The other day my GF (who works in medicine) asked me my thoughts on theanine. I tried to remember my experience during Uni. “I suppose its pretty nice for focus. I used to mix it with my coffee and it helped lengthen the duration of focus and improve the jitters and anxiety that I’d sometimes get” I say - trying to remember the feeling.
“Well my Doc suggests it for those with ADD before trying stimulants and seems to have great success” she says.
No shit I think. Of course it does! I’m not sure why it took me so long to get back to this awesome supplement. But of course I had to try it (given my own battle with ADHD).
I have fallen back in love. It makes caffiene feel better. Better vision, and an easier time task switching. No jitters, no anxiety - just cool, calm, collected focus.
Better yet, there are some clinical trials showing that this is indeed the case for many with ADHD:
“our results suggest that administration of a combination of 2.5 mg/kg of l-theanine and 2.0 mg/kg of caffeine may result in an acute (i.e. short-term) improvements in sustained attention and overall cognition composite of NIH Cognition Toolbox among boys with ADHD, possibly by reversing increased task-related mind wandering associated with ADHD. In addition, our results suggest the potential of the l-theanine–caffeine combination to improve inhibitory control (i.e. decrease disinhibition) among boys with ADHD”
Chia, Joo Ee, et al. “Redox-Active Derivatives of Pyrroloiminoquinone Alkaloids from the Australian Marine Sponge, Zyzzya Sp., and Their Anti-Inflammatory and Anticancer Activity.” Frontiers in Chemistry, vol. 8, 2020, Article 643, doi:10.3389/fchem.2020.00643.