The Top Benefits of Lemon Balm Extract (Melissa officinalis)
What Is Lemon Balm Extract?
Melissa officinalis, also known as Lemon Balm, is a herb that is very closely related to mint. In fact, both Lemon Balm and mint are part of the same family known as the Lamiaceae family. Unlike mint, Lemon Balm does not contain significant amounts of menthol as is common is most mint species. Instead, Lemon Balm contains a large amount of rosmarinic acid, which as the name may have already given away, is also found in rosemary! Even though Lemon Balm is closely related to some of our favorite culinary herbs, Lemon Balm does much more than spruce up a delicious dish .
What Is Lemon Balm Used For?
Lemon Balm extract has a multitude of uses. As alluded to above, Lemon Balm is used in food and drink preparation. The leaves of Lemon Balm have a lush and vibrant lemony taste that is somewhat reminiscent of tea. Thus, it may not come as a surprise that one of the most common uses for Lemon Balm is to use it to make Lemon Balm tea. Upon drinking this tea, however, something special happens!
Lemon Balm contains a vast array of beneficial compounds such as rosmarinic acid and hydroxycinnamic acids which help support relaxation, boost cognitive function, enhance sleep quality and promote skin health. This makes Lemon Balm an incredibly versatile supplement, and in our opinion, a very universally beneficial nootropic herb that can practically be incorporated into everyone’s daily supplement regimen.
The purposes of this article is to explore, in depth, the top four Lemon Balm benefits. So, let's explore these amazing Lemon Balm benefits!
Top Lemon Balm Extract Benefits
1. Helps support healthy sleep
2. Helps promote relaxation
3. Helps support cognition
4. Helps promotes skin health
Lemon Balm Extract Infographic
Want detailed information regarding the information in this infographic? Continue reading on below.
Lemon Balm Extract For Sleep
Sleep is a tricky thing when life gets busy, chaotic, and stressful! You feel physically exhausted, but your mind just won’t relax enough for you to fall asleep easily and sleep through the night. This is where the relaxing properties of Lemon Balm can really come in handy. The gentle, relaxing effects produced by rising GABA levels in the brain after Lemon Balm supplementation can help ease the mind and relax the body. Lemon Balm increases GABA levels in the brain by primarily blocking one of the main enzymes responsible for breaking down GABA. This enzyme is called GABA transaminase and blocking it results in a gentle yet robust increase in GABA levels. Due to its somewhat gentle effects, Lemon Balm benefits those who do not want to get "knocked out" before bed, but rather those who want to feel relaxed enough to facilitate natural sleep processes.
Lemon Balm Extract Stacked With Melatonin
The gentle sleep-promoting effects of Lemon Balm can be enhanced by supplementing Melatonin with Lemon Balm. We would recommend combining our Lemon Balm extract with our intelligently dosed Melatonin supplement. Most Melatonin supplements on the market are grossly over-dosed, and could actually lead to less restful sleep. We wrote a full blog recently, about the incorrect dosing of Melatonin, which we would recommend giving a read. Our 300 mcg Melatonin capsules, on the other hand, do a great job at mimicking natural Melatonin secretions at night. So, our 300mcg Melatonin with Lemon Balm helps facilitate healthy, natural, and restful sleep!
Lemon Balm Extract For Relaxation
Due to the gentle and relaxing effects of Lemon Balm, it can also be taken during the day in order to promote a positive and relaxed mood. Taking a Lemon Balm supplement during the day can be especially beneficial for managing stress, making it an ideal candidate for those working highly demanding jobs or studying complicated subjects at school. In scenarios where mental clarity cannot be disturbed, a strong stress regulator such as Sensoril Ashwagandha or Bacognize Bacopa monnieri may not be the ideal choice as it may get in the way of a heavy work/course load. In this scenario, supplementing with Lemon Balm is ideal, as it is relaxing and manages stress without producing lethargy.
Lemon Balm Extract As A Natural Nootropic
Not only is Lemon Balm a great supplement for regulating stress and promoting a relaxed and positive mood, it can also be put to use as a great natural nootropic! This is oftentimes one of the most overlooked benefits of Lemon Balm which is a shame because it is a very useful natural nootropic! Like many of the best natural nootropics out there, Lemon Balm extract can enhance cholinergic function in the brain. This is often a very sought-after effect when it comes to natural nootropics as acetylcholine is a key player in cognitive function (especially memory function). By enhancing acetylcholine levels, Lemon Balm can bolster cognitive function, allowing you to work or study calmly and efficiently.
Lemon Balm, mainly through regulating stress, has also been shown to enhance neurogenesis. This is one of the most interesting Lemon Balm benefits as enhanced neurogenesis can help protect our brains, optimize cognitive function, increase memory formation and can even help promote a positive mood! When looking at all of the other Lemon Balm benefits we have discussed so far, the added bonus of neurogenesis support makes Lemon Balm a very effective natural nootropic!
Lemon Balm Extract Benefits For Skin
At Nootropics Depot, we love supplements that produce a wide variety of effects and this is why we have always sought out the highest quality Lemon Balm extracts available on the market. Not only does Lemon Balm have a positive influence on our overall mental health, Lemon Balm benefits skin health too! Skin health is an aspect of health which can often times get neglected, especially with busy schedules. This is unfortunate, however, as healthy skin can have positive effects on our overall mental well-being and boost confidence levels! We recently explored a variety of skin health-enhancing supplements in this blog. After writing the skin health blog, we have been keeping an eye out for other skin health boosting supplements, and to our surprise, Lemon Balm benefits skin health very positively!
A major topic in our skin health blog was the importance of protecting our skin against UV radiation. Specifically, UV-B radiation which can be very damaging to the skin. With this is mind, it’s important to protect our skin from UV-B radiation by either covering our skin with clothing, using sunscreen and/or utilizing key supplements to further protect our skin from harmful UV-B radiation. Lemon Balm benefits skin health and protects our skin from UV-B radiation via a few different pathways. Lemon Balm extract helps regulate oxidation and inflammation and through these mechanisms can help limit the effects of UV-B radiation. That being said, any oxidation and inflammation-regulating supplement could achieve this, so what makes Lemon Balm special?
Lemon Balm extract has the ability to speed up a process called melanogenesis, a process by which a pigment called melanin is produced. Melanin is dark in color and can very effectively absorb UV-B radiation, thus protecting the skin. Some of you may already know this, but getting tan involves increased levels of melanogenesis. A tan may look great, but it’s actually an indicator that we are being exposed to too much UV-B radiation and the tan we see is actually an intelligent, protective mechanism against the sun.
Which Lemon Balm Extract Should You Buy?
As you may have noticed, we have a few different Lemon Balm supplements available for purchase. Our favorite Lemon Balm supplement for relaxing and sleep promoting effects is our regular Lemon Balm extract. Our regular Lemon Balm extract is now available as both a powder (which is great for making Lemon Balm tea) and as a convenient tablet that now features a score line. The score line tablets allow you to precisely dial in your dose and has been an office favorite since its release!
Our other Lemon Balm extract is a unique extract called Cyracos. It is very high in rosmarinic acid and hydroxycinnamic acids which gives it a slightly different effect profile than our regular Lemon Balm extract. The Cyracos extract is more uplifting and can even be a little bit energizing. This makes it the preferred extract for daytime dosing and makes it especially useful for those seeking out Lemon Balm for cognitive health support.
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