Recently, a sports drink containing theanine has been dubbed by some netizens as the "sleeping water", claiming that "one bottle of it can make you sleep for 12 hours" and "after taking two sips, you become extremely sleepy"
So, what is theanine? Is this drink really a sleeping aid? How can people get a good nights sleep? The reporter from Science and Technology Daily interviewed relevant experts on this matter.
Theanine is a unique amino acid in tea that can suppress the bitter taste of tea soup, "Duan Yongchun, a researcher at the Rizhao Tea Science Research Institute, told reporters. Spring tea has a higher content of theanine, so it is usually tastier than tea harvested in other seasons.
Some studies have shown that theanine does have a sedative effect, "Duan Yongchun said. Some netizens statement that" drinking one bottle can make you sleep for 12 hours "is exaggerated.
Some foreign scholars have attempted to apply theanine in clinical treatment and conducted relevant experiments. They had attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder patients take 200 milligrams of theanine twice a day for 6 weeks, hoping that this method could improve the sleep quality of the subjects. The experimental results showed that although the sleep quality of the subjects improved, the degree of improvement was relatively limited.
What is 400 milligrams of theanine? The outer packaging of the sports drink, known as the "Sleeping God Water," states "Add tea theanine ≥ 3 milligrams per bottle. If calculated based on each bottle containing 3 milligrams of theanine, to achieve the experimental dose of 400 milligrams of theanine per day, approximately 133 bottles of beverages need to be consumed per day.
This is obviously unrealistic. We cannot talk about efficacy or toxicity without considering the dosage, "said Duan Yongchun. Even if we drink so many bottles of beverages, there is still significant uncertainty about the sleep aid effect.
Sleep is closely related to everyones life, and the quality of sleep directly affects a persons mental state and physical health. Currently, many people are troubled by problems such as insomnia and early awakening, which affect their quality of life. This is also the reason why some products that carry the banner of "sleep aid" and "health preservation" have been highly praised since their launch.
So, how can we obtain high-quality sleep?
Experts believe that people with insomnia should stay away from caffeine.
Foods with high caffeine content mainly appear in beverages, such as coffee, milk tea, energy drinks, etc. It is worth mentioning that the content of caffeine in tea is usually higher than that of theanine, which is the main reason why drinking tea can refresh rather than aid sleep.
Meanwhile, maintaining good sleep habits is also important. Sleep experts suggest developing a regular sleep routine, preferably sleeping between 11pm and 7am the next day. In addition, do not always lie in bed doing things unrelated to sleep, such as playing with your phone. Insomnia patients should try not to oversleep during the day due to poor or insufficient sleep at night. They should increase the duration of sunlight during the day, open curtains indoors as much as possible, enjoy natural light, and participate in outdoor activities more often.