Working4Me

L-Theanine: Take a Chill Pill

I've been using L-theanine supplements periodically for a few years now. And a lot of us get it through one of our favorite beverages, green tea. What's l-theanine? Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

Theanine is an amino acid, commonly found in tea (infusions of Camellia sinensis), that can produce a feeling of relaxation. Theanine produces these effects by increasing the level of Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) production. Theanine affects the levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. It also inhibits glutamic acid excitotoxicity.

Theanine is most readily available in green tea and can also be purchased as a supplement. Unusual for an amino acid, it crosses the blood-brain barrier in animal studies. It is also theorized that the GABA-binding properties of theanine reduce the caffeine buzz delivered in black tea versus that of coffee. It also promotes alpha wave production in the brain. Alpha waves are commonly associated with a state of alert relaxation. Theanine is not removed by the decaffeination process because it is not an alkaloid.

What's all that boil down to? L-theanine is espoused by the Life Extension Foundation as a vehicle to help reduce stress and fight free radicals. I've even heard it called "zen in a bottle".  I wouldn't go quite that far, but it may come in handy in certain circumstances.

If these claims are true, L-theanine might be useful as a supplement to help take the edge off a very stressful day. Readers of this site will no doubt have an arsenal of breathing techniques and hypnotic triggers set for relaxation and stress reduction. So maybe we don't need supplemental l-theanine at all, especially if we're getting small amounts of it through drinking tea.

I decided that its potential was interesting enough to begin tracking information about l-theanine like I'm tracking resveratrol, omega 3 (fish oil) and green tea for life extension and peak performance. While none of this information is validated by the FDA, for informational purposes we might want to keep an eye on supplements of this nature.

Hypnosis Search Engine Added to Working4Me Site

Over to the right of the page you'll see a new tag cloud and search box. This is a Euerkster-powered hypnosis  and NLP search engine, which I will be tuning for the Working4Me site.

How will this be different than other search engines? The difference that will make the difference is that I'm able to tweak this engine to focus on high quality sources of hypnosis and NLP information. Information that you can use. Information that isn't necessarily trying to sell you some product (as I parodied on my April Fool's Day post... hey if we can't poke fun at ourselves then we're taking ourselves too seriously!).

I'm endeavoring to keep the search results focused on the highest-quality sites and blogs out there, filtering out the overly commercial and new age. I understand that there's usually some commercial interest, so that's okay... when I talk about filtering commercial stuff I really mean spam.

If you have suggestions for specific sites that could be included in this search, please let me know in the comments box of this post. Note, if you want to get your blog included, do leave a comment but for now the engine software does not yet provide for promoting specific blogs; currently it will search the entire blogosphere.

On the flip side, if there's a specific site that's problematic in showing up in the results, please contact me so I can investigate.

I hope this proves to be a useful resource as it continues to improve in relevancy.

Green Tea: Antiobesity Effect Gets More Attention

The linked article's headline says "deserves more attention" but the article goes on to detail how green tea, and its component epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) are getting attention for their effects on obesity.

From the article: "Green tea, green tea
catechins, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) have been demonstrated
in cell culture and animal models of obesity to reduce adipocyte
differentiation and proliferation, lipogenesis, fat mass, body weight,
fat absorption, plasma levels of triglycerides, free fatty acids,
cholesterol, glucose, insulin and leptin, as well as to increase
beta-oxidation and thermogenesis."

Green tea is a beverage that's consumed around the world and as its health benefits are revealed, it's gaining popularity in the U.S., where obesity is a growing health concern. Other studies have suggested possible other health effects related to cancer and aging.

While I am not a doctor and can't authoritatively state that green tea is good for what ails ya, I can continue enjoying a few cups a day of this refreshing drink.

For the rest of the story, visit Life Extension Daily News.


Technorati Tags: green tea, obesity, weight loss, diet, aging, nutrition

NLP Tips by Jamie Smart, back online!

I'm happy to report that Jamie Smart, of Salad ltd. in the UK, has begun posting his NLP tips online again. He had been sending them out only over email recently, without an online archive. I've added some of those email-only newsletters to this site because they had such great content (and he gives permission at the end of the emails).

Now, you can head over to his site and read them online. I encourage you to do so, this is a very valuable resource.


I own a copy of his 6-CD set, NLP for Business and Personal Success, and highly recommend that as well.


Technorati Tags: nlp, achievement, psychology

Habits of a Highly Effective Person

CNNMoney has a nice writeup by Bill Gates about his work habits, how he limits information overload, and prevents information underload. I'd say he's about as effective a person as you can get, similar to Steve Jobs, so take a look and mine this article for all its nuggets.

One nice bit: "Staying focused is one issue; that's the problem of information
overload. The other problem is information underload. Being flooded
with information doesn't mean we have the right information or that
we're in touch with the right people."

Read the entire article for more on how he uses technology, and good work habits to get things accomplished and to vision the future.


Technorati Tags: bill gates, information overload, microsoft

Psychologists Discover 2 Universally Hypnotic Words

A recent groundbreaking study, released April 1st, revealed that a team of psychologists has discovered 2 English-language words that, to native speakers, universally induce trance. Testing indicated that subjects began entering trance any time the 2 words were spoken in the correct order, setting off a transderivational search that rendered them powerless to resist the commands of the researchers.

Subjects were made to quack like ducks, and 80% of the subjects were compelled to sign over their bank accounts.

The 2 words were not specified in the early report, due to the ethical implications of freely releasing them to the public. Rather, they will be available in a downloadable eBook for $199.

In a related study, researchers also found that Internet searchers and bloggers need to be especially resistant to suggestion on the date April 1st, because in the United States that date is April Fool's Day, where pranks spring up across the Internet with planted stories and jokes.  ;-)


Technorati Tags: hypnosis