Tryptophan Benefits
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Tryptophan's benefits include:
- Tryptophan is a precursor of serotonin and melatonin
Tryptophan is required to be able to make serotonin, an inhibitory neurotransmitter which is involved in regulation of mood and sleep patterns. Tryptophan controls food cravings, relieves minor premenstrual symptoms, soothes nerves and anxiety. Tryptophan is also needed to make the neurohormone melatonin, which regulates the body clock. Melatonin is produced by the pineal glad, so tryptophan appears to also regulate the way the pineal gland produces the melatonin to help with normalising sleep patterns. - Tryptophan helps with depression and anxiety
Many studies show that low tryptophan levels are associated with increased risk of depressive illness and anxiety disorders and that people who do have these health conditions have an improvement of the symptoms association with their conditions if they are supplemented with tryptophan, by increasing serotonin levels and regulating mood.
- Tryptophan may help with pain relief
Studies have shown that tryptophan may be a useful pain reliever, which could help people with chronic pain, such as in those with conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, lupus.
Double blind studies show that tryptophan is beneficial in people who have insomnia and it is significantly better than even over-the-counter or prescription sleeping medications
- Tryptophan may help with pre-menstrual syndrome
Studies show that tryptophan, may help women who experience the emotional and mental symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) by boosting serotonin levels and regulating mood, so that these women do not experience the extremes in mood swings which are a part of PMS. It may also help them relax enough to be able to sleep properly. Other studies show that