How to Increase GABA Naturally for Better Sleep & Health

Essentially, neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers of the body—carrying messages between nerve cells (neurons) and other cells in your body. There are excitatory neurotransmitters (like epinephrine and dopamine), inhibitory neurotransmitters (like GABA and melatonin), and modulatory neurotransmitters (like serotonin and dopamine).

These messengers are largely responsible for everything from mood to learning to automatic responses like breathing and heart rate. Without them, your brain and body wouldn’t know how to function.

Since GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, it makes for an effective nighttime sleep aid. The higher levels of GABA you have, the more relaxed you will feel—as opposed to being in that stressed-out fight or flight mode that happens when excitatory neurotransmitters are activated.

GABA, being the body’s primary inhibitory messenger, is found in several brain regions including the hippocampus, thalamus, basal ganglia, hypothalamus, and brain stem (1).

Its most renowned benefits include (2):

• Reduced stress and anxiety
• The regulation of one’s circadian rhythm
• An increase in total sleep time
• A decrease in the time it takes to fall asleep
• Enhanced memory
• Improved mood
• Regulation of motor control (like the coordination and movement of muscles, bones, and nerves)

One 2015 study gave 39 participants either GABA-enriched rice or a placebo for 10 weeks. Results showed that those eating the GABA rice saw an improvement in mental status and sleep quality, while overall stress gradually reduced (3).

In another study conducted in 2019, 30 participants were given either oolong GABA tea (containing 2.01 milligrams of GABA) or regular oolong tea (containing 0.25 milligrams of GABA). Their heart rate and stress were analyzed…

Both groups of tea drinkers experienced lower levels of stress; however, those drinking the GABA tea saw more relaxation, improved parasympathetic functioning, and a significant decrease in stress (4).

Although GABA deficiencies are fairly uncommon, it’s important to know what to look out for.

Low levels of GABA have been linked to the following (1):

• Acute and chronic stress
• Feelings of anxiety
• Sleep disturbances like insomnia
• Psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia
• Depression
• Autism
• Seizures and epilepsy
• Inattention
• Hyperactivity
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Chronic pain

Without enough GABA, one may experience heightened stress and anxiety, poor sleep, and more. Too much GABA, on the other hand, can lead to oversleeping, daytime sleepiness, and slow, ineffective breathing (5, 6).

Although there isn’t a set dosage for GABA at the moment, studies have been carried out that measure the sleep benefits of those taking between 100 and 300 milligrams (mg) of GABA for 1 to 4 weeks. Future research is needed in order to determine the minimum and optimum GABA dose needed to enhance sleep (2).

Melatonin—also known as the sleep hormone—is another natural sleep aid that also happens to enhance GABA’s inhibitory effects (7). And because both melatonin and GABA are known to regulate sleep, they’re a dream team when it comes to getting deep, quality sleep.

Add in L-theanine, magnesium, and collagen, and you have a sleepytime tea that will have you feeling relaxed and ready for bed in as little as 30 minutes.

Uniquely crafted for those who toss and turn, have trouble falling asleep, or who just can’t seem to turn their brain off at night, Collagen PM provides deeper, longer, and more restorative sleep all night, every night.