Glycine: Inhibitory/Exhibitatory Role Depending on Time of Day?

So I have this really weird relationship with glycine:

When taken post workout, I feel calm, rested and I am able to slow down my CNS. But when I use it before bed my mind is racing like hell. It’s as if I was relaxed and then all of a sudden my heart rate goes up, my mind starts bringing up all kinds of stuff at a very fast rate and I lose control over my thoughts.

Having said that, I do take 1g of taurine with glycine post-workout and magnesium bisglycinate before bed. Perhaps the calm feeling post workout is the taurine talking? I am a stressed type 2B/3A individual at the moment.

CT has mentioned this in the past: “HOWEVER in about 15-20% of the population it can have paradoxical/opposite effects. In individuals with too much glutamate (very emotional people, with tons of mood swings) glycine becomes excitory instead of inhibitory.”

Should type 2B’s just stick to taurine and avoid glycine, even though its benefits are so multifacetted?

it does it to me when i was taking taurine at night.

Hey Bigmax,

Taurine actually binds to the GABA receptors in your brain and promotes GABA release/production. Perhaps you need to take a closer look at your last meal of the day? For example if you choose to eat a high protein/ high calcium snack at the end of the day, you are favoring the production of dopamine/adrenaline.

This is especially true if you’re a type 2B/3 because high protein/high calcium + low magnesium can increase adrenaline and glutamate activity and therefore increases the need for inhibitory neurotransmitters like GABA and serotonin to calm you down again. 2B/3 don’t have a lot of GABA/serotonin to work with and excess adrenaline depletes your stores really fast. This could be the real reason behind your sleep issue.

If you sleep soundly at night without the use of taurine, then I would just avoid it. Although I can’t really understand why taurine would amp you up… Do you take any other supplements with taurine prebed like glycine or glutamine? they could actually have adverse effects if you have high glutamate production.

Maybe coach can clarify this matter.

i was using glycine, zinc glycinate and magnesium glycinate. I just stop using taurine

Wait, I just noticed your profile picture. If you’re a powerlifter and you’re good at it, then it is a totally different situation and glycine would be the better option indeed.

Lou, thanks for a great contribution mate!

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Thanks coach, although the credit for that is all yours. I’m just trying to do my part by learning from the best.

Is it true that taurine keeps type 1A’s awake? My reasoning would be an imbalance in the serotonin/gaba ratio due to an increase in GABA from taurine. Since 1A’s need serotonin to produce less adrenaline, a decrease could lead to more adrenergic stimulation, therefore keeping the type 1A awake.

Is this correct or total crap? I was trying to figure that out in your nutrition and supplementation course.

Thanks coach!

Very interesting content, thanks for sharing!