Visit:
www.performancelab.com
Let’s check them out.
In Detail: Performance Lab® Sleep
The Supplement Facts for Performance Lab® Sleep include:
- Magnesium+ (Magnesium Bisglycinate, Magnesium Taurate, NutriGenesis® Magnesium), 100mg
- CherryPURE® (50:1 concentrated ratio), 500mg
- TryptoPure® L-Tryptophan, 250mg
For the most part, Performance Lab® Sleep derives its power from CherryPURE®, a highly concentrated source of natural melatonin extracted from Montmorency tart cherries.
Given the high popularity and prevalence of over-the-counter melatonin supplements, many people tend to take melatonin for granted as an effective sleep aid supplement.
However, unlike Performance Lab® Sleep, many OTC melatonin supplements supply a synthetic melatonin form that varies in bioavailability and, as a result, may work (or not work) in an unpredictable manner.
Performance Lab® Sleep naturally promotes sleep quality and duration with a reliable, standardized concentration of natural melatonin.
The upside with CherryPURE®, as is the case with L-theanine, is a boost on sleep quality that doesn’t come at the cost of impaired, groggy cognition the following morning.
This is especially the case with Performance Lab® Sleep, thanks to this formula’s addition of TryptoPure®, a bio-enhanced L-tryptophan that contributes to sleep quality and next-morning mood by converting to melatonin in the gut and serotonin in the brain, respectively.
And for the mineral-sweating athletes and exercisers, the muscle-relaxing benefits of NutriGenesis® Magnesium are particularly beneficial for falling asleep and staying asleep without fear of sleep-disruptive muscle twitches or fired-up neuronal synapses.
To get the best deal on Performance Lab® Sleep, click here.
Conclusion
Mind Lab Pro® + Performance Lab® Sleep pair L-theanine with the best natural sleep aid for healthy mental rejuvenation.
Ideally taken in the morning, Mind Lab Pro®’s caffeine-free, crash-free nootropic formula may also be taken any other time of the day (or night) without negatively impacting sleep quality.
Quite the opposite, in fact: Mind Lab Pro®’s L-theanine may actually help you get better and deeper sleep.
However, for around-the-clock cognitive health enhancement, taking Mind Lab Pro® as a daytime booster in the morning and Performance Lab® Sleep as a nighttime sleep aid is your best bet.
Better yet, these clean, eco-friendly, vegan-friendly formulas are safe to use daily (and nightly) for long-term use. No harmful additives or synthetic compounds here.
To get the best deal on Mind Lab Pro®, click here.
To get the best deal on Performance Lab® Sleep, click here.
More Performance Lab® Supplements for Cognition
Performance Lab® Caffeine 2
Working as a daytime stim complement to Performance Lab® Sleep, Performance Lab® Caffeine 2 is a Caffeine 2.0 pill that pairs caffeine with L-theanine, whose calming effects help counteract caffeine’s jittery side effects, and L-tyrosine, an amino acid that counterbalances caffeine’s draining effects on catecholamines (dopamine, norepinephrine, etc.). To top it all off, Caffeine 2 also supplies a potent NutriGenesis® B-vitamin complex that not only assists with L-tyrosine’s pro-catecholamine benefits but replenishes the natural B-vitamins lost to caffeine’s diuretic effect.
To get the best deal on Performance Lab® Caffeine 2, click here.
Performance Lab® Prebiotic
An underappreciated aspect of brain health is gut health, otherwise known as the enteric system (a.k.a. the “Second Brain”). A healthy gut, accomplished by a healthy gut biome, strongly contributes to a healthy brain—and vice versa. With this in mind, Performance Lab® Prebiotic may benefit brain health and performance by tending to the Second Brain’s health and performance. Whereas probiotics supply a fragile live culture of beneficial bacteria, prebiotics are fibrous foods that feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut. As a result, prebiotics are more reliable and durable, as compared to probiotics, when it comes to optimizing cognition via the gut-brain axis.
To get the best deal on Performance Lab® Prebiotic, click here.
Performance Lab® MCT
Adding a clean, premium source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), like Performance Lab® MCT, to your daily supplement stack is smart for a couple reasons: (1) MCTs are healthy fats that fuel both brain performance and metabolic energy expenditure by converting to ketones, and (2) MCTs may help with the absorption of Mind Lab Pro® fat-soluble nootropics, thereby improving Mind Lab Pro®’s overall bioavailability. For those committed to intermittent fasting or fasted training, MCT oil is virtually a must-have supplement.
To get the best deal on Performance Lab® MCT, click here.
References
- Hidese S et al. Effects of chronic l-theanine administration in patients with major depressive disorder: an open-label study. Acta Neuropsychiatr. 2017 Apr; 29(2): 72-79.
- Nobre AC et al. L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008; 17 Suppl 1: 167-8.
- White DJ et al. Anti-Stress, Behavioural and Magnetoencephalography Effects of an L-Theanine-Based Nutrietn Drink: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial. Nutrients. 2016 Jan; 8(1): 53.
- Nathan PJ et al. The neuropharmacology of L-theanine (N-ethyl-L-glutamine): a possible neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing agent. J Herb Pharmacother. 2006; 6(2): 21-30.
- Lyon MR et al. The effects of L-theanine (Suntheanine®) on objective sleep quality in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Altern Med Rev. 2011 Dec; 16(4): 348-54.
