Today's fast-paced environment gives us little time to rest, relax and charge our batteries. More and more of us are succumbing to stress and anxiety caused by the world around us and stressors that we can't control.
We may not be able to influence economic and world events, but we can take control over how we react to them - so let's get pro-active.
It's time to research and discover natural effective supplements that may help provide stress relief, promote relaxation and improve our sleep. Helping us to wake up each day with renewed vigour and positivity.
Don't we deserve that?!
Today, let's start with two potential all-natural options - L'theanine and lemon balm (also referred to as theanine, or L-theanine).
L-theanine is an amino acid found in tea leaves, while lemon balm is a herb from the mint family. Both have a long history of use in traditional herbal medicine.
Let's jump in, and hopefully answer all your questions. Starting with...
What Is Lemon Balm?
The Lemon balm herb, also known as Melissa officinalis, comes from the mint family and has been used in traditional herbal medicine for hundreds of years to promote relaxation.
It's famed for its calming effect, and has been traditionally used for stress relief, anxiety, sleep, treatment of cold sores, digestive issues, depressive symptoms and more.
Of course, just because a herb has a traditional use in herbal medicine doesn't mean modern science backs that use. But in the case of lemon balm extract, several modern studies have proven its effectiveness in certain situations - particularly when it comes to sleep and relaxation.
Benefits of Lemon Balm
The University of Reading in the UK carried out one of the most comprehensive studies into lemon balm to date (2024), and concluded that lemon balm and lemon balm extract may help:
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To prevent and manage sleep disturbances
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Tackle anxiety
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Boost a low mood
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To improve quality of life. (1)
Lemon Balm's Role in Managing Stress and Helping Sleep
Let’s take those roles one at a time. How might lemon balm's calming effect help you manage stress and support relaxation, for example?
It does so by influencing GABA activity, the neurotransmitter in the brain. Full name Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, GABA is known to block brain signals between nerve cells, reducing the hyperactivity associated with stress, anxiety and fear.
Lemon balm contains a natural constituent, an antioxidant called Rosmarinic acid. This helps to block enzymes which can attack and break down GABA. Other compounds in Lemon balm bind with GABA, making it stronger.
All of which is a fancy way of saying that GABA helps to calm the central nervous system. By supporting the body's response to stress, lemon balm may be potentially beneficial for stress management and anxiety relief. (2, 3)
Read more: Lemon Balm and Anxiety: A Natural Solution to Everyday Stress?
Lemon Balm and Sleep Quality
And what about sleep? Well, GABA's influence also has a knock-on effect on sleep. Regulating the body's stress response potentially helps reduce sleep disturbances and improve overall sleep quality.
Clinical trials and studies have shown that taking lemon balm may help reduce sleep disorders, speed up sleep onset (how fast you can fall asleep), lengthen sleep duration, and improve sleep quality. (4, 5)
What is L-theanine?
Fascinating amino acid L-theanine is traditionally found in tea leaves, especially in green tea, black tea, white tea and oolong tea, and is believed to help promote calm with awareness.
It encourages relaxation without sedation. And it's likely responsible for that 'tea feeling' - the sigh of pleasure when you drink a good cup of tea.
How Does L-theanine Help Relaxation and Sleep?
Like lemon balm, L-theanine helps to support levels of the anti-anxiety neurotransmitter GABA, as well as soothing brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine. These compounds are involved in mood, emotion, and sleep.
L-theanine may raise levels of GABA and alpha waves, which are associated with relaxation and mental clarity. (6)
Its support for GABA helps to reduce ‘excitatory’ neurotransmitters in the body. Too many of these will leave you anxious and nervous, with a knock-on effect on sleep.
One study showed that L-theanine may even help to control stress-related blood pressure rises, perhaps one reason why people report feeling calm when drinking green tea. (7)
L-theanine May Boost Alpha Brain Waves
But that’s not all that this amino acid may do.
Some studies suggest that L-theanine may boost alpha waves in the brain to help you focus and be more alert as well as relaxed, potentially helping to boost normal mental performance. More research on this is welcome. (8, 9)
Scientific Evidence for L-Theanine
While the majority of studies on L-theanine have been carried out on animals, a systematic review of five clinical trials on humans concluded that supplementation with L-theanine could help to reduce ‘acute stress and anxiety in people experiencing stressful situations’. (10)
One study found that taking 200mg of L-theanine helped to reduce resting heart rate during a stressful task, further highlighting its relaxing properties. (11)
Other studies determined that L-theanine supplementation in doses from 200-400mg a day for up to eight weeks helped to create anti-stress and anti-anxiety effects in both chronic and acute conditions. (12)
L-theanine's Support for Sleep
I mentioned earlier that L-theanine also offers support for serotonin and dopamine - and this plays directly into the quality of your sleep.
Serotonin is needed to make melatonin, the sleep hormone which regulates your sleep-wake cycle (circadian rhythm).
Dopamine is also involved in the sleep-wake cycle, signalling when it's time to wake up. Anything which supports the two may help to influence restful sleep. (13, 14)
Read more: L-theanine: Usage, Dosage, and Health Benefits
How Long Does it Take L-theanine to Work?
According to an article in Psychology Today, L-theanine typically takes 30-40 minutes to work after a dose of between 50-200mg. The calming effect on your mental state is said to last between 8-10 hours. (15)
Can You Take Lemon Balm and L-theanine Together?
So, studies seem to show that lemon balm and L-theanine taken separately can potentially provide stress relief and help with anxiety, as well as boost your sleep. But can you take the two together?
In theory, you could. Lemon balm has light sedative properties so you wouldn't want to combine it with another sedative herb like Valerian root, for instance. But luckily, L-theanine doesn't make you drowsy.
