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Enhancing Agitation, Anxiety, and Insomnia: Top Supplement Recommendations

Elevated cortisol levels disrupt hormonal balance, impair immune function, potentially lead to diabetes and obesity, and are linked to mood disorders and anxiety. A straightforward amino acid solution could help reduce excessive cortisol.

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chronic cortisol levels disrupt hormonal harmony; they compromise immune function, increase risk...
chronic cortisol levels disrupt hormonal harmony; they compromise immune function, increase risk for diabetes and obesity, and are linked to emotional disturbances and anxiety. Manage high cortisol by utilizing a straightforward amino acid solution.

Enhancing Agitation, Anxiety, and Insomnia: Top Supplement Recommendations

In today's fast-paced world, feeling anxious and exhausted from juggling demanding work and family responsibilities is increasingly common. As night falls, many find it challenging to unwind and turn off their thoughts, stuck in a cycle of stressful days and sleepless nights. Even natural remedies such as magnesium, meditation, valerian root, or acupuncture may fall short, and prescription drugs like Xanax can present unwanted side effects.

It appears worldwide, people are struggling with stress and anxiety. The feeling is tragic, but we're all searching for methods to cope with everyday life responsibilities.

Fortunately, one supplement may combat modern-day stress—L-theanine, an amino acid. Before exploring why L-theanine is the preferred stress supplement, it's crucial to understand how stress affects your body, particularly hormones.

Impact of stress on hormones and health

In stressful situations, your adrenal glands produce the hormone cortisol. During life-threatening scenarios, cortisol enhances blood sugar levels, providing the necessary energy to fight the threat or run from it. However, to give you that extra burst of energy, cortisol halts other nonessential bodily functions, including immune response, digestion, and reproduction.

This temporary cortisol surge isn't a concern, but continual high cortisol levels due to daily stress can result in severe health problems.

Cortisol obstructs the body's production of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, causing hormonal imbalance. Along with affecting hormones, high cortisol levels weaken the immune system, increase diabetes risk, and contribute to obesity. Moreover, high cortisol and low estrogen and progesterone levels are associated with mood problems and anxiety.

In essence, stress disrupts hormonal balance, and unbalanced hormones heighten stress levels, forming a vicious cycle. To break the cycle, L-theanine may offer a solution.

What is L-theanine, and how can it help?

L-theanine is a rare but beneficial amino acid found in green tea, black tea, and one type of mushroom. Remarkably, it's the most effective amino acid for stress relief.

Research indicates it reduces cortisol levels, thus halting the destructive hormone-anxiety cycle. L-theanine also boosts GABA, a brain chemical that promotes relaxation and sleep. Progesterone promotes GABA production as well, but low progesterone levels result from hormonal changes or overproduction of cortisol. Hence, receiving adequate GABA as a calming brain chemical might be difficult.

L-theanine triggers alpha brain waves as well. Alpha brain waves are present when you're calm but awake—similar to meditating or daydreaming. This relaxing state, without sedation, is what makes L-theanine known for its ability to lower anxiety while increasing alertness.

Although green and black tea are excellent sources of L-theanine, consuming substantial amounts of tea daily—up to ten cups or more—is necessary to match L-theanine doses typically used in studies. Given this, L-theanine supplements might be a more practical choice. Start with 250 to 400 mg daily, similar to the dosages used safely and effectively in stress-relief studies. As always, it's adivsable to consult with your doctor before starting new supplements, especially if you have low blood pressure, are pregnant, or breastfeeding.

When shopping for an L-theanine supplement, you may notice GABA supplements nearby. Since L-theanine reduces anxiety by promoting GABA production, you might consider taking GABA supplements instead. However, L-theanine is better at crossing the blood-brain barrier than GABA. For now, stick to L-theanine as your go-to stress-relief supplement.

For those seeking natural strategies to reduce the risk of blood clots, discover Hushed Up Natural Heart Cures and Common Misconceptions of Popular Heart Treatments.

Sources:

  1. Chronic Stress Puts Your Health at Risk, Mayo Clinic. (Retrieved May 7, 2018.)
  2. The Physiology of Stress: Cortisol and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis, Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science. (Retrieved May 7, 2018.)
  3. Chiodini et al. "Cortisol secretion in patients with type 2 diabetes: relationship with chronic complications." Diabetes Care, Jan 2007;30(1):83-8.
  4. D. Hewagalamulage et al. "Stress, cortisol, and obesity: a role for cortisol responsiveness in identifying individuals prone to obesity." Domestic Animal Endocrinology, Jul 2016;56 Suppl:S112-20.
  5. H. Young. "Cortisol in mood disorders." Stress, Dec 2004;7(4):205-8.
  6. Theanine, PubChem. (Retrieved May 7, 2018.)
  7. J. White et al. "Anti-Stress, Behavioural and Magnetoencephalography Effects of an L-Theanine-Based Nutrient Drink: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial." Nutrients, Jan 2016;8(1):53.
  8. J. Nathan et al. "The neuropharmacology of L-theanine (N-ethyl-L-glutamine): a possible neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing agent." Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy, 2006;6(2):21-30.
  9. P. Rao. "In Search of a Safe Natural Sleep Aid." Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2015;34(5):436-447.
  10. A. Camfield et al. "Acute effects of tea constituents L-theanine, caffeine, and epigallocatechin gallate on cognitive function and mood: a systematic review and meta-analysis." Nutrition Review, Aug 2014;72(8):507-22.
  11. K. Keenan et al. "How much theanine in a cup of tea? Effects of tea type and method of preparation." Food Chemistry, Mar 2011;125(2):588-594.
  12. Terashima et al. "Time-dependent changes of amino acids in the serum, liver, brain and urine of rats administered with theanine." Bioscience Biotechnology Biochemistry, Apr 1999;63(4):615-8.
  13. Kuriyama et al. "Blood-brain barrier to H3-γ-aminobutyric acid in normal and amino oxyacetic acid-treated animals." Neuropharmacology, Jan 1971;10(1):103-108.
  14. In their pursuit of coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety, individuals worldwide are delving into the realm of health-and-wellness, exploring natural remedies such as supplements.
  15. Nutrition plays a crucial role in managing stress, and one such supplement that appears promising is L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea,black tea, and certain mushrooms.
  16. Science suggests that L-theanine reduces cortisol levels, thus interrupting the destructive hormone-anxiety cycle, and boosts GABA, a brain chemical that promotes relaxation and sleep.
  17. In the realm of mental-health, L-theanine promotes a calm and alert state, serving as a natural remedy that may alleviate feelings of anxiety and stress caused by modern-day living.

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