When to Take L-Theanine: Morning or Night?

The short answer: Our Caffeine & L-Theanine Energy Strips list 50 mg of caffeine per 1-strip serving, and that caffeine, not the 30 mg of L-theanine beside it, should decide when you take them: morning to early afternoon. With a label that lists no caffeine, like our L-Theanine & GABA Calm Strips, 50 mg of L-theanine per strip and one strip daily, when to take L-theanine is your call. Pick morning or evening and keep that slot.

Key takeaways

• Betterly's L-Theanine & GABA Calm Strips give you 50 mg of L-theanine per 1-strip serving, and the label names no time of day.
• Caffeine, not L-theanine, is what pins a product to the morning, since MedlinePlus says you may feel caffeine for four to six hours.
• The Reishi Mushroom Relax Gummies pair 25 mg of L-theanine with valerian root and other botanicals per 1-gummy serving, so we'd save them for evenings.
• Both strip labels say one strip daily, so a morning strip plus a bedtime strip of the same product goes past the directions.

Full disclosure: all four L-theanine products below are ours, the two with caffeine included, so every figure in this guide is copied from their printed Supplement Facts panels for you to check.

When should you take L-theanine: morning or night?

Our L-Theanine & GABA Calm Strips can go morning or night: the label asks for one strip a day, and with no caffeine on the panel, no hour is off-limits.

L-theanine is an amino acid that the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, makes in its leaves. On our L-Theanine & GABA Calm Strips, it's listed as "Green Tea (L-Theanine)" at 50 mg per 1-strip (290 mg) serving. The same strip carries 25 mg of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and 6 mg of vitamin B6. There's no caffeine row on the panel, and caffeine isn't in the other ingredients either.

A useful way to choose is to ask when your day tends to get loud. If it's the commute and the first hour of email, a morning strip makes sense. If it's the stretch after dinner when your thoughts keep circling, move it to the evening.

Does L-theanine make you sleepy?

L-theanine isn't labeled as something that makes you sleepy: our Calm Strips carry no drowsiness warning and call themselves a "Calm Focus & Cognitive Support Formula," which is daytime wording.

That's label wording, not a promise about how you'll feel. We found no federal fact sheet on L-theanine, so no government page settles drowsiness either way.

It's the rest of a formula that deserves a closer look. Our Reishi Mushroom Relax Gummies list 25 mg of L-theanine per 1-gummy serving, next to 200 mg of reishi extract and 25 mg each of lemon balm, passion flower and valerian root. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) lists mental dullness among the side effects on its valerian page.

So if a blend leaves you foggy, read the rest of the panel before you blame the L-theanine.

Trying any calming product for the first time? Take it on an evening at home or a day off, not right before you drive.

Why does caffeine decide when to take L-theanine?

Caffeine sets the timing because it outlasts the moment you take it: per MedlinePlus, blood levels peak within an hour and the effects can run four to six hours.

Our Caffeine & L-Theanine Energy Strips pack 50 mg of caffeine next to 30 mg of L-theanine per 1-strip (290 mg) serving, plus 1,000 mcg of vitamin B12 as methylcobalamin. Plan that strip around its caffeine, not its L-theanine.

Here's the math with the span from the MedlinePlus caffeine page. A strip at 8 a.m. has run its four to six hours by 2 p.m. at the latest. A strip at 3 p.m. could still be with you somewhere between 7 and 9 p.m., right when you'd like to be winding down.

MedlinePlus also says up to 400 mg of caffeine a day isn't harmful for most people. One energy strip uses 50 mg of that budget. Coffee, tea, soda and any other caffeinated product draw from the same total.

Pairing L-theanine with a mug of coffee instead? That has its own guide: a morning L-theanine and coffee routine.

Can you take L-theanine before bed?

You can take L-theanine before bed if the product has no caffeine, and two of the four L-theanine products in this guide list none.

The Calm Strips are the simplest evening option, since the strip dissolves on your tongue and needs no water right before lights out.

