L-Theanine vs Phosphatidylserine for anxiety
Short answer: For anxiety, users rate them about the same: 91% report improvement with L-Theanine (1289 reports) and 95% with Phosphatidylserine (39 reports).
L-Theanine has 18 meta-analyses and 78 randomized trials on PubMed; Phosphatidylserine has 14 and 83.
Based on 3,475 reports about L-Theanine and 334 about Phosphatidylserine. Not medical advice.
| L-Theanine Supplement | Phosphatidylserine Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 65%helped1,807 reports · high confidence | 73%helped110 reports · high confidence |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mostly positive |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 18 / 78 | 14 / 83 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 91% (1289) | 95% (39) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 88% (501) | 96% (27) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 78% (370) | 86% (37) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 77% (223) | 85% (13) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 68% (97) | 75% (4) |
| Common side effects | drowsiness, vivid dreams, fatigue, headache | drowsiness, fatigue, anhedonia, headache |
| Typical dose reported | 200 mg / bedtime | 300 mg |
This meta-analysis provides evidence that theanine plus caffeine, and theanine alone, could be beneficial for cognitive and mood outcomes. More research using tea beverages or tea-equivalent bioactive doses and research in free-living participants is needed.
Nutr Rev, 2025 ↗“This morning was my first time taking this combination along with my other daily vitamins and wow, what a difference it has made in my overall mood and anxiety!”
The effects of phosphatidylserine on overall symptoms of ADHD (ES 0.76; 95% CI: -0.07 to 1.60; p = 0.07) and hyperactivity-impulsivity (ES 0.24; 95% CI: -0.04 to 0.53; p = 0.09) were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggests that phosphatidylserine may be effective for reducing symptoms of inattention in children with ADHD, although the quality of the evidence is low and additional research in this area is warranted.
J Altern Complement Med, 2021 ↗“A supplement I have never seen on here that works great for me is Phosphatidylserine. Somehow awesome.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate