New Study Shows That L-Theanine May Counter The Effect Of Late-Night Caffeine

Caffeine is often used to help us power through our days and sometimes (regrettably) nights. And tea is one of the most popularly consumed, and naturally caffeinated, drinks worldwide. Green tea also contains a calming compound that helps counter caffeine’s jitteriness: L-theanine.* 

Researchers of a recent small study1 in Japan conducted (a bit of an odd) experiment to see whether L-theanine improved worsened sleep quality from caffeine in college-aged students. 

Researchers created four different beverages for each of the participants to try: one with 50 milligrams of L-theanine, one with 30 milligrams of caffeine, one with both, and a placebo. 

Each person consumed each beverage once and then waited a week before continuing with the next. And here’s the kicker, they consumed it 10:50 pm—10 minutes before going to bed. 

After all this, there was one sign that L-theanine may combat some of caffeine's detriment on sleep. Specifically, drinking the caffeine and L-theanine beverage significantly reduced the total number of minutes people spent awake after initially falling asleep compared to just the caffeine. 

Even compared to the placebo and L-theanine drinks alone, the combined one was linked to the least amount of wakefulness minutes (although these comparisons were not statistically significant and could have happened by chance). 

While these are interesting findings, there are not a lot of conclusions that can be drawn from this alone. It was a small, short study, and most people likely aren’t choosing to consume caffeine minutes before going to bed. 

But putting these findings in the context of what we already know about L-theanine can help you time out when you should ingest these compounds for optimal productivity and sleep. 

L-theanine is a powerful phytochemical that is shown to influence alpha brain waves2—the same brain bandwidth that promotes relaxation (without drowsiness).* 

And while this compound can promote restfulness before bed, it can also help calm feelings of anxiousness3 and supports a resilient response to stress3 during the day.*

Caffeine is also best consumed earlier, and most experts recommend having a strict cutoff time for caffeine—approximately six hours before you go to bed. 

focus+ offers premium sourcing and quality of ingredients at their full-potency, clinically researched doses—including 100 milligrams of L-theanine (as Suntheanine®) in addition to 150 milligrams of instant- and sustained-release caffeine from antioxidant-rich botanicals.  

Plus additional botanicals and bioactives (i.e., Panax ginseng, and guarana seed extract) and essential vitamin B12 (in its bioactive methylcobalamin form) to help provide mental clarity, focused calmness, and a bright mood lift to help you tackle to-dos productively.* 

Optimizing sleep and caffeine intake is top of mind in today’s hectic world. And while it’s well established that caffeine is stimulatory and L-theanine is calming, the degree to which L-theanine by counter caffeine’s energizing impact is not clear.*