The Reishi Mushroom Relax Gummies are the more evening-minded formula. Their label calls them a "Calm & Relaxation Support Formula," and the label allows one or two gummies daily. Each gummy has 10 calories and 2 g of added sugars, so two gummies bring 4 g. If you brush before bed, chew them first.

NCCIH is firm on one point: don't combine valerian with alcohol or sedatives. So the gummies and a nightcap don't mix.

A note if you searched "when to take L-theanine for sleep": none of the four labels in this guide makes a sleep claim. The reishi label talks about relaxation, and the Calm Strip label talks about calm focus. The mushroom half of that gummy has its own guide: reishi in a bedtime routine.

Which L-theanine product fits which part of your day?

Sort L-theanine products by caffeine first: the Calm Strips fit any hour, the reishi gummies suit evenings, and the two caffeinated products belong before mid-afternoon.

The fourth product in the table is our Alpha-GPC & L-Theanine Focus Powder (Sour Grape), a drink mix that pairs L-theanine with caffeine from green tea, alpha-GPC and seven B vitamins.

Read down the caffeine column, not the L-theanine one. The product with the most L-theanine, the focus powder, is also the one that most needs an early slot. Its 200 mg of caffeine per serving is four times what one energy strip carries.

Already a coffee drinker? The Calm Strips fit better than the energy strip, which would only add caffeine. After dinner, pick the Calm Strips or the reishi gummies, not both at once until you know how each feels.

More focus formulas, with and without caffeine, sit in our Nootropics & Focus collection.

From our shop: L-Theanine & GABA Calm Strips — a strawberry-peppermint oral strip with 50 mg of L-theanine from green tea per 1-strip serving, 30 servings per pack, labeled vegan and gluten free.

How much L-theanine per day do these labels give you?

The four L-theanine labels in this guide list 25 to 100 mg of L-theanine per serving, and we found no federal daily limit to measure them against.

Here's what each one works out to:

• Calm Strips: 50 mg a day, from the one strip the label allows.
• Energy Strips: 30 mg a day from one strip, alongside 50 mg of caffeine.
• Reishi gummies: 25 to 50 mg a day, from the label's one to two gummies.
• Focus powder: 100 mg per 2-scoop (7.5 g) serving, alongside 200 mg of caffeine. Its label names no number of servings a day, only a 5-scoop cap.

The closest federal document we found is about food, not supplements. In GRAS Notice No. 338, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration records a company's plan to add L-theanine extracted from tea leaves to drinks, candies and chewing gum at up to 250 mg per serving. The FDA's response: it had "no questions." That filing isn't a daily dose, and it isn't an FDA approval of any supplement, ours included.

That 5-scoop cap deserves an honest note. Five scoops of the focus powder would carry 250 mg of L-theanine and 500 mg of caffeine, more caffeine than the 400 mg MedlinePlus describes as not harmful for most people. We'd stop at one 2-scoop serving and take it early.

How do you take L-theanine strips and gummies?

Take an L-theanine strip by letting one dissolve on your tongue once a day, and take the reishi gummies one or two a day, exactly as each label says.

1. Strips: both strip labels say to place 1 oral strip on the tongue daily and allow it to dissolve. You don't need water.
2. Gummies: the label allows one or two a day. Begin with a single gummy so you learn how the blend sits with you before adding another.
3. Meals: food isn't part of the directions on either strip label or the gummy label, so pair a dose with breakfast or dinner only if that helps you remember it.
4. Once, not twice: "one strip daily" means you choose morning or night for that strip. One at breakfast and another at bedtime is two servings.
5. Storage: "Store in a cool, dry place" is printed on both strip labels and the gummy bottle, so skip the steamy bathroom shelf.

There's one number worth adding up. Each Calm strip lists 6 mg of vitamin B6, 353% of the Daily Value. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements vitamin B6 fact sheet lists the adult upper limit as 100 mg a day from food, drinks and supplements combined. It also notes that the European Food Safety Authority set a lower limit, 12 mg a day for adults, in 2023. If you take a multivitamin or B-complex too, add their B6 to the strip's 6 mg.

