L-Theanine and Melatonin

There’s so much to do in this world, so much to see. And no matter how much we accomplish in a day, it feels like there’s still so much more that needs to be done.

Despite that, oddly enough, one of the most important things we have to do every day is to lay in bed for 7 to 9 hours doing quite literally nothing.

And, yet, many of us struggle to even do that properly!

For many, the feeling like there’s still so much more to do and the inability to get enough sleep are closely related.

What’s worse, they’re linked in a self-feeding, self-consuming downward spiral: the less accomplished you feel at night, the greater your anxiety, the poorer your sleep quality, the more difficult it is to get anything done the following sleep-deprived day, so on and so on.

Is there no way out of this cycle in which so many of us so easily find ourselves trapped?

Fortunately, there is a way out—or, rather, there are at least two ways out of this cycle, and they go by the names of L-theanine and melatonin.

With the former a daytime cognitive performance enhancer and the latter a nighttime sleep aid, these two natural supplements pair well together. The resulting synergy not only leads to better sleep but also a greater mental capacity to get more done during the day.

But to understand how best to use these supplements, whether together or alone, we need to first cover the basics: what are L-theanine and melatonin?

What Are L-Theanine and Melatonin?

There are plenty of other nootropics and natural sleep aids worth considering to complement melatonin’s natural sleep support benefits.

However, L-theanine deserves special attention for its uniquely safe, non-neurochemical approach to cognitive enhancement and pre-sleep relaxation, pairing well with the neurochemical effects of melatonin.

Having said that, let’s take a look at each:

L-Theanine

Drink 3 cups of coffee and you’re bouncing off the walls. But drink 3 cups of green tea, another naturally caffeinated drink, and you’re …well, you’re still pretty chill.

Ever wondered why that is? Aside from green tea’s relatively lower caffeine concentration, green tea leaves counterbalance their caffeine content with a rich supply of L-theanine.¹

One of a few aminos recognized as “nootropic,” L-theanine is cognitive-enhancing amino acid that uniquely calms mental activity without totally sedating it. Quite the opposite, in fact.

While calming overexcited brain activity, L-theanine stimulates mental performance, including focus and mood.

This is unique “yin yang” combo of mental relaxation and stimulation is largely attributed to L-theanine’s promotion of alpha brainwaves, a brain frequency state associated with calm, meditative, yet alert and focused thinking.²

Melatonin

Naturally produced and secreted by the pineal gland, melatonin is a neurotransmitter-like hormone directly responsible for the pre-sleep drowsiness required for you to fall asleep.³

As one of the key regulatory hormones of the body’s 24-hour circadian rhythm cycle, melatonin is released in the absence of light, specifically blue light rays emitted from the sun.

It's a great mechanism for encouraging healthy sleep patterns in a naturally lit world. But in our electronically lit modern environments, melatonin fails to sufficiently secrete, resulting in circadian rhythm dysregulation and various metabolic issues.⁴

This makes melatonin a particularly useful sleep aid supplement, especially if you can get your hands on natural melatonin delivered in minimally effective doses—not the uber-megadoses typically found in most OTC melatonin formulas.

L-Theanine vs. Melatonin: Which is Better?

It isn’t so simple as saying that “L-theanine is better than melatonin” or “melatonin is better than L-theanine,” considering how vastly different they are—both in terms of structure and function.

If we’re judging these compounds solely based on their sleep support benefits, melatonin outperforms L-theanine. Few natural supplements, if any, work quite as reliably or effectively as melatonin at knocking you out at night and improving your sleep quality.

However, if we’re looking for a natural compound that can simultaneously improve your daytime mental performance and nighttime cognitive relaxation, L-theanine takes the cake—whether compared with melatonin or any other natural substance.

Fortunately, you shouldn’t have to pick between these two. If we’re looking at 5-HTP or other serotonergic compounds, some caution is warranted while taking melatonin, which also engages the serotonergic pathway.

But because L-theanine and melatonin work so differently, it’s okay to take them simultaneously to enhance cognitive performance and sleep quality.

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Is It Safe to Stack L-Theanine and Melatonin at the Same Time?

You wake up and add L-theanine to your morning coffee, and then, later in the evening, you take a melatonin pill to help you fall asleep. This, of course, is safe and would cause no concern among your nutritionist and health-freak friends.

