Hack Your Hormones
High Stress? Try the Theanine Calm Down
How to mellow out from stress the WillPowders Way
Experiencing feelings of stress isn’t a sign that you lack backbone. We can stop beating ourselves up for thinking we’re just not cut out for life in the middle lane, never mind the fast lane, because stress has physiological roots. Structures in the limbic brain, like the amygdala, ‘test’ our environment to keep us safe. But, they’re attitude is better safe than sorry. They’re sure your boss is a snake and a party’s an excuse for a bunch of crocs to ambush you at the watering hole. Firing up those stress hormones, they’ll want to get you the hell out of Dodge!
But life isn’t as simple as our limbic system thinks. The flames of stress sparked in the limbic brain are fanned by our overthinking minds. Before long, we have ourselves an inferno of fear. We might be nothing but mammals, but stress responses make us behave like the whole animal kingdom with flight, fight, fawn, flop, freeze responses. It’s a shame nature didn’t add another couple of F’s to our stress response repertoire: F*ck It and It’s Fine! Now, those we could have worked with!
But, unlike our furred and feathered friends, we struggle to shed fear with a shake of our tail feathers. Darn! Luckily, we have the potential to biohack our way to seas of tranquility. WillPowders could have you calming down with science backed Theanine (AKA L-Theanine) in WillPowders Calm.
We might also tap into your gut health (the body’s factory for sleep and happy hormones) from rich in glycine Collagen. And don’t underestimate the pazzazz of our plant ingredients in AH-HA to help cognitive function and Rise and Shine to protect the liver from those stress eating moments/half hours/days, delete as appropriate, we know how it goes …
I’ve got stress, it’s multiplying. Why does stress breed stress?
Finding better ways to deal with stress beyond primitive survival urges is vital. If we don’t, the primal responses meant to save us open the doors to more stress. Ironic, right? We flee. The problem awaits its next ambush. We fight. Having lashed out, we feel worse. We fawn a fixed grin: of course I’ll work extra … on a Friday … with no overtime … And possums get to play dead, but we’re required to get back on that pony called Stressie Sue.
Ignoring stress, then, is not an option. Unless Sandra resigns, you’re stuck doing all the work, while she files her nails day in day out, your kid hates his teacher and the dripping tap isn’t fixing itself. Meanwhile, around the clock, your system's awash with cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline. In the short term, cortisol, for example, can make you feel wired, have your immune system working below par and your digestive system out of whack. Stress also comes with problems of memory and focus, sleep difficulties, digestive problems and weight gain. Oooph, sucker punch!
A Quick Calm Supplement
But we don’t have to white knuckle against the effects of stress hormones. While the universe shakes itself out, re-shuffling the external stressors (this too shall pass and other true cliches), you can take practical steps to soothe your nerves. WillPowders Calm contains Alphawave L-Theanine, or Theanine. A single 200mg dose, two capsules swallowed with water, can increase alpha power in the frontal region of the brain and these changes are ‘indicative of relaxation in the brain and suggest a calming response’. What a relief!
Benefits of Theanine for Sleep
In clinical trials, Alphawave L-Theanine supplementation, that’s the Theanine we use in WillPowders Calm, for 28 days was ‘safe and significantly decreased perceived stress, significantly decreased perceived stress and light sleep’ and ‘improved sleep quality’. That’s no mean feat, right? Stress affects sleep for the worse, which starts a vicious cycle of worry about being sleep deprived. Given that stress hormones can make us feel overly worrisome, prevent us falling asleep and staying asleep, to know we may be able to interrupt this with Theanine is reassuring.
Stress and Cognitive Function (the Fancy Name for Getting Your Ducks in a Row)
Establishing some control over stress is helpful. The benefits of Theanine continue with another effect of stress: detriments to our cognitive function. Under prolonged stress, we don’t perform as well with tasks we would normally take in our stride. According to a Harvard Health Medical School Publication, stress can make us forgetful. During an ‘emotionally taxing situation, the amygdala (the part of your brain that governs your survival instincts) may take over, leaving the parts of your brain that help to store memories and perform higher-order tasks with less energy and ability to get their own jobs done’. No wonder we forget why that column of the boss’s beloved spreadsheet is significant! That same article goes on to highlight that, ‘reductions in the gonadal hormone estradiol during the menopausal transition may change how our brain responds to stress’ If you’re skirting the edges or in the depths of menopause, ain’t that the truth, sister!