But what benefits might you get when you put L-theanine and lemon balm together? Will that 'tea feeling' get any stronger?
Let's look at the potential benefits of the two in combination...
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Potential Benefits of Taking L-theanine alongside Lemon Balm:
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Better relaxation:
Taking the two together raises levels of GABA that might help reduce stress further, leading to a greater sense of calm and relaxation.
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Reduced anxiety:
Studies of L-theanine and lemon balm have shown their potential to reduce anxiety, so, in theory, taking the two together may be more powerful.
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Improved mood:
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Reducing stress and anxiety may have a knock-on effect on mood. Plus, L-theanine offers support for serotonin, the 'feel good chemical'.
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Mental clarity:
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L-theanine's potential ability to boost alpha waves in the brain may help to enhance mental clarity.
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Better sleep:
As I said earlier, L-theanine's support for serotonin and dopamine may influence the sleep-wake cycle. Plus, promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety and the body's stress response may also help improve sleep quality.
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A quick caveat:
It should be noted that the above potential benefits are based on what we know of lemon balm and L-theanine separately. It's more of a common sense approach than a scientific one.
It also assumes that the potential benefits of each will build on one another - rather than cancel each other out.
You'll struggle to find clinical studies on the L-theanine- lemon balm combination: there just aren't many.
One study that we did find, however, combined L-theanine with lemon balm (melissa officinalis) AND Magnolia officinalis - a popular herb in Chinese medicine - to test the combos impact on mood.
It concluded that:
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The combination of the three together demonstrated anxiolytic-like (anti-anxiety) and antidepressant-like activity.
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Together, they may represent a safe useful option for the management of mood disorders. (16)
Good news.
Of course, it's impossible to know to what extent Magnolia officinalis influenced these results. The herb has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years for the treatment of depression, anxiety, stress and more. (17)
We also can't definitively state that the benefits were three-fold stronger than they would have been if taking any of the ingredients alone.
But it shows there is potential for such a combination.
So, Should you Take Theanine and Lemon Balm Together?
So, the big question: Even if you can take lemon balm and theanine together, should you?
That's a question for you, I'm afraid.
The idea of an L-theanine and lemon balm complex stack sounds great, but there isn't enough body of research yet to definitively prove what the combination can and cannot do.
The good news is that both compounds are also sold separately - meaning you can use them alone, or combine them to make your own relaxation stack. You'll also find a few supplements selling them together.
Alternatively, lemon balm and L-theanine are also added individually to other ready-made stacks tailored to better sleep, anxiety-relief and more.
Allowing you to experience lemon balm's potential calming benefits, for instance, while also enjoying other herbs specifically chosen to enhance your sleep.
Or finding a quality caffeine tablet that also uses L-theanine to potentially avoid any stimulant side effects...
Buying ready-to-go supplements that pre-stack beneficial ingredients together in safe dosages is often one of the easiest way to use herbs and amino acids like lemon balm and L-theanine.
Best Sleep Supplement with Lemon Balm
Performance Lab Sleep includes 200mg of lemon balm to aid relaxation, in conjunction with magnesium to ease muscles ahead of sleep, and tryptophan to aid the production of natural melatonin. The final ingredient is low-dose natural melatonin from Montmorency cherries.
All ingredients have been chosen for their potential effects on beneficial sleep, making it an a natural sleep aid.
Performance Lab Sleep has a clean label and is non-GMO, allergen and gluten-free, non-irradiated and free from synthetic additives.
Best Caffeine Pill with L-theanine
Performance Lab Caffeine 2+ combines L-theanine with low-dose caffeine, L-tyrosine and B-vitamins for calm and controlled energy, without jitters.
Shop Performance Lab® Caffeine 2™
Important Considerations
DOSAGE
L-theanine has typically been used in dosages of 200-400mg a day.
Recommendations for lemon balm dosage varies depending on its form. Such as whether it's used as a tea (one to three cups a day, 1.5–4.5g of the herb) or a supplement.
Supplements containing up to 500mg a day are generally believed to be safe. (18, 19, 20)
However, high doses of lemon balm may lead to side effects such as drowsiness or digestive upset, and should be used with caution, especially under the guidance of a healthcare provider.
Everyone's reaction to both L-theanine and lemon balm extract will differ as will your body's response, so it's best to start out with lower doses to assess individual tolerance.
INTERACTIONS
Theanine may lower blood pressure, so be careful if taking blood pressure medication. Web MD warns of a potential for a minor interaction with sedatives, though does point out that most research hasn't shown this worry. If you're concerned about this at all, however, it might be a reason not to use L-theanine with lemon balm, considering its slight sedative effect. (21)
Lemon balm may also interact with other sedatives, thyroid medications, SSRIs, and glaucoma medications. Use of either is not recommended when pregnant or breastfeeding. (22)
Read our article: Understanding lemon balm side effects - what you need to know.
Please speak to your healthcare practitioner before taking lemon balm or l-theanine alongside any of these medicines.
Final Thoughts
Both lemon balm and L-theanine are natural supplements with a long history and a great deal of promise. Either one may have the potential to promote relaxation and improve sleep quality.
Will using the two together help to reduce stress and anxiety further? Or improve sleep better than taking one alone?
No-one knows. Very little research has been done on the consequences of taking theanine and lemon balm together.
Most research has focused on the two individually, or as part of a themed ready-made stack.
Logically, the two sound like they could go together but it's also worth asking if you're just duplicating the same benefits.
As we've seen, theanine and lemon balm are already used separately and effectively in different supplements, focusing on sleep, anxiety and more. And maybe, that's all you need.