But is it safe to take L-theanine and melatonin at the same time—say, both of them together right before bed with the intent of helping you get better sleep?

The answer is yes. Especially if you take L-theanine and melatonin at the recommended dosages (see below), there should be no issues with the combination.

And if there are any issues, it’s unlikely due to any negative interactions between the two but rather your intolerance of one of the ingredients—though this is unlikely, as both are overwhelmingly safe.

• In fact, rat research has found the effects of melatonin and theanine combined to be beneficial on brain tissue health, with one study demonstrating the “antioxidant and anticonvulsant” activities of melatonin + theanine combined.⁵

Dosage Notes

While L-theanine servings may greatly vary, as determined by your cognitive needs, your nightly melatonin dose should stay fairly consistent. With that in mind, the recommended dosages for L-theanine and melatonin are:

• 100-400mg L-theanine per serving
• 3mg melatonin per serving

If you’re pairing L-theanine with caffeine during the daytime, it’s generally recommended to stack them at a 2:1 ratio, respectively—e.g., 100mg L-theanine + 50mg caffeine.

However, for nighttime use, taking upwards of 400mg L-theanine is a safe amount to help you get better sleep—even in conjunction with melatonin.⁷

With melatonin in mind, if that 0.3mg seems drastically lower than the melatonin dosages you typically find in other melatonin supplements, this is because most other melatonin supplements supply far too much melatonin per serving.

More isn’t always better, especially in the case of melatonin, which research has found to work more effectively at a smaller dose of 0.3mg per serving as opposed to 3mg,⁸ a common dosage used by many OTC sleep aids.

What Are the Best L-Theanine and Melatonin Supplements?

Now that you know what L-theanine and melatonin are, how they work, and how best to take them together, the BIG question remains: what are the best L-theanine and melatonin supplements?

Let’s not get it twisted: there are good L-theanine and melatonin supplements and there are bad L-theanine and melatonin supplements. Not all L-theanine forms are equal, and the same goes for melatonin, which is often supplied in cheap, synthetic, overdosed forms.

Having said that, the best L-theanine and melatonin supplements respectively are:

Suntheanine® L-Theanine

100% pure, nature-identical L-isomer-theanine, Suntheanine® is a drastic upgrade over the standard L-theanine affair.

Clinically demonstrated to elevate alpha brainwaves and improve cognitive and emotional performance, Suntheanine® is backed by 40+ nutritional technology patents, making this genuinely a one-of-a-kind L-theanine supplement.

To combat and complement the well-known stimulatory effects of caffeine, Suntheanine® is found in Performance Lab® Caffeine Plus' nootropic-enhanced daytime formula:

CherryPURE® Montmorency Tart Cherry

Have you ever been told to “drink tart cherry juice” if you’re having trouble sleeping? Well, whether you have or haven’t, it’s good advice, as Montmorency tart cherries are the richest source of dietary melatonin.

This is what makes CherryPURE® Montmorency Tart Cherry Extract one of the best natural melatonin supplements, namely because it is a natural melatonin supplement—which is more than most melatonin supplements can claim.

Whereas other melatonin supplements supply the cheap, unreliable, synthetic stuff, CherryPURE® delivers only all-natural melatonin at a potent 50:1 concentration. And Performance Lab® Sleep takes this natural melatonin ingredient further by pairing it with other natural sleep-supportive compounds:

Conclusion

Living a go-getter lifestyle at a constant 100 miles per hour is not a sustainable way to get anything done.

You might have exactly one good day of productivity and performance, but after that, your stamina and motivation will quickly tank if you don’t take the time to relax and regenerate.

This is why we sleep.

But, of course, that’s easier said than done.

Or at least it used to be easier said than done, that is, before we learned the easy, convenient, and (most importantly) healthy sleep advantages of L-theanine and melatonin.

Found in Performance Lab® Caffeine+ and Performance Lab® Sleep, respectively, L-theanine and melatonin can help you get better, deeper sleep at night in support of more wakeful, energized performance during the daytime.

There is no underestimating the immense health and fitness benefits of good sleep, which is why adding L-theanine and melatonin to your daily (or nightly) routine can be genuinely life-changing—and for the better!