Tryptophan – How Does It Help In A Restful Sleep?
Tryptophan is an amino acid that our body cannot produce naturally and therefore must be taken from external sources; food or dietary supplements. The role of tryptophan in inducing a restful sleep cannot be underestimated because it is the molecule that is turned into serotonin; the hormone responsible for initiating a relaxing response in our body, on its secretion.
How does tryptophan help?
Our body needs an adequate production of a hormone, melatonin, for experiencing restful sleep. And, tryptophan helps in that by converting itself into melatonin. How does this happen? Here’s how:
Once the tryptophan is absorbed into the body, it is then converted into 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), and then to serotonin with the help of other nutrients. And, when serotonin is produced, it goes into further processing and the ultimate product is melatonin. Moreover, serotonin has also been found to be effective in managing mood swings by boosting brain activities. For a better understanding, here’s the link to an article to explain that how tryptophan can help in managing stress and anxiety.
Do this to get tryptophan
As we mentioned earlier, tryptophan is only available to the body when taken through foods and dietary supplements. Therefore, having the following foods in a daily diet can supply our body with enough amount of tryptophan to fall into a restful sleep.
• Protein-rich foods (dairy products, and meat products)
• Nuts and seeds
• Some natural herbs (chamomile flower, and passionflower, etc.)
Adding these natural herbs to the diet is not that simple and effective, as the addition of other foods is. That is why it is often recommended to have dietary supplements that are rich in the properties of these natural sleep inducers.
Dietary supplements to help in a restful sleep
There are several dietary supplements available in the market which contain a perfect mixture of sleep-friendly ingredients; 5-HTP, natural herbs, and essential vitamins. Not just that, some dietary supplements are also manufactured to supply ready-made melatonin to the body. And, while considering the needs for a restful sleep, Nutrifactor has manufactured several dietary supplements by using extracts of some natural plants and essential nutrients.
Nuroton is a dietary supplement that contains 5-HTP, Vitamin B3, and Vitamin B6 which help in the normal production of serotonin in the body. Then, the serotonin is used by our brain to signal the production of melatonin, ultimately initiating a restful sleep. Nutrifactor has also prepared dietary supplements by the names of Melatonin and Melatonix which contain a considerable amount of readymade melatonin, thus making it easy for the body to have a restful sleep.
Besides, all these supplements have also been found to affect mood swings positively, helping our brain to get rid of stress and anxiety.
References:
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC161739/
• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/tryptophan
• https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-326/l-tryptophan
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6764927/
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324295