Self-experiment with L-theanine: effect on sleep and cognition • Hacker News Board

Re: Self-experiment with L-theanine: effect on sleep and cognition

#41

Post by 84adam » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 3:09 PM UTC

perihelion_zero wrote: post #26

Been mucking around with huge doses of B Vitamins (especially B3/Niacin) and 5-HTP (a serotonin precursor). Both of those are rather, uh, effectful. 500mg+ Niacin will turn you red unless you're actually deficient. And you do not want to mess with the 5-HTP and alcohol at the same time, plus 5-HTP can cause some nasty side effects in some people. Seems like a nice way to have some weird dreams while probably improvin…

Be careful with large doses of Niacin. It may be bad for the heart.

Source: https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2024/02/19/cleveland-cl...

Re: Self-experiment with L-theanine: effect on sleep and cognition

#42

Post by smokeydoe » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 6:27 PM UTC

binary132 wrote: post #39

Anecdotally, my theanine use correlated strongly with my development of terrible chronic migraines which lasted years. But I was also experiencing severe stress during that time, so it could just be that. However, when I stopped taking L-theanine, my headaches did lessen in severity and frequency, so there may be something there and I’ve heard others mention headache in relation to it.

This is also my experience. I would get pretty bad next day headaches especially when taken at night.

Re: Self-experiment with L-theanine: effect on sleep and cognition

#43

Post by smokeydoe » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 6:30 PM UTC

mentos wrote: post #19

I once was sitting at my desk and had this overwhelming calm come over me. I was trying to figure out what I had eaten that morning/afternoon and then realized the 2-3 'Just Chill' sodas in my trash my mom had gotten me contained L-Theanine. Was a pretty blind test but I wasn't able to reproduce it effectively with L-Theanine supplements I found on amazon.

Quality of L-theanine seems to vary wildly across brands. I’ve had one that does nothing, one that gives me consistent headaches, and one that gives me consistent diarrhea.

Re: Self-experiment with L-theanine: effect on sleep and cognition

#44

Post by darthrupert » Wed, Oct 09, 2024, 1:47 PM UTC

cfcf14 wrote: post #32

L-theanine (200mg) with around 100-150mg of caffeine has an extremely noticeable, positive effect on my ability to focus, feeling of "well-situatedness", and overall calmness. L-theanine by itself doesn't seem to do much. Caffeine on its own wakes me but makes me feel jittery and anxious, so it's definitely an interaction effect. Taurine has a much smaller effect on calmness, sans interactions - often indistinguishab…

Are you consuming these things pure or via tea/coffee?