I’m at the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference and am speaking on “GABA for anxiety, insomnia, ADHD, autism and addictions.”
One of the studies I will be sharing is this new study on GABA and theanine and how this combination improves sleep: GABA and l-theanine mixture decreases sleep latency and improves NREM sleep.
The authors share the sleep and anxiety benefits of both GABA and theanine:
γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter and it is well established that activation of GABAA receptors favours sleep.
l-Theanine, a naturally occurring amino acid first discovered in green tea, is a well-known anti-anxiety supplement with proven relaxation benefits.
The study objective was to investigate the:
potential synergistic sleep enhancement effect of GABA/l-theanine mixture.
The GABA/l-theanine mixture showed a decrease in sleep latency (length of time to fall asleep) and an increase in sleep duration compared to GABA or theanine alone.
The study authors state:
The increase in GABA receptor and GluN1 (glutamine receptor subunit) expression is attributed to the potential neuromodulatory properties of GABA/l-theanine combination, which seems to affect sleep behaviour.
Here are the amounts used in the study:
- GABA: 100mg per kg of body weight
- theanine: 20 mg per kg of body weight
I have found the combination of GABA and theanine to be extremely helpful for many of my clients but not everyone needs the combination. Some folks do very well on GABA alone and some folks do really well on theanine alone.
Keep in mind I do not make amino acid recommendations based on weight but instead use the trial method to find the ideal amount.
The best way for you to figure out if you will benefit from the combination or either of them alone is to use the trial method. Do the low GABA questionnaire and do a trial of either GABA alone or theanine alone or a combination of both, until you find the right amount to improve your sleep and ease anxiety.
If you find the combination works well for you, GABA T-SAP by Nutritional Fundamentals, is a really nice combination product that I use with clients who have both anxiety and insomnia issues. I find that opening up the capsule onto the tongue is more effective than swallowing it. You can find this product and other GABA products I recommend on my supplements blog.
Here are some other blogs on the benefits of using oral GABA
- Sleep improvement: Oral intake of GABA and Apocynum venetum leaf extract
- How GABA eases agonizing rectal pain and spasms in under 2 minutes
- Oral GABA supplementation allows better prioritizing of planned actions
- GABA helps with inhibition of unwanted thoughts
Have you found GABA alone to help you with both sleep and anxiety or have you found that the combination of GABA and theanine is more helpful?
I have been using BIOVEA Theanine Complex :-
• Magnesium (as Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate) 300mg
• GABA 500mg
• Taurine 450mg
• L-Theanine 200mg
• Magnolia Extract (bark)(std. to 2% Honokiol) 60 mg
• Holy Basil Extract (leaf) 100 mg
https://www.biovea.com/uk/product_detail.aspx?NAME=THEANINE-COMPLEX-120-Vegetarian-Capsules&PID=7567
It has been very beneficial to dealing with panic attacks and anxiety which I have had ever since I was on Zopiclone in the 2000’s.
GABA should not pass the Blood Brain Barrier so if you are aware and can judge the effects of the GABA you can tell whether your BBB is broken, this is obviously quite a subjective thing scientifically but I seem to be very in tune with my brain chemistry on edges of awareness at times. Basically as to whether the brain is relaxed or whether it is just a bodily thing.
Aaron
Thanks for sharing and glad to hear this combination helps you with anxiety and panic attacks. It is helping with sleep too (I assume you’re no longer on Zopiclone?)
We don’t know for sure how GABA works but the leaky BBB theory if GABA works is just that – a theory that has yet to be confirmed. We do know we have GABA receptors in other parts of the body and that the vagus nerve is a 2 way communication between the gut and the brain.
i have been using GABA in the day time, 125mg GABAcalm, 3x before 3pm. for the evening i am using the tryptophan, using lidke tryptophan complete 1, in the afternoon and before bed, along with bulksupplements.com tryptophan, 500mg. so far anxiety is lessened, but insomnia is still bad. sometimes i can get to sleep and other times i keep waking myself up. taking dose 1 hr before bed with melatonin. would it be too much to take theanine also? and how much as a starting dose?
update: LIDKE to the rescue! i am a believer in that brand of tryptophan and the proof if that i am sleeping now! thank you Trudy!
Please check the dosages you provide in the blog. Did you mean to write 100mg per 100kg of body weight for GABA? If it is per kg, my dose would be nearly 7,000mg. Surely that is not correct!
Philip
This is what they used in the study. As I mention, I don’t go by weight but use the trial method instead.
Thanks. I had the same question. Wow that’s a lot.
Anything over 500 mg of GABA gives me a flushing sensation over my face and neck and a slight shortness of breath. Any idea why some people are so sensitive to it?
Brian
This is very common and 500mg is way too much for most individuals. It’s the reason I start low with clients at 125mg and increase based on symptom resolution.
Hi Trudy. I find I need more than the 500mg of sublingual gaba calm for sleep even with 200mg l theanine. What dose can I go up to. Took a while to work up to that dose. I want to get away from sleeping tablets. Also what are the negative effects of too much tyrosine that comes with this product?
Thanks
D
When my clients get up to multiple GABA Calm tablets I have them switch to a GABA only product as the tyrosine can be stimulating. I have had some clients go up to 1000-2000mg but it’s rare. I have clients increase as long as they are seeing added benefits. if not they go back down and start looking for other root causes of the insomia like low serotonin, high cortisol, SIBO, gluten, too much caffeine, low blood sugar, parasites etc. Some sleep meds can actually make sleep worse esp the benzos
I have been taking 1500 mg of Source Naturals GABA Powder Calm Mind (8 oz bulk) at bedtime and it does get me to sleep, but for only about 3 hrs. This GABA irritates the mucous membranes of my mouth for a couple of minutes but I have not noticed any intestinal irritation. I hesitate to take more GABA to get back to sleep again because of this. Do other GABA products do this? Can you recommend a good, cost effective GABA product? I spend A LOT on supplements. When I wake up I take 1500 mg of Tryptophan plus 1/2 of a sleeping pill which gets me another couple of hours but then has to be repeated. I assume you do not do personal consultations. Can you recommend someone who does? I am trying to get off of those sleeping pills and I believe amino acids are the most effective way of doing that.
Trudy, I have had insomnia for many years. Believe it is GABA related. I have cycled through, 5-HTP, tryptophan, theanine, melatonin, kava, valerian, lemon balm, glutamine, magnesium, taurine, holy basil, choline, arginine, passion flower, vitamins, choline, etc. The only things that help are phenibut 500mg with 10mg time release melatonin. I can run that for 3 nights, then I have to switch to something else for a few days, then back to phenibut. How do you feel about phenibut? I am guaranteed a good night’s sleep when I use it.
Hello, thanks for the article.
When do you normally take the gaba Ltheanine combination? Since you wrote for sleep, I am assuming 1 hour before bed?
Have you had any experience taking the combination in the morning, for anxiety?
Petite
I have clients take it before bed and during the day (often less) if needed for the physical type of low GABA anxiety