How L-theanine and Melatonin Can Help You find a Healthy Sleep
Everyone from your coworker to your most distant acquaintance knows a trick to get better sleep that worked for them, and the worst part is they’re all different.
Leave that glass of warm milk in the refrigerator, because there are two supplements that studies have shown lead to an improved circadian rhythm and better sleep. L-theanine and melatonin can help you wake up feeling well-rested when taken correctly. Always consult with your doctor to get the dose just right, so you can stay asleep without any side effects like feeling groggy.
But many doctors like to recommend melatonin and L-theanine because studies show they put their patients to sleep and they’re available over the counter.
Keep reading to learn about what studies say about these two plant-powered sleep aids, and how they can aid healthy sleep.
Struggling with sleep? One doctor created a natural sleep aid to fix his personal sleep issues.
How can I get healthy sleep?
Before we dive into these two natural supplements found in items like green tea and fruits, we want to make sure you understand how to get healthy sleep.
As we explain the benefits of these two supplements, you may note that the effectiveness of the studies is often scored against the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). While other methods exist, the PSQI is a standard, subjective tool to measure sleep quality by self-reporting. The factors involved include:
Subjective sleep quality
Sleep latency (the time it takes to fall asleep)
Sleep efficiency
Sleep duration
Sleep disturbances
Use of sleep medication
Daytime dysfunction
What the PSQI begins to show is that sleep isn’t always as simple as it may feel. There are many different components of your body and its sleep-wake cycle that must work together to achieve the quality sleep we all dream about.
This is why sometimes just one trick might not fix your sleeping problem and why the problem is so hard to solve. One study found poor sleep impacted 56% of people in the United States, 31% in Western Europe, and 23% in Japan.
For example, your brain stem may send signals to relax your muscles, but if your brain’s pineal gland doesn’t produce your body’s naturally occurring melatonin you may lie restless for hours.
But what must occur for your time spent sleeping to feel restful?
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep manifests itself during our deepest level of sleep and occurs with dreaming, memory storage, and our most restful sleep.
Science magazine declared the why and how we dream and benefit from REM as one of the most important gaps in science.
First discovered in infants in 1953, REM sleep is now characterized by physiologic and behavioral features like high-amplitude theta waves, suppression of muscle activity, fluctuations in body temperature, and more. To reach this level of sleep, we need to relax and suppress our muscles while tempering our brain’s desire to wake.
To that end, studies have found that when humans use L-theanine and melatonin they’re able to calm and stabilize even the most restless sleepers.
What is L-theanine?
L-theanine is well known in scientific circles for its ability to reduce anxiety and relax the body.
Most people know L-theanine better as the relaxing agent found in tea, specifically green tea. The amino acid has been extensively used in traditional Chinese medicine, and Western medicine has found it useful for its anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety qualities.
Many studies also focus on combining L-theanine with other herbal and natural supplements to reduce pain, reduce stress, and increase people’s quality of life.
How does L-theanine help?
Studies have shown that the effects of L-theanine include a relaxed yet alert mental state by the amino acid’s direct influence on the central nervous system. By relaxing your body’s central nervous system, L-theanine relaxes your body and helps you fall asleep faster.
One double-blind trial on 30 randomly chosen participants found that the use of sleep medication, sleep disturbance, and the time it took to fall asleep all decreased compared to a placebo after using L-theanine. An additional study showed similar benefits, highlighting L-theanine’s ability to improve things like sleep duration, sleep habitual efficiency, and daytime dysfunction. One study even found chewable L-theanine tablets helped children with ADHD achieve an increased percentage of time spent in restful sleep.
For the hard-working folk, it is especially found to benefit people who already experience high levels of anxiety due to work, life, or other stressors.
How can I take L-theanine?
As we mentioned, green tea is one of the common ways people ingest L-theanine. However, supplements, other black and white teas, and certain varieties of the Boletus mushroom all contain the amino acid.
L-theanine and melatonin are essential supplements in Dr. Khalili’s C-10 Deep Sleep solution.
What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone that occurs naturally in our body but has also been found in other plants and animals as well.
Melatonin — produced in our brain’s pineal gland — suppresses your body’s signals to wake up at night. Your body naturally produces the hormone when it’s dark, therefore light exposure causes your body to decrease circulating melatonin in the blood plasma. This can cause shift workers, people near the earth’s poles, or those without dark rooms to sleep to develop aberrant melatonin rhythms.
Certain factors like aging, diseases, and drugs, can eliminate your body’s natural production of melatonin and impair your sleep. For many people, it’s not just obtainable to rely on natural production of melatonin to yield restful sleep.
How does Melatonin help?
A study found that the benefits of melatonin in adults and the elderly may help populations stay asleep but can struggle to help these same populations fall asleep.
In Europe, melatonin has been approved for the management of primary insomnia in adults over the age of 55. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not regulate supplements like melatonin.
Studies have shown the hormone can treat other cohorts including people with insomnia, children with autism spectrum disorders, adolescents with depression, women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and more. It also can be used to alleviate jet lag and other sleep-delay disorders.
In children and adolescents, melatonin is significantly effective at helping children get to sleep and stay asleep.
How can I use Melatonin?
Before running to the health-food store, review your sleeping space and make sure there is ample darkness at night. Consider even purchasing an eye mask to help you achieve that circadian sleep.
Dosing should always be consulted with your doctor. However, many supplements of varying milligrams exist to help children, adults, and the elderly find the sleep they need.
Ask your doctor about supplements and dosage to find a solution that works for you.
Finding healthy Sleep
While the benefits of L-theanine and melatonin should be clear, it can be difficult to find the right dosage to achieve healthy sleep.
Instead of relying on frustrating trial and error with your own melatonin and L-theanine supplements, there is one solution out there created by a certified doctor. Dr. Khalili’s C-10 Deep Sleep solves the critical problems of falling asleep, staying asleep, and getting restorative sleep for at least 9 hours using both L-theanine and melatonin.
This plant-powered formula is non-addictive and safe and can help you attain deep, revitalizing sleep to restore your body’s natural 24-hour circadian rhythm when used with conventional sleep tips. Check out the product details for yourself to see if Dr. Khalili’s C-10 is right for you.
Buy C-10 Deep Sleep today and get the sleep you deserve (and free shipping).