Loads of folks depend on caffeine to really feel sharp and targeted.
The issue is that the majority overshoot the dose. One sturdy espresso or an vitality drink too many, and as an alternative of feeling locked in, they’re jittery, anxious, and mentally in all places.
That’s the place L-theanine is available in.
L-theanine is an amino acid discovered primarily in tea, and it really works as caffeine’s counterbalance. Whereas caffeine ramps you up, L-theanine smooths you out, serving to you keep calm, targeted, and productive—with out the crash or scattered consideration.
On this article, you’ll learn the way L-theanine and caffeine work together and have an effect on your physique. You’ll additionally uncover their advantages, the proper L-theanine-to-caffeine ratio, and find out how to discover the perfect caffeine and L-theanine complement for you.
Key Takeaways
- L-theanine and caffeine have an effect on your mind in complementary methods. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and boosts alertness, whereas L-theanine promotes calm by balancing neurotransmitters like GABA and serotonin.
- Analysis exhibits that combining caffeine and L-theanine improves vitality, consideration, response time, and multitasking potential extra successfully than taking both compound by itself.
- The optimum L-theanine and caffeine ratio is between 1-to-1 and 2-to-1. Should you’re taking 100 mg of caffeine, intention for 100-to-200 mg of L-theanine for the perfect outcomes.
- To get the total advantages of L-theanine and caffeine, search for merchandise with efficient doses and high-quality components, like Peak.
How Does L-Theanine and Caffeine Have an effect on Your Physique?
Caffeine’s main results within the physique are to stimulate the central nervous system and block the exercise of adenosine, a chemical that causes tiredness. It additionally will increase ranges of neurotransmitters like dopamine and acetylcholine, which improve alertness, consideration, and temper.
L-theanine, however, helps stability the degrees of a number of chemical substances within the mind, together with glutamate, serotonin, and GABA, all of which have an effect on temper, cognitive efficiency, and different elements of psychological perform.
When mixed, caffeine and L-theanine complement one another. Caffeine will increase alertness and vitality, whereas L-theanine takes the sting off the potential jitteriness or nervousness, leading to smoother, extra targeted psychological vitality.
What Are L-Theanine and Caffeine’s Advantages?
The mixture of L-theanine and caffeine has been proven to enhance focus, consideration, and psychological efficiency extra successfully than both compound alone.
For instance, a study printed within the journal Vitamin Analysis discovered that folks reacted sooner and have been much less distracted after taking caffeine plus L-theanine in comparison with caffeine alone, L-theanine alone, or a placebo.
Equally, a study printed in Dietary Neuroscience discovered that supplementing with caffeine and L-theanine considerably improved response time and a spotlight in comparison with taking caffeine or theanine individually or a placebo.
In a study printed within the Journal of the Worldwide Society of Sports activities Vitamin, researchers had elite curling athletes take both caffeine, L-theanine, L-theanine and caffeine, or a placebo earlier than performing a psychological process and a number of other exact curling photographs.
The outcomes confirmed that whereas taking caffeine or L-theanine alone had a small impact on efficiency, taking a mix yielded significantly better outcomes.
One other study printed in Urge for food confirmed that taking L-theanine and caffeine helped folks change between duties sooner and extra precisely in comparison with a placebo, suggesting the mix can enhance your potential to juggle completely different jobs on the identical time.
And in one more study printed in Dietary Neuroscience, researchers discovered that combining L-theanine and caffeine improved folks’s potential to modify between mentally demanding duties and ignore distractions.
Several more studies echo these findings, leaving little doubt that supplementing with L-theanine and caffeine sharpens focus and boosts cognitive efficiency, particularly for duties that require fast considering and shifting consideration.
Other research also means that L-theanine could scale back a few of caffeine’s downsides, notably by reducing the chance of caffeine-induced complications and reversing its damaging results on mind blood circulate.
What’s the Excellent L-Theanine Caffeine Ratio?
Most research displaying advantages from combining L-theanine with caffeine use a L-theanine-to-caffeine ratio of between 1:1 and a couple of:1.
In different phrases, should you take 100 mg of caffeine, pair it with 100-to-200 mg of L-theanine.
Easy methods to Discover the Greatest L-Theanine and Caffeine Complement
The complement market is flooded with caffeine and L-theanine merchandise—however many use generic components and ineffective doses.
Peak is completely different.
Peak comprises clinically efficient doses of patented types of caffeine and L-theanine: Suntheanine®, probably the most studied type of L-theanine with over 40 peer-reviewed research supporting its advantages, and PurCaf®, a pure, natural type of caffeine.
It additionally comprises no synthetic fillers, meals dyes, or different pointless junk. And it’s examined in an ISO 17025-accredited lab for purity and efficiency, has a clear label with no proprietary blends, and is made in NSF-certified, FDA-inspected, and cGMP-compliant amenities.
