Tyrosine Helps Maintain Mental Ability Under Stress

Tyrosine is a simple amino acid Building blocks of peptides and protein and have multiple roles of function in life including muscle function, growth, detoxification and metabolic pathways, and neurotransmitter function. that is the precursor for several important neurotransmitters, dopamine¹ and norepinephrine.  These neurotransmitters help you have drive, alertness, and motivation – giving you some horsepower to get things done.  Tyrosine also helps make thyroid hormone, coenzyme Enzyme in its most active form that assists with biochemical transport and is considered an active constituent. Q10, and melanin skin pigmentation.  A unique form of tyrosine, N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, is more soluble, very easy to absorb, and readily crosses the blood brain barrier.

Just as a carpenter needs 2 x 4s and plywood before he can build anything, so it is that your brain needs tyrosine before it can make norepinephrine and dopamine – a fact that has been well established for 30 years².  Researchers found that simple use of tyrosine could help with depression³.  This is rather interesting, since inflammation and other factors are significant in blocking mood.  The fact that a simple nutrient precursor could be of any help at all in boosting neurotransmitters in people who don’t feel good represents a first line and fundamental approach to mood boosting.  Animal studies help confirm the anti-stress effects of tyrosine⁴, showing that tyrosine can prevent inappropriate weight loss from stress.  The nature of the findings led the researchers to conclude that “Tyrosine might be a potential therapy for cognitive and mood problems associated with the maintenance of a reduced body weight in the treatment of obesity.”

Tyrosine helps to offset fatigue and stress, helping to keep your brain alert and more functional.  A variety of human studies show that tyrosine boosts mental performance under stress.  Tyrosine was shown to prevent mental performance decline that is associated with sleep deprivation⁵.  Under conditions of highly stressful training⁶ tyrosine was shown to improve cognitive performance and lower blood pressure.  Tyrosine offset the effects of cold temperatures⁷ (another form of stress) on cognitive performance – meaning it might help you function better in the winter.

Tyrosine is a basic nutritional building block for nerve transmission involving alertness, drive, and motivation.  The supplemental use seems especially important under stress, which is a test of neurotransmitter function.  Since a loss of dopamine results in inappropriate food cravings and the risk for addiction, maintaining basic dopamine status during times of stress not only helps cognitive performance but is likely to reduce the risk for “quick fix” brain stimulants that are generally unhealthy.