Dutch researchers asked volunteers to perform tasks designed to test their attention before, 10 minutes after and an hour after drinking a beverage that contained the two most active ingredients in tea.
The tea drinkers scored significantly better than the controls. The two compounds that had this impact were caffeine and L-theanine.
While caffeine can make some people jumpy, L-theanine doesn’t have that effect. L-theanine improved concentration by rapidly increasing the activity of alpha waves in the brain while boosting the levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that calms the brain and relieves anxiety. You can get the benefit of L-theanine by drinking tea or taking a supplement with Suntheanine.
So…tea anyone?
(Reported Health & Healing by Dr. Julian Whitaker April 2010)