The Rev Dodgson said:
The Rev Dodgson said:
mollwollfumble said:
What do you know about psychoactive chemicals in tea other than caffeine?
I’m asking because when I was young, tea had two psychoactive components – a mental stimulant (presumably caffeine) and a muscle relaxant that kicked in first.
Most tea now, including herbal, jasmine and chai teas is just coloured water with a bit of smelly flavouring. But I just now stumbled across a boutique tea with very little caffeine but an enormous amont of muscle relaxant, more relaxing than a long hot bath.
Grown on the South facing slopes of the teayard, I trust.
BTW, a long hot bath twice a week is allegedly good for relieving depression, so this stuff should be even better.
Also: If modern teas have so little caffeine, how come they keep me awake at night if I drink one in the evening?
Your physiology may be strange, or mine. Or your brand of tea is wrong. When overtired, I find I need a cup of coffee to wake me up enough to go to sleep.
“L-theanine is an amino acid”.
“The properties of L-theanine can be summed up as being a relaxing agent without sedation, and is also implicated in reducing the perception of stress and slightly improving attention. L-theanine does not appear to induce sleep”.
“Theanine is structurally similar to the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, and in accordance, binds to glutamate receptors, though with much lower affinity in comparison. … Able to cross the blood–brain barrier, theanine has reported psychoactive properties. Theanine has been studied for its potential ability to reduce mental and physical stress, improve cognition, and boost mood and cognitive performance.”