In different phrases, in order for you a clear, protected, and potent L-theanine and caffeine complement to reinforce vitality, focus, and cognitive efficiency, strive Peak.
FAQ #1: Can you discover L-theanine in vitality drinks?
Sure. For instance, Legion’s energy drink comprises 150 mg of each caffeine and L-theanine.
The principle distinction between an vitality drink and a standalone caffeine and L-theanine complement is what else is within the components. Vitality drinks often embrace further components designed to spice up vitality or temper, whereas most caffeine and L-theanine dietary supplements include solely these two compounds.
One other distinction is the shape: vitality drinks are liquids, whereas L-theanine and caffeine dietary supplements usually are available capsule or pill type.
READ MORE: Pre-Workout vs. Energy Drink: Which Is Best for You?
FAQ #2: Are you able to drink espresso and theanine?
Sure—combining L-theanine with espresso is a well-liked solution to get each compounds, particularly should you’re utilizing espresso as your caffeine supply.
Nonetheless, L-theanine powder has a particular style—some discover it candy, others bitter—which might alter the flavour of your espresso in unpredictable (and often disagreeable) methods.
Should you’re utilizing L-theanine powder, it’s higher to combine it with water and take it simply earlier than ingesting your espresso for a similar advantages with out compromising the style.
FAQ #3: How lengthy does L-theanine final?
Research exhibits that L-theanine ranges peak within the blood round 50 minutes after ingestion, which is when its results are prone to be strongest. Its half-life is simply over an hour, which means you’ll usually really feel the results for round 2-to-4 hours after taking it.
Scientific References +
- Kahathuduwa, Chanaka N., et al. “L -Theanine and Caffeine Improve Target-Specific Attention to Visual Stimuli by Decreasing Mind Wandering: A Human Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.” Nutrition Research, vol. 49, Jan. 2018, pp. 67–78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2017.11.002. Accessed 22 Feb. 2020.
- Kahathuduwa, Chanaka N., et al. “Acute Effects of Theanine, Caffeine and Theanine–Caffeine Combination on Attention.” Nutritional Neuroscience, vol. 20, no. 6, 12 Feb. 2016, pp. 369–377, https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415x.2016.1144845. Accessed 22 Feb. 2020.
- Ümüt Yılmaz, et al. “Effect of Single or Combined Caffeine and L-Theanine Supplementation on Shooting and Cognitive Performance in Elite Curling Athletes: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, vol. 20, no. 1, 10 Oct. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2023.2267536. Accessed 24 Nov. 2023.
- Einöther, Suzanne J.L., et al. “L-Theanine and Caffeine Improve Task Switching but Not Intersensory Attention or Subjective Alertness.” Appetite, vol. 54, no. 2, Apr. 2010, pp. 406–409, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2010.01.003. Accessed 1 Dec. 2019.
- Owen, Gail N., et al. “The Combined Effects of L-Theanine and Caffeine on Cognitive Performance and Mood.” Nutritional Neuroscience, vol. 11, no. 4, Aug. 2008, pp. 193–198, https://doi.org/10.1179/147683008×301513.
- Kelly, Simon P., et al. “L-Theanine and Caffeine in Combination Affect Human Cognition as Evidenced by Oscillatory Alpha-Band Activity and Attention Task Performance.” The Journal of Nutrition, vol. 138, no. 8, 1 Aug. 2008, pp. 1572S1577S, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/138.8.1572s. Accessed 3 Dec. 2019.
- Giesbrecht, T., et al. “The Combination of L-Theanine and Caffeine Improves Cognitive Performance and Increases Subjective Alertness.” Nutritional Neuroscience, vol. 13, no. 6, Dec. 2010, pp. 283–290, https://doi.org/10.1179/147683010×12611460764840.
- Rogers, Peter J., et al. “Time for Tea: Mood, Blood Pressure and Cognitive Performance Effects of Caffeine and Theanine Administered Alone and Together.” Psychopharmacology, vol. 195, no. 4, 23 Sept. 2007, pp. 569–577, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-007-0938-1. Accessed 19 Oct. 2019.
- Dodd, F. L., et al. “A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study Evaluating the Effects of Caffeine and L-Theanine Both Alone and in Combination on Cerebral Blood Flow, Cognition and Mood.” Psychopharmacology, vol. 232, no. 14, 1 July 2015, pp. 2563–2576, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25761837, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-015-3895-0. Accessed 1 Mar. 2020.
- Haskell, Crystal F., et al. “The Effects of L-Theanine, Caffeine and Their Combination on Cognition and Mood.” Biological Psychology, vol. 77, no. 2, Feb. 2008, pp. 113–122, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051107001573?via%3Dihub, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.09.008.
- van der Pijl, P.C., et al. “Human Disposition of L-Theanine in Tea or Aqueous Solution.” Journal of Functional Foods, vol. 2, no. 4, Oct. 2010, pp. 239–244, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2010.08.001. Accessed 15 Aug. 2020.
