GABA: γ-Aminobutyric Acid
As society transitions from the agricultural era to the industrial era, human labor patterns have gradually shifted from being primarily physical to placing greater emphasis on intellect and creativity. The traditional concept of "working at sunrise and resting at sunset" has been disrupted, and the boundaries between day and night are increasingly blurred. Many young people even actively extend their daytime hours to prove that they are not wasting time. However, in contrast, the importance of nighttime management is being overlooked. As "World Sleep Day" arrives this year, the Chinese Sleep Research Society has released the "2025 China Sleep Health Survey Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"). This report is regarded as China's first objective, scientific, and authoritative statistical report on sleep health data. According to the "Report," the proportion of Chinese people aged 18 and above who experience sleep problems is as high as 48.5%, which means that more than 500 million people nationwide are suffering from various sleep problems such as nighttime urination, frequent awakenings or early awakenings, and difficulty falling asleep.
Of course, more and more people are now aware of their sleep problems and are trying various ways to get a good night's sleep. The most direct approach may be to take an appropriate amount of sleeping pills; others worry about drug safety and turn to melatonin instead. In addition, a wide variety of sleep aids on the market have also come into view—from oral sleep gummies and pills to external sleep patches and aromatherapy, and so on. Among the dazzling array of sleep aids and health products, one substance is often used: it does not have the "powerful" effect and obvious side effects of traditional sleeping pills such as estazolam and clonazepam, nor does it require a complex artificial synthesis process to obtain. It is a natural ingredient and is even commonly found in many teas we drink daily. Speaking of which, you might think we're going to talk about theanine—but today we're focusing on GABA, or γ-aminobutyric acid.
What is γ-aminobutyric acid?
γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA, where γ is a Greek letter, pronounced "gamma") is a non-protein amino acid naturally present in animals, plants, and microorganisms. It is the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian nervous system. GABA was first synthesized in the laboratory in 1883 and subsequently discovered in plants, microorganisms, and animals. It wasn't until 1950 that scientists discovered its high concentration in animal brain tissue and further confirmed that it is a key inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. The concept of "inhibitory neurotransmitter" is very important and crucial to our understanding of GABA's physiological functions.
How does GABA work in the human body?
The human nervous system is like a highly complex communication network that connects the brain to the whole body, regulating our senses and emotions. In this network, "neurons" are like messengers delivering signals, exchanging information through "synapses," the connection points. And "neurotransmitters" are the "signal letters" carried by these messengers, determining whether the information continues to be transmitted with excitation or decelerated with inhibition. In the brain, GABA plays a key role as a "calming messenger" or "cooling agent." When certain neurons are overexcited, causing anxiety or tension, GABA is released and precisely binds to specific receptors on the next neuron—this process is like inserting a "calming instruction" into a dedicated mailbox, which can effectively inhibit nerve excitation and block the transmission of excessive signals, thereby helping the nervous system to restore balance. It can be said that GABA is an indispensable "braking system" for maintaining neural balance.
Insomnia, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and more are related to our nervous system. As an inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA can soothe our nerves when they are "surging," so it has physiological functions including improving sleep, lowering blood pressure, relieving anxiety, and acting as an antidepressant, and most of these have been proven by clinical trials. For example, regarding improving sleep, in a study published by Japanese scientists in 2016, 10 subjects aged 23 to 37 years (4 men and 6 women) took 100 ml of GABA orally every day. After three weeks, the time it took them to fall asleep and enter deep sleep was effectively shortened, and the duration of their deep sleep was extended.
In addition, the subjects' satisfaction with sleep also improved. This is due to GABA being a non-dependent neurotransmitter that can be quickly absorbed by the human body with very little residue. Another example is lowering blood pressure. A clinical trial of 50 men and women lasting 8 weeks showed that supplementing with 80 mg of GABA daily can lower blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension. The mechanism is that GABA can bind to synaptic receptors that promote vasodilation, thereby helping blood vessels relax and achieve a blood pressure-lowering effect.