| Health Benefits of Tea: Tea Might Reduce Stress and Promote Relaxation by WILLIAM LENGEMAN |
The relaxing effects of various herbal teas, such as chamomile, are well known, but it also appears that "real" tea, of the type derived from the Camellia sinensis plant, may share similar qualities. For many people who make the switch from coffee to tea, it's these qualities, as well as the notion that tea contains less caffeine, that helps make it so appealing.
While the contemplative aspects of various tea ceremonies and rituals are helpful for many drinkers when it comes to reducing stress, there is also evidence that there are compounds in tea that do the same thing. Much of the research focuses on L-theanine, a compound that, according to researchers at City University of New York, tends to affect certain workings of the brain when complex tasks are performed, allowing for greater concentration.
sleep, relaxPreviously, a study carried out by University College of London researchers found that participants who drank a black tea-based drink had lower levels of a stress hormone called cortisol following a stressful event. Researcher Professor Andrew Steptoe called this one of the first such studies "to assess tea in a double-blind placebo controlled design."
An earlier study by researchers in the Netherlands looked at EEG readings of participants and discovered that L-theanine had "a significant effect on the general state of mental alertness or arousal." Other research found that young women who participated in a study on L-theanine generated alpha waves in their brains in amounts that corresponded with the quantity of the compound they ingested. Alpha waves are associated with relaxed states of mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment