The caffeine/theanine stack is one of the easiest, and most effective nootropic combinations out there. But what’s REALLY great about it, is that you can “pulse dose” with it, with your finger on the dial of intensity, throughout the day.

Enter pulse dosing

Pulse dosing nootropics is a strategy where are constantly keeping your finger on the pulse (consciousness on the effects) of a particular nootropic stack, that ideally can be taken a few times a day. For pulse dosing nootropics to work, the stack has to have elements in it that balance each other out. If one chemical becomes to stimulatory, the other brings you back to balance and calms down the brain. And the caffeine/theanine stack is probably the best example of a great combo for pulse dosing.

Caffeine is the stimulant, and theanine is the balance. Pulsing means knowing one has become entirely too stimulatory, or calming, and using the other to quickly get back to balance. I use pulsing with caffeine and theanine at least 4 days out of the week, and lately, increasingly. Here is my current strategy, and then below, we’ve got a video explaining the strategy in depth, validating the practical mental energy application of pulse dosing the caffeine/theanine stack:

1. In the morning, I’ll drink 1-2 iced coffees within about a 2 hour span. That’s roughly 200-220MG of caffeine. I won’t take any theanine right away. I’ll then start working on something cerebral. Laptop work.
2. At about hour 2.5, I may feel a bit overstimulated. At that point, I’ll dose with 800MG L-theanine.
3. That will keep me good and level, with the functioning of the caffeine, and the calmness of the theanine, until about 2PM.
4. At 2PM, I’ll likely eat something, reset, meditate a bit, and prep to get back to working.
5. Upon resumption of work, I’ll buy and slowly sip on another iced coffee (110 or so MG of caffeine, slowly sipped). The previous dose of theanine, AND the meal I just ate is still keeping me balanced (not overstimulated).
6. If, at any point (this is where the real pulsing comes into play), the iced coffee I’m sipping on starts to take me over the edge, in terms of stimulation, I’ll pulse dose with theanine. It will likely be 500-800MG. That will calm things back down again, but I’ll retain the good energy from the caffeine.
7. Then, through 5-6PM, I can still slow sip the ice coffee, with small infusions of caffeine throughout, to send small amounts of energy into the mix. Usually, the theanine I’ve dosed with is keeping things under control. But, in case I start to get a bit overstimulated again, you know the strategy: dose with theanine. But this time, with my finger on the dial, and previous theanine dosing, I likely won’t need as much. Perhaps 300MG or so.
8. Then, from 6-10PM, I actually still have good solid energy from caffeine, but a good solid calmness from the theanine. Come bed time: hops, lemon balm, tryptophan, valerian root, ultra low dose melatonin and OFF. No issues falling asleep. No anxiety. Just calm.

And that’s pulsing, with caffeine and theanine. In the video, I explain a similar strategy, and discuss the philosophy and practical application for this strategy.