From our shop: Reishi Mushroom Relax Gummies — 25 mg of L-theanine and 200 mg of reishi extract per 1-gummy serving, blackberry flavored and labeled vegan, gluten free and non-GMO.

When don't you need an L-theanine supplement?

You don't need an L-theanine supplement if your days feel steady and your evenings settle on their own. None of these panels lists a Daily Value for it, so there's no shortfall to fix.

A few situations where we'd tell you to skip it, even though we sell it:

• Late caffeine is the real issue. Using the MedlinePlus four-to-six-hour span, an afternoon coffee can still be working at dinner. Moving your last cup earlier costs nothing.
• You already drink tea and like how it feels. Tea leaves are where theanine comes from in the first place, though a tea bag won't tell you how much.
• You're shopping for sleep specifically. Sleep isn't what any of the four labels in this guide is written for. Our routine for a mind that races at night starts with habits like a brain dump and dimmer evenings, before any supplement.

Who should check with a healthcare provider first?

If you're pregnant or nursing, under 18, or living with a medical condition, talk with a healthcare provider before taking L-theanine. The Calm Strip, energy strip and reishi gummy labels all name those groups.

A few more reasons to ask first:

• You take any prescription medicine, especially one that can make you drowsy.
• You have surgery coming up, since your care team should know every supplement you use.
• You're sensitive to caffeine and are looking at the energy strips. MedlinePlus lists restlessness and shakiness among the effects of too much caffeine, and says children can be especially sensitive.
• You're considering the reishi gummies while pregnant or breastfeeding. NCCIH says little is known about whether valerian is safe then.

Notice anything unusual after starting? Stop taking it, call your provider and bring the tin or bottle so they can read the panel.

FAQ: when to take L-theanine

Can you take L-theanine on an empty stomach?

Yes, L-theanine on an empty stomach fits the three strip and gummy labels in this guide, since food appears nowhere in their directions. If the caffeinated energy strip bothers your stomach first thing, MedlinePlus notes that caffeine increases the release of stomach acid, so having it after breakfast is a reasonable change.

Does L-theanine have caffeine?

No, L-theanine isn't caffeine, and our L-Theanine & GABA Calm Strips list no caffeine on the panel or in the other ingredients. Tea leaves contain both, which is where the mix-up starts. Our energy strips list 50 mg of caffeine next to 30 mg of L-theanine per strip, and the focus powder lists 200 mg of caffeine per 2-scoop serving. Before an evening dose, look for a caffeine row.

Is L-theanine safe while pregnant or breastfeeding?

We can't tell you L-theanine is safe while pregnant or breastfeeding, and the four labels in this guide don't either: each says to consult a physician first if you're pregnant or nursing. We found no federal fact sheet on L-theanine during pregnancy. The energy strip and focus powder also have caffeine, which MedlinePlus says passes to your baby, and the reishi gummies add valerian, which NCCIH says little is known about during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

How long does L-theanine last?

We can't give a reliable number for how long L-theanine lasts, because neither our labels nor any federal source we found states one. Caffeine is a different story. MedlinePlus puts its peak within an hour and its effects at four to six hours, so our energy strip's timing really comes down to its 50 mg of caffeine.

Can you take L-theanine every day?

Yes, the three strip and gummy labels in this guide are written for daily use: one strip a day for either strip, and one or two gummies a day for the reishi gummies. None sets a number of weeks, and we found no federal source that does for L-theanine. The reishi gummies also add 25 mg of valerian root per gummy, and NCCIH notes that the safety of long-term valerian use is unknown, so ask your provider if you plan to take them for months.

Sources

• MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine): Caffeine
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration: GRAS Notice GRN No. 338, L-theanine extracted from tea leaves (Camellia sinensis)
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: Valerian: Usefulness and Safety
• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin B6, Fact Sheet for Consumers

If this left you looking for somewhere to start, read L-theanine strips with 50 mg per strip — its amounts per serving are listed on the page. For the practical questions this raises, how dosing, sourcing and subscriptions work is answered in one place.