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My 16-month theanine self-experiment
11–20 of 447 posts
Re: My 16-month theanine self-experiment
#12I tried it and it never did anything, I tried all sorts of CBD products as well (while in SF) and I never noticed a thing.
The only thing that worked was microdosing shrooms which I've done twice in SF. I felt very calm and had a lot of novel ideas during these two days. Would recommend trying. Never microdosed LSD.
Re: My 16-month theanine self-experiment
#13I was surprised that the author’s conclusion didn’t mention another model that looked consistent with the data: that theanine works slowly — over the course of a few days, not hours.
(I have no idea whether it would work like this. A placebo effect only is also consistent with the data.)
Re: My 16-month theanine self-experiment
#14From the discussions I've seen about theanine, the real benefit supposedly came when it was taken alongside caffeine. The thinking being that theanine moderated some of the jittery effects of caffeine, allowing the user to take higher doses of caffeine, which itself has some benefit on task concentration and focus. I wish the author had spent time addressing that theory specifically.
Correct, this is why tea and especially ground tea leaves like matcha induce the feeling of focus for longer, they already naturally have higher levels of L-theanine with caffeine.
Re: My 16-month theanine self-experiment
#15TL;DR single test at best inconclusive but broadly said no evident benefit. Good randomisation but so many variables. I am convinced the author is in a persisting out of body state. Also, placebo is great!! I have reverse white coat syndrome, paying my GP attendance fee to have a nice doctor measure my BP consistently shows it better than when I do it at home.
Do you measure it in a chair similar to your doctor's office? I thought my couch was similar and I was careful to have my feet flat on the floor. But I "lowered by BP" by 10-15 by moving to the dining room table.
Re: My 16-month theanine self-experiment
#16> This hacker news thread is full of positive reports,
Hacker news always has the most insane takes when it comes to medical/biological things.
Re: My 16-month theanine self-experiment
#17I was surprised that the author’s conclusion didn’t mention another model that looked consistent with the data: that theanine works slowly — over the course of a few days, not hours. (I have no idea whether it would work like this. A placebo effect only is also consistent with the data.)
There's no need to invoke a placebo effect as an explanation for any of the results. He took it in response to acute stress, which is a local maximum in stress. The decrease in stress afterwards is to be expected.
Re: My 16-month theanine self-experiment
#18I don’t understand why they used another supplement hypothesized to mitigate stress as a control.
Re: My 16-month theanine self-experiment
#19I finished one bottle of Theanine for occasional use and went to order a different combo as it was unavailable. It is Theanine Serene with Relora which also includes Magnesium, GABA, Taurine, and Holy basil in two large tablets. Helps relax and ease falling asleep. Another option may be a pain/stomach relief/sleep aid concoction we found : 1tsp ginger 1tsp turmeric 1tsp cinnamon 1tsp fine black pepper 500ml milk Boil…
If you're not careful and diligent, this is a recipe for liver damage from coumarin and heavy metal toxicity. You can take all those things safely but it requires knowledge and care.
And that’s making the huge assumption that what you had what it claims to.
Re: My 16-month theanine self-experiment
#20Good to see such experimentation, especially when the person conducting the experiments takes the results with a grain of salt. I was first exposed to supplements when I started lifting seriously, a decade ago. Man oh man, some people go crazy on supplements in that space, literally wasting hundreds of dollars every month, for years. And in the end the only three things that seem to do anything for lifters are: whey protein, creatine, and ZMA (Zinc/Magnesium/B6). I did waste quite a bit of money as well until I looked at the actual evidence.