This study on 50 - 69 year olds suggested that Theanine ‘may contribute to improving attention, thus enhancing working memory and executive functions’. The study’s cohort had reported a perception of cognitive decline. Even a single dose of 100.6mg of Theanine ‘reduced reaction time in the attention task and increased correct answers and decreased the number of omission errors in the working memory task’. Seemingly, Theanine gives us a better chance of keeping our ducks in a row. Welcome back, feelings of control!.
Swap WTF Moments for Ah-ha Moments!
Now we’ve added Theanine to our repertoire, let’s hear it for Lemon Balm. Existing research ‘indicates that lemon balm holds promise as a calming agent … and can elicit cognitive and sleep-quality enhancement’. It seems, where stress and its symptoms are concerned, this power packed herb might be just the thing. We’ve bobbed it into WillPowders AH-HA because we’ve got faith in it! Other studies have found that ‘6 weeks of a daily formulation containing 80 mg of lemon balm … induced significant improvements in sleep quality and better daytime functioning’ in middle aged adults. We’ve created this blog which details further benefits of AH-HA during stressful times like studying for exams, slogging through perimenopause and, you know, through life itself!
Soothed with Calm, Pepped with AH-HA, Let’s Do a Stack for Your Stressed Gut
Turns out, although it’s our brain that uses the happy hormone serotonin and the sleep hormone melatonin, they’re made in our gut. In fact, our gut microbiota is reshaped by stress. Stress hormones can cause gut inflammation, and, in extreme cases, might lead to leaky gut and IBS. Our brains also send out signals to encourage us to take on more carbohydrates during times of stress, and sugars don’t help our gut’s situation. If we are trying to mitigate stress through eating more sugar, then we can be adding to the woes of our intestines.
By the way, if you do dive into junk food under stress, help protect your liver. We developed Rise and Shine to support your liver and promote energy levels. Stress kicks your ass, and the rest of you, so showing some love to your body is no bad thing.
For a comforting chocolate or vanilla protein powder that shuns sugar (we use stevia instead), try our range that make delicious shakes, warm drinks, desserts and will even be a hero in your baking. No sugar to wreak gut havoc, but plenty amino acids that help with happy and sleepy hormone production such as tryptophan and tyrosine. Tyrosine also helps out in producing dopamine, being one of its precursors - so if you’re after motivation to cut out stress factors in your life (we could all probably do with picking up and putting away the floordrobe as a quick win, right?) then taking more tyrosine on board could be just the thing! The role of amino acids in the production of neurotransmitters that help mitigate stress can’t be underestimated.
WillPowders Other Favourite Amino Acids
Hydrolysed Bovine Collagen Peptides are also rich in amino acids. Collagen is known for being particularly rich in glycine. This amino is doing some sterling work, it seems, in helping improve the sleepiness experienced from an occasional bad night’s sleep, and could be linked to mood improvement. Our clean collagen comes from Type I and III from Swiss cattle. We’ve kept it clean to make it versatile - add it to drinks, dinner or desserts. That way, you don’t have the stress of calculating whether you’ve paid enough attention to protein in your diet. Used to supplement a diet as close to nature as possible, it can support general gut health, tissue, bone, cardiovascular health, and skin elasticity.
Add some collagen peptides to your chamomile tea before bed and follow up with another teaspoonful in your morning coffee. What have you got to lose?
Take It Easy on Yourself
And finally remember to take it easy on yourself. It’s really not up to us to hold the sky up. Just do what you can! And pack WillPowders into your day.
Further Product Information
Take up to two capsules daily with water.
Keep out of reach of children. Adult use only. Not recommended for use by pregnant and lactating women.
Take 2 capsules per day with food. Swallow up to two capsules daily with food. Keep out of reach of children. Store below 30ºC.
Swallow up to three capsules daily with water when needed.
Keep out of reach of children. Contains Tartrazine as a colour.
Hydrolysed Bovine Collagen Peptides
Use daily. Add to any hot or cold liquid or baked goods. Suggested daily consumption 1-15g. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication, please consult a health practitioner. Not suitable for children under 5. Not suitable for vegetarians or vegans.
Blogs
Stressed? Studying? Perimenopausing? AH-HA! Nootropic Stacks Are Light Bulb Moments
Could WillPowders Ah-Ha and Other Nootropic Stacks be Part of the Answer to Your Missing Memory Moments? First things first! Einstein wisely said that he never kept anything in his...
What are Nootropics?
Nootropics are substances that power up the brain to improve performance. They can be synthetic or natural, and whilst these smart pills won’t give your superhuman abilities, they can help...