“What is theanine?” If you’ve been around for some time on the supplements scene, then chances are high you’ve heard about this supplement.

Theanine is a white powder with a slightly sweet taste (umami), that works great for:

• Calming your brain
• Focusing your thoughts
• Anti-stress
• Helping you manage a big workload
• And a lot more

So if you want to know what is theanine & what are the amazing benefits you can get by taking it? Then I highly recommend you read this ENTIRE post to get a good idea in your mind what theanine can do for you!

What is theanine?

Theanine is usually a white powder. It’s a legal supplement (hence why it’s on this site), that many people use to be more prodctive, feel calm and do better in social situations.

Some people even use it against anxiety disorders. There are countless of forums on the internet where people discuss theanine and how it helped them overcome their anxiety problems.

So, one thing is sure – this stuff works.

If you’re curious aboutt he scientific side of the story, I’ll quickly cover that here:

• Formula: C₇H₁₄N₂O₃ 
• Molar mass: 174.2 g/mol
• Onset of action: about 1 hour
• Biological half-life: 3 hours
• Boiling point: 215 °C (419 °F)
•  Synonyms: γ-L-glutamylethylamide

The main thing that concern you (as a consumer) here, is the onset of action. Wikipedia says it’s around 1 hour.

However, I have noticed that if you take theanine on an empty stomach, it start to work faster. On an empty stomach it can start working after 20-30 minutes!

What are the effects of theanine?

Since you’re here to get to know the answers to “what is theanine?” & “what are the beneftis of taking theanine?”, we might as well dive straight into the benefits that you’ll experience when taking it!

1. You’ll feel calm

The first sensationt hat you’ll feel when theanine isn’t so much as an upper or a downer. It’s more of a calmness deep inside you.

For a beginner, it might be a bit tricky to spot when it starts working. However, if you look back after it stopped working, you’ll deifintely see that you were acting in a much more calm and relaxed way then before.

But many people can easily tell that it calms them. It is one of the main benefits of theanine. One on which all the others work through.

If you’re more calm then everything else will be easier, right?

So, here comes the second benefit of theanine:

2. You’ll have focused thoughts (be more social!)

When taking theanine you’ll find you have more control over your thoughts. If you’ve ever experience a state of ”flow’ (when being really intensely absorped in anything e.g. work, surfing, partying, watching a good movie etc.), then you’ll recognize the state theanine gives you.

You forget about the time.

You’re not paying attention to your thoughts.

You are just doing what you’re doing and being in the moment!

This is why I love taking theanine for:

• Work
• Partying
• Whenever I just want to relax (or forget about the problems in my life – how some people might use weed)

And as far being social goes – you’ll find that taking theanine  makes you less shy. 

you’ll say what you think.

You act without overanalyzing your actions.

It will be easier for you to talk to a girl you like.

Especially if you combine 150 grams of theanine with a cup of coffee, you’ll find that you’ll have a lot of laser-focused energy. This works like magic for work & going out!

3. Anti-hangover

Theanine is made from two different substances: L-glutamate and L-glutamine.

These two substances work together to increase antioxidants int he body. Especially the antioxidant glutathione in the liver.

This means that taking theanine will boost your liver power.

And as you know, when drinking alcohol, your liver gets depleted badly. So before you go drinking (or when you come home, or when you wake up), take theanine to help your liver digest all the alcohol you gave it.

I recommend you take it before drinking. Bonus benefits of this strategy: you’ll drink less, cause the theanine already helps you to ‘get in the zone’ and you’ll find you have less need for alcohol, cigarettes etc!

4. Productivity enhancer

Since theanine helps you to focus on something, I found that it really helps me to get work done. And many others feel the same. Whenever I take 100-200 mg of theanine with a good strong cup of coffee  i feel my productivity sky-rocket!

I usually get a lot of work done, and the time flies by. At the end of the day I’m always wondering where the time went… and I’m also pleasantly surprised by the amount of work that ahs been completed!

If you experience high workloads, and you need to be able to ‘summon’ productivity at a given moment’s notice – then having sme theanine nearby will give you exactly that productivity-whenever-you-need-it!

5. Anti-stress benefits

Theanine works by increasing GABA in the brain (L-glutamate is one of the building blocks for GABA). This is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for turning down acitivty in a neuron.

So, whenever you feel stressed, your neurons are over-firing. they are too excited. Taking taking will help you increase the amount of GABA in your brain.

And this in turn will calm down your over-excited neuron. Theanine works lige magic against stress. Don’t expect a tranquilizer like benzodiapene, but you’ll just feel calmer without any of the sleepy or negative effects.

Does theanine have any side effects?

Since we offered all the benefits of theanine, I feel we have to talk about the theanine side effects as well.

So far, studies have shown that there are no side-effects to theanine!

But, as an experienced user, I have to say that there is one minor thing that nobody else talks about.

Taking theanine daily can lessen its effects. In addition, if I take it more than 4-5 days in a row, I start feeling a bit too calm. 

This probably has to do with the increase in GABA. However,  it’s nothing bad. After you stop taking theanine this ‘negative efect’ will go away really fast.

When you’re using theanine, just try and take it somewhere between 1 and 3 days. Save it for when you need it the most! If you do that, you will reap all the positive benefits and NONE of the side effects!

How much theanine should I take?

Most resources on the internet recommend you take around 100-200 mg of theanine. And in my experience, this is exactly the right spot.

If you’re a heavy-hitting MMA fighter of 210 pounds, go for 200. If you’re a small girl weighing 125 pounds, it’s betetr to take a 100 mg. There’s no need to overcomplicate things!

If I just want to chill out, I take around 150 mg and that is enough to feel great the entire day/evening.

However, if I’m working and want to get as much work done as possible – I usually do the following:

• 9 AM: cup of coffee + 100 mg theanine
• 12 AM: cup of coffee + 100 mg theanine

This is enough to give you a full day of focused energy!

 

 

P.S. Want to read my full theanine review guide in which I explain exactly how theanine works, what you can expect in detail & how to look for quality theanine supplements? Read my complete theanine review here!