L-Theanine Improves Sleep Quality of Children With ADHD

by | Jan 3, 2017 | 2011, Amino Acids, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Infant and Children's Health, Sleep

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. The 49 ADHD-diagnosed schoolboys who took 400 mgs of L-theanine daily for 6 weeks experienced a significant improvement in their quality of sleep when compared to the boys in the control group.

ADHDChildren with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) exhibit a number of behavioral disorders, including inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity 1. Along with these behavioral disorders is sleep disturbances, with as many as half of children with ADHD thought to experience some type of sleep problem 2. Since disturbances in sleep patterns may be a contributor to behavioral disturbances, there is a need to help improve sleep quality in children with ADHD.

In a 2011 study 3, 98 boys aged 8 to 12 and diagnosed with ADHD received either 400 milligrams of L-theanine (taken as two 100-mg tablets twice daily, at breakfast and after school = 49 boys) or a placebo (49 boys) for six weeks. Before and after the study, their parents completed the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire on the boys’ sleep habits while a machine called an actigraph 4 monitored their sleep patterns.

After 6 weeks, the researchers noted two significant improvements in the boys’ sleep patterns for those taking L-Theanine:

  • 9.7% fewer bouts of “nocturnal activity” (56 versus 62, p < 0.029)
  • 5.2% more of the night spent sleeping (80% versus 76%, p < 0.05)

While L-theanine has been studied for its effects on stress, mood, and cognition in subjects, the researchers state “this is the first report of its effects in children with ADHD”. They went on to conclude that “400 mg daily of L-theanine is safe and effective in improving some aspects of sleep quality in boys diagnosed with ADHD”.

And though they state “L-theanine may represent a safe and important adjunctive therapy in childhood ADHD”, they admit that “A longer duration study with robust measures of mood, cognition, and behavioral change should be undertaken.”

Source: Lyon, Michael R., Mahendra P. Kapoor, and Lekh R. Juneja. “The effects of L-theanine (Suntheanine) on objective sleep quality in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.” Altern Med Rev 16.4 (2011): 348-354. 

Copyright © 2011 Alternative Medicine Review, LLC. All Rights Reserved 

Posted January 3, 2017.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.

References:

  1. Barkley RA, Fischer M, Smallish L, Fletcher K. Young adult outcome of hyperactive children: adaptive functioning in major life activities. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2006;45(2):192-202.
  2. Cohen-Zion M, Ancoli-Israel S. Sleep in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a review of naturalistic and stimulant intervention studies. Sleep medicine reviews. 2004;8(5):379-402.
  3. Lyon MR, Kapoor MP, Juneja LR. The effects of L-theanine (Suntheanine) on objective sleep quality in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic. 2011;16(4):348-354.
  4. Sadeh A, Hauri PJ, Kripke DF, Lavie P. The role of actigraphy in the evaluation of sleep disorders. Sleep. 1995;18(4):288-302.