Doctor's Best L-Theanine Contains Suntheanine, Helps Reduce Stress & Sleep, Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Vegan, 150 mg (DRB-00197), 90 Count

I find this particular formulation of L-Theanine to be a very good adjunct to help me fall asleep and stay asleep. This formula by the Doctor's Best brand has "Suntheanine," which is a patented form of the amino acid L-Theanine known to promote relaxation. I've taken this formula steadily for about a year at bedtime with only good results as part of an overall sleep hygiene routine that also includes listening to a Calm sleep story on the app in my phone, next to my bed.Also why I like this particular formulation is that it has just 150 mg of the Suntheanine/L-theanine in it, which is less than most other formulas on the market. IMO, less of something often translates to "more." I don't know how long it stays in the system, but probably not for very long, because I wake up normally, with no leftover drowsiness.Another reason why I like this supplement is because it's NON-hormonal. Some folks use melatonin to promote sleep, but I've always avoided that, since melatonin is a hormone, and from what I understand, it's not meant to be used long-term.For me, this has performed as a safe and effective over-the-counter sleep aid. As of December 2025, it was still reasonably priced.

This is such a great natural alternative to anxiety medication. It takes the edge off of stress caused by everyday living. It helps you to go about your day without a lot of the worries associated with our daily lives. I like taking it along with Calms Forte by Hylands.. Taken together definitely calm you without making you sleepy. I always have these two products on hand. After I stopped taking anxiety meds from the doctor I went through withdrawal and these two products were a God send for the side effects the chemical withdrawals I was going through due to Klonopin and Xanax. I really don't know what I would've done without them. A Naturopath recommended them to help with withdrawal and then to help with any anxiety I may have in the future. Awesome product. Helped me immediately. Here is some more helpful information about Suntheanine. I found Doctors Best to work the best, as I have tried other brands.Mental AlertnessClinical trials suggest that an amount of between 50 to 200 mg of Suntheanine stimulates alpha waves (brain activity), which are identified with a calm but alert mental state. Because Suntheanine is absorbed through the large intestine and transported directly to the brain, it stimulates alpha brain waves, which are "emitted" once we have finished an activity and have stopped to rest. Suntheanine encourages the activity of neurotransmitters, which help regulate attention, learning, mood, memory, body temperature, appetite and sleep. All of these are enhanced by the presence of Suntheanine in our bodies. And the substance also may heighten our mental acuity and support our immune system.Stress ReliefSuntheanine is believed to promote stress relief while providing calm and relaxation similar to deep meditation. A completely natural substance, Suntheanine does not produce the undesirable side effects produced by synthetic drugs such as fatigue and drowsiness.Read more: Suntheanine Benefits | eHow.com [...]

L-Theanine was first recommended to us by a psychiatrist for our younger son when he was in 4th grade and developed a tic due to stress of a teacher in a new school. It didn't do anything for the tic, but our older son took some one day, and really felt great! He's in high school and had been feeling pretty stressed. He said it helped him feel calmer and less anxious while not losing any focus.The good thing is L-Theanine is an amino acid; it's found in green tea. It can cross the blood brain barrier and has a positive effect on alpha-brain waves; it has a relaxing effect, reducing physical and mental stress, boosts mood and cognition. It also acts in concert with caffeine to boost cognitive performance. L-Theanine has been tested on small groups of people with significant sleep disorders, and while it's not overly sedating, it does affect alpha waves and tends to be relaxing. It helps those people with sleep, as it does with anxiety.My husband and I recently added it to our Amazon subscription list of supplements when we read an article in Life Extention Foundation's December 2013 magazine about supplements one should consider adding when facing the flu. It was incredibly timely! No sooner did I get the magazine, read it, stock up and get enough for all the kids, than I got socked with a sinus infection/flu. I have never before gone without a course of antibiotics, but this time really wanted to make the effort. I hunkered down with my supplements - L-Theanine included, ate cooked mushrooms (natural anti-viral) several times, as well as maintaining good hydration, and stayed in bed. I finally made it through my very first painful sinus infection/flu w/o antibiotics!So, yes, I heartily recommend L-Theanine! I'll keep buying it for myself, my husband, and our kids!

Suntheanine, so far, has been a really great supplement to have handy. I have been using it regularly for 3-4 months as of now.The effects: While you may not completely stop thinking anxiously, I find the amount of time spent worrying is greatly reduced. Usually as soon as an anxious thought crosses my mind, it's dropped within 10 seconds, and that's that. Obviously this can have a major effect, especially if you tend to overthink things. Your mind is calmer, depending on how calm or otherwise you were in the first place. Other people report benefits for focus and mental clarity too, and some people also report some sedation at higher doses.The risks: I have had no side effects while using this, and I'm pretty sure many others can say the same. Suntheanine is infamous for being safe at high doses. I have taken up to 600mg (four capsules) at once and 1050mg (seven capsules) a day without any negative effects I can definitely attribute to the suntheanine. That's not to say there definitely isn't any, but you're pretty safe with this one.The dose: The bottle suggests 1 capsule (150 mg) a day away from food. And for a lot of people, that would probably be okay. However, you are not strictly limited to this, and people with anxiety disorders can derive a lot more benefit from taking more than one. I have been told that I could take up to 1200mg a day (eight capsules) if I need to, and that larger doses in some people induces some degree of sedation (and even if it doesn't, the stress relief is still a good thing to have right before bed). I typically take one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one or more just before I go to bed (I also take one in the middle of the night if I can't go to sleep, and I find it tends to relieve symptoms of not sleeping, which in my case, are worse and probably more anxiety-based). Lately I've been taking 600mg (four capsules) at night in response to insomnia - I can't yet conclude that this helps more since I've only done it three times. But in the beginning, one capsule was a fantastic way to end the day - it felt like all the stress of the day just vanished.The drawback of having 1200mg a day is... you'll run out of this in less than two weeks. So I prefer to keep my consumption as low as possible without ignoring this in times of high stress. My average use for right now still cleans out a bottle within 1 month (it IS important to note, however, that I am currently attempting to drop other anxiety meds, so of course I am subject to some extra stress during this time, and the fact that I use this a lot definitely does not mean that you'll have to as well).Another big plus over anxiety medication is you can simply take this as needed, not at set times every day. No withdrawal, no addiction, nothing like that. My psychiatrist has told me, however, that there are long-term benefits to using this. I haven't been able to verify that (actually, she's the only person I've heard that from, I've never read that online), but if you want to attempt to benefit from that, taking at least one a day as instructed is recommended.In general, I am very pleased with this safe and generally effective alternative to potentially risky prescription medications, and hopefully soon this is the only thing I'll be taking for anxiety.

Really does work for anxiety, as someone who suffers from anxiety and been on a lot of prescription medication thus L-Theanine is almost as good, take as directed and give it some time, helped me during a Benzo taper.

I have a cat named Nicholas who is a marker. I found a product on here, Fizzion, that takes care of the smell & stains, but still wanted to find something that would address the root of the problem. He's also sometimes aggressive towards my other cats, and easily stimulated. Three strokes along his back, fine - four, he tries to bite.I asked my vet about Prozac or Xanax, because I heard that sometimes they can be used on animals. Instead, my vet recommended Anxitane, an all natural calming supplement that contains L-theanine.It worked great - but it was expensive. $30 for thirty tablets. My budget didn't allow for an additional $30 a month, but I really wanted to help him. I looked for the active ingredient on the bottle and saw "suntheanine" so I bought a bottle of tablets and ground them up to mix in his food. Didn't work.I mentioned it to a cat behaviorist friend, and she corrected me - I have to use Suntheanine "L-theanine". Not just regular Suntheanine. There's a difference.I found Doctor's Best L-theanine and bought a bottle. Bingo. Big difference in his behavior. His marking was reduced tremendously, but that could also be attributed to the Fizzion (I've reviewed that too - it's phenomenal.But the change in behavior was awesome. In fact, I started giving it to a couple of my other cats too. One is a pariah and is terrorized by the other cats, so he's very stressed. He has his own room, but even that only helped so much. After starting this supplement, I noticed a marked reduction in his stress level.The Anxitane tablet is 100 mg and the dosage is 50mg 2x a day - you break it in half. The Doctor's Best capsules are 150 mg, so you have to open them up and mix a third of one into wet food 2x a day, or mix a whole capsule into three servings - share with other cats or just store the other two servings.I just ran out of it and noticed my cats began reverting to old behavior almost immediately. I'm not going to run out again!

Obviously there is no flavor, as it is a capsule that you swallow, but I guess I could say I do not experience any after taste, once it is in my stomach, LOL.I researched, and purchased this item, as I was finding that my low carb focus dietarily, was - while good for me otherwise - seemed to be resulting in some unwelcome changes in terms of increased adrenaline. I had switched from my caffeinated coffee to decaf, and was experimenting somewhat unsuccessfully with teas, rueful smile. While feeling better through out the day, I found I still had, on occasion, episodes of waking from sleep with some pretty silly worries, that just refused to be "put to bed".This supplement without question helps in that regard. After I take even one dose, I sleep like the proverbial baby, with no waking, and no negative after effects the next morning/day. I do not take it every night. I only take one, as directed, the next night before bedtime, if I have one of those wakeful nights the night before. Laughs, somehow that just gets more confusing each time I rewrite, but I hope the idea that, even if you only use it occasionally, It Works!

I'm not sure why I get inconsistent results. I have experimented how to take this. I dont always drink matcha tea but last week I took this pill a couple hours after lunch with the tea and I had this blast of clarity and relaxation at the same time which I have never felt before. I am neurotic and this is the first time I have ever felt like this without being drugged or sedated. I wish could feel like that all the time. took this in the morning on empty stomach with the matcha and no results. I also tried with coffee and no results and with water and no results. Definitely take this away from food and the only time it has amazing results is with matcha green tea with nothing else. It has worked several times this way. Today I tried it again BUT this time I had a grapefruit also, I barely felt it. I don't know how anecdotal this is but it is worth a try in this combo.

Not bad overall but I didn't get the full effect from it

Not effective and cannot return the product either