Ingredient Spotlight — GABA (PharmaGABA®) · PM Formula

Unloading the Day's Stress

Mental strain leaves a measurable mark on your brain's activity — and it doesn't vanish when you get home. A placebo-controlled study watched GABA blunt that stress response in real time.

By evening, the load has accumulated: the decisions, the friction, the low static of a demanding day. You feel it as a mind that won't power down. That state isn't vague — under mental stress, the brain's electrical activity measurably shifts, and how well you can buffer that shift is a fair read on how cleanly you'll transition into rest.

The trial

In a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, 63 adults took capsules of 100 mg GABA or placebo, then performed stressful mental tasks while researchers recorded EEG brainwave activity (alpha and beta bands) and mood (POMS).

What they found

• Stress altered brainwave activity. Alpha and beta activity shifted as the mental-task load increased.
• GABA buffered the response. Thirty minutes after GABA intake, that stress-induced change was diminished versus placebo.
• Mood tracked along. The effect corresponded with better POMS mood scores — the physiology and the feeling agreed.

The authors concluded GABA "might have alleviated the stress induced by the mental tasks."

The day doesn't leave your head on its own. This is evidence you can help it settle before sleep.

Why it's in the PM formula

Before sleep can do its job, the day's mental load has to come down. PharmaGABA® is in the evening stack because it buffered the stressed brain — measurably, within 30 minutes — and improved mood alongside it. Paired with L-theanine, that's the wind-down aimed at the exact thing that keeps you up: a mind still carrying the day.

Reference: Yoto A, Murao S, Motoki M, et al. Oral intake of γ-aminobutyric acid affects mood and activities of central nervous system during stressed condition induced by mental tasks. Amino Acids. 2012;43(3):1331–1337. doi:10.1007/s00726-011-1206-6.
Read it: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22203366

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.