We all know that a good night’s sleep is one of the most important parts of daily life. It helps us to prepare and feel energized for the next day. There are chemical nutrients that help in promoting good sleep and can support your overall mood.
Tryptophan is one of the essential amino acids, and one of its benefits is to promote good sleep. This article will help us better understand what it is, its uses, benefits, and foods that we can add to our daily routine.
What is Tryptophan?
It is one of the essential amino acids that our body needs for normal growth and the production and maintenance of the body’s proteins, enzymes, neurotransmitters, and muscles. It is an essential amino acid that the human body cannot produce and needs to obtain from our diet. (1)
It is important to note that there are two types of it. They are L-tryptophan and D-tryptophan. Their differences lie in molecule orientation. It is an essential amino acid, meaning that we need to get it from foods or in a supplement form. (2)
The human body has somewhat low tissue storage for tryptophan. The recommended daily allowance for adult consumption is around 250mg/day up to 425mg/day. The total dietary intake we need is between 3.5 and 6.0 mg/kg of body weight per day. (3)
Benefits
Our body needs it to make melatonin and serotonin. These hormones play an important role in our bodies. Melatonin is a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Meanwhile, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep, mood, appetite, and pain. (4)
One of the key benefits of it in our body is that the liver uses it to produce niacin (vitamin B3). It is a vitamin needed for energy metabolism and DNA production. And since it is an essential amino acid, it needs sustenance through our diet. This is an effective way to convert it into niacin. Here are the following micronutrients needed to convert a substantial amount of it in the liver:
- Iron
- Riboflavin
- Vitamin B6
Tryptophan through our diet offers several health benefits, including:
- Produces high-quality sleep
- Relieves depression and anxiety
- Improves pain tolerance, and
- Improves emotional well-being
How To Use Tryptophan
Some people use tryptophan supplements as part of their health routine for better sleep. Other options considered are 5-HTP and melatonin. As mentioned above, it plays various roles inside the human body, so an intake of tryptophan supplements may be used for other body functions.
Others prefer to use 5-HTP or melatonin supplements to improve their sleep, mood, or cognition. The 5-HTP supplements can produce serotonin production quickly. Aside from serotonin production, tryptophan supplements can decrease food consumption and body weight.
People with trouble getting a good night’s sleep uses melatonin supplements. Daily intake of 5-HTP supplements ranges between 100 and 900 mg/day, while people who prefer to take tryptophan supplements can take up to 5 grams per day. (5)
Foods and Supplements
The introduction of tryptophan supplements was in 1949. But it was when the chemical synthesis in the 1980s became more accessible to the public. (6)
Popular food sources high in tryptophan include protein-containing foods such as eggs, meat, cheese, fish, rice, wheat, bananas, and potatoes. The WHO has recommended the daily use of it in our diet at 4mg/kg of body weight. (7)
Side Effects
In general, it is well-tolerated by our bodies. But there are some people who may experience tryptophan side effects like daytime drowsiness, dry mouth, and dizziness. It can also be noticeable for those with higher doses of it to experience nausea, headaches, and lack of appetite may be experienced. Another tryptophan side effect to watch out for is that they have the same effect as sedatives and careful use of the same compound (such as alcohol) may also need to monitor.
There is also a small risk of cardiac dysfunctions in some patients. It gets converted into serotonin in the brain. And serotonin is found in increasing amounts in the tissues, muscles, and even the heart. Some health practitioners may recommend that using tryptophan supplements should be taken with carbidopa. It is a drug that blocks the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin until it reaches the blood-brain barrier.
People with diabetes and those who have a family history of diabetes need to take precautions in tryptophan intake. Although the study shows that xanthurenic acid has been found to have a diabetogenic effect in animals, it is still worth noting to avoid serious health effects. (8)
Can Tryptophan Make You Sleepy?
A dose of 1 gram of tryptophan supplement taken 45 minutes before bedtime can decrease the time taken to fall asleep for those with mild insomnia and with long sleep latency. One gram of tryptophan dose will not affect the sleep architecture and has no reported effect on alertness the next day. Patients who experience moderate to severe insomnia may not get a higher success rate and not use it as effective standard hypnotics.
Using it as a hypnotic is not considered a natural treatment, while tryptophan in tablet form consumption is not a dietary treatment either. Food consumption high in it does not raise brain tryptophan levels. So, it is incorrect to say that a warm glass of milk before bedtime has a hypnotic effect. The tryptophan content will not increase brain tryptophan levels, unlike taking it in tablet form.
Tryptophan, when ingested as part of the diet, also occurs with other larger amino acid concentrates that also compete to be transported into the brain.
In the US, it is a regulated dietary supplement, while it is a regulated drug in Canada. (9)
Bottom Line
There are so many nutrients that can help in improving our overall health, and one of them is tryptophan. It is one of the essential amino acids that our body needs to obtain as part of our diet or supplements. This article showed us its important use in our body, its benefits, and even the common side effects.
But moderation is essential in every nutrient that we will intake. Too high or too low consumption may seriously affect our bodies. We hope that this article will help get the right amount of it in your diet and the right dose as a supplement.
Disclaimer: This article is only a guide. It does not substitute the advice given by your healthcare professional. Before making any health-related decision, consult your healthcare professional.
Editorial References And Fact-Checking
- Tryptophan. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002332.htm#:%7E:text=Tryptophan%20is%20an%20amino%20acid,get%20it%20from%20your%20diet.
- Ohara, I., Otsuka, S. I., Yugari, Y., & Ariyoshi, S. (1980). Comparison of the nutritive values of L-, DL- and D-tryptophan in the rat and chick. The Journal of nutrition, 110(4), 634–640. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/110.4.634
- Richard, D. M., Dawes, M. A., Mathias, C. W., Acheson, A., Hill-Kapturczak, N., & Dougherty, D. M. (2009). L-Tryptophan: Basic Metabolic Functions, Behavioral Research and Therapeutic Indications. International journal of tryptophan research : IJTR, 2, 45–60. https://doi.org/10.4137/ijtr.s2129
- Panzer A. (1998). Depression or cancer: the choice between serotonin or melatonin?. Medical hypotheses, 50(5), 385–387. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0306-9877(98)90209-2
- Kapalka, G. M. (2009, October 26). Nutritional and Herbal Therapies for Children and Adolescents: A Handbook for Mental Health Clinicians (Practical Resources for the Mental Health Professional) (1st ed.). Academic Press.
- Young S. N. (2003). Is tryptophan a natural hypnotic?. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 28(2), 160.
