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.
NOTE: This was an animal study and these very high doses based on weight do not extrapolate to humans. I have adult clients starts with 125 mg GABA and increase based on their unique needs.
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.
That Biovea product sounds like just what I need. I’m currently taking four different products to get all those elements. (The only thing I’d be missing is California Poppy.) Thanks Aaron!
The amount of GABA and LTheanine is just too low for a big guy like me (120 kg).
About 10% to 15% does pass the bbb, and it can also reach the brain via the enteric nerve system.
Tom
Interesting about the 10-15% – may I ask where you found this information? Feel Free to share a link.
I do agree with you about the enteric nervous system
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
My doctor has recommended I take GABA 500mg with L-Theanine 200mg three times a day to stop the rushing and flushing feeling of extremely high cortisol, high melatonin, and low serotonin. I cannot find much on what the negative effects of high doses of GABA and l-theanine can be on the body so am asking you if you know. I only know that low doses of GABA did not have any effect on me but that the higher doses seem to lessen the rushing feeling and help me to sleep (only waking once not 3-5x/night). There are so many brands of 500 mg of GABA (60 caps) on the market ranging from NOW $5.79, Douglas Labs at $19.60, and Thorne for $28.00. Such a variety in price for the same thing cannot be right. Please recommend best GABA.
Anu
I have clients start low and increase based on their response. The products can be found on the supps blog https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/amino-acids-pyroluria-supplements/
My favorite product for high cortisol is Seriphos https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/seriphos-original-formula-anxiety-insomnia-cortisol/ and I use tryptophan for low serotonin.
Hi Trudy!
Thanks so much for all the great information. I really enjoyed the Summit and will continue to follow your work.
I wondered of your opinion of Source Naturals Serene Science Theanine Serene with Relora…I had been taking GABA but that blend contained an ingredient someone on the summit didn’t reccomend since it was linked to addiction I think…so I started with this blend.
Any thoughts on the ingredients:
Magnesium (chelate) 300mg
GABA 500 mg
Taurine 450 mg
L Theanine 200 mg
Relora 150 mg
Holy Basil Leaf 100 mg
Christine
So glad to hear you enjoyed the summit! This product looks good. The only issue is that the GABA could not be used sublingually and can’t be started low and titrated up to the ideal amount for a person’s unique needs.
I’d really like to know what ingredient you have addiction concerns about?
I have been waking 3-6x per night for the past five years since diagnosed with a B complex deficiency when I started to take methylated B vitamins. I was getting cheek flushing and jolting waking at night since then. Doctors had no clue. It wasn’t until last January 2020 that I stopped all my vitamins (on my own), including the B complex and multivitamins after reading Ben Lynch’s book called, “Dirty Genes”. In it I learned that I have a slow COMT (clues were a sensitivity to caffeine, chocolate, and green tea with confidence, energy, focus, and productivity). I switched to an unmethylated B vitamin which took away the flushing and helped me to sleep better but it wasn’t until I read Trudy’s blog on GABA + L-Theanine (took the tests) and found I was low on serotonin that I started on GABA working up to 500 mg GABA and 200 mg L-Theanine three times/day that I am now sleeping through the night with no waking, flushing, or anxiety (that rushing feeling) with NO side effects. It’s been four months now and I am finally feeling like a normal person sleeping through the night without agitation or anxiety. NO drugs or medications whatsoever. Just wondering if anyone else reading this has taken the higher doses of GABA and found same results since Trudy says in her blog that she knows only of a few cases.
Anu
Thanks for sharing your wonderful results! I’m curious what times you take the 500 mg GABA and 200 mg L-Theanine and if it’s swallowed or used sublingually?
Also which methylated B vitamin product were you taking and which unmethylated B vitamin product are you now taking?
Trudy. I tried GABA sublingually over a year ago and it did nothing in small amounts. I then bought 500mg capsules and started taking half at a time twice a day and faintly felt less anxiety. Still was not sleeping. It wasn’t until I took the 500mg (capsule) GABA with the 200mg (capsule) L-Theanine as you suggested working up to three times a day that I felt the “rushing feeling” dissipate and I was waking less at night.
After finishing Ben Lynch’s book (“Dirty Genes”) in January 2020 I stopped Ben Lynch’s Seeking Health Optimal Multivitamin Powder (with methylated folate and B-12) and additional B Complex (with methylated folate and B-12) which I had started after having a heart attack in 2015 (which I believe was due to a genetic issue). I was drinking the multivitamin powder in my drinks throughout the day to spread it more evenly as I have a problem digesting B vitamins (organic acid test showing low Bs even though I have been supplementing) thus the Bs keeping me awake at night and causing face flushing for five years before I figured it out. Have to redo organic acid test to see if I am digesting and assimilating the Bs. I also switched taking my blood pressure medication to morning and early afternoon instead of before bed as instructed (it also has side effects of disturbing sleep and flushing).
I have now switched to Seeking Health B -Minus (B complex free of methylated B-12 and methylated folate) along with Seeking Health Folinic Acid Lozenge 800 mcg (not methylated) and Seeking Health Adeno B-12 3000 mcg (also not methylated). I have been sleeping through the night and the flushing and rushing are completely gone. I’m just sorry it took me five years to figure it out on my own. I would love to talk to you more in depth about this. Please let me know how.
1. For anxiety your number one recommadation is source natural lozenges
2. For sleep. Try lozenges too. But if i need more then try like 100 or 200 of just gaba. With maybe like 100 L theanine. Just Play around with those two doses ?
3. If i use like 300 gaba capsules from swansons vitamins. You say open and put on tongue. ? Like leave a minute on tongue and then swallow? Do this with l theanine too?
4. Is amino acids like this bad for your teeth when you open it in mouth ?
Thanks so much
Glenn
Correct. I have clients adjust the doses according to their own needs and this may mean adjusting up or down. Opened on to the tongue is more effective for most folks.
I am not aware of any issues with GABA or theanine affecting the teeth
Hi,
What is the optimal way to take these supplements for nocturnal awakenings? I don’t have problems falling asleep in the evening, but wake up again after around 4-5 hours. Even though I don’t function with that amount of sleep. I’m un-normally awake too, takes too long to fall asleep again. I learned this year that I have histamine intolerance. Histamine is released during sleep starting 3 hours in being the time when the most is released. I suspect this process forces me out of sleep and gradually puts my body in an alert state.
I bought the Biovea theanine complex with 500g GABA and 200mg l-theanine. Do you recommend taking these supplements before bed or when I wake up in the night?
How long do these supplements take to kick in?
Very much appreciate the tips!
Marko
Best is to address the histamine issues. With that high cortisol could be a factor and we address that too. GABA, theanine and tryptophan can be used on waking in the night too. Used sublingually they take around 5 mins to start having an effects when the right dose is used and if they are needed.
If you are new to the amino acids (and other anxiety nutrition solutions like gluten/sugar/caffeine removal, blood sugar control, gut health, pyroluria etc) my book “The Antianxiety Food Solution” is a great place to start. More here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-antianxiety-food-solution-by-trudy-scott/
I had read that 1000 mg of GABA and 500 of Tryptophan was recommended and I’ve been doing it for years. I’m 71 and stay awake every night up to 3 or 4 in the morning. This is ridiculous. I need to change what I’m doing. Today I began my own pancreas cleanse only using foods and lowering caloric level for a week and avoiding many foods. I want to also lower GABA to 500. I think I heard in their website to take twice th GABA than the Tryptophan.
Linda
It would be lovely if there was a set dose and/or ratio for everyone but unfortunately there is not.
I would start with the basics and do a trial of each, one at a time, starting low and increasing based on your needs in order to find your ideal dose. And then do the same with the other amino acid. For most people this works well. If there are variable results after doing all that then re-read this blog and track and adjust as needed.
If you are new to the amino acids (and other anxiety nutrition solutions like gluten/sugar/caffeine removal, blood sugar control, gut health, pyroluria etc) my book “The Antianxiety Food Solution” is a great place to start. More here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-antianxiety-food-solution-by-trudy-scott/
Even if you have good results with GABA and tryptophan (and there are not variable results), with sleep issues we often may also need to look into and address a whole host of other possible contributing root causes: hormone imbalances, parasites, diet (caffeine/sugar/gluten/low blood sugar), high cortisol, EMFs, toxins and infections.
Please share a link to where you read this or the practitioner/researcher’s name. I have never hear this recommendation.
Hi
I take a 750mg GABBA and a 400mg 5HTP and it helps my sleep, not always but in the main I am so grateful after reading about these supplements from your pages.
My sister has developed Tinnitus and is doing all the right things. Sleep was always an issue and now it is off the charts. She has been on a sedative and will soon have to come off of it, the sedative was to help with the panic induced by the Tinnitus. I would like her to try the GABA L THEANINE combination, with regards to the weight ratio, she is 60kg. Then I see some are using 500mg GABA and then 200mg of L THEANINE three times a day. I think she likes the idea of taking something at night, whether there is an element of a placebo in that, I guess they may well be. Can I ask if you have a recommendation of this combination that she can take at night, but if a better effect requires taking it during the day, then that she may have to go with that. Thanks
Judy
Good to hear you are seeing some benefits from the amino acids.
Sorry about your sister – tinnitus is awful and can be tricky to resolve but if she has low GABA I’d consider GABA (symptoms here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/amino-acids-mood-questionnaire-from-the-antianxiety-food-solution/). I’d also consider low serotonin. There are no set weight guidelines or timing for the amino acids. We do a trial of respective aminos and go from there.
If you feel like you need guidance and support, consider joining the online GABA Quickstart program so you can get help figuring it out. More here about the program and purchase info https://www.anxietynutritioninstitute.com/gabaquickstart/ She can join or you can on her behalf and ask questions/complete her intake questionnaires.
My book is also an excellent resource for learning about the amino acids, and dosing and timing options. The Antianxiety Food Solution https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-antianxiety-food-solution-by-trudy-scott/
RE: “amounts used in the study:
GABA: 100mg per kg of body weight
theanine: 20 mg per kg of body weight”
This is an *INSANE* amount of each. Insane, dangerous, unnatural and unsustainable – and unaffordable. An individual consuming those daily dosages would do far more damage than repairs – a true example of “the cure is worse than the disease.” In my substantive research, I’ve never seen these astronomical amounts employed (never mind recommended). I can’t know your reasoning for publishing them; at the VERY least, they require a disclaimer. A serious red-flag disclaimer.
Al
I agree these are insane amounts. It was an animal study and does not extrapolate to humans. I have clients starts with 125mg which is very clear in all my writing and teaching. But I agree, it’s worth making this clear and I’ve updated the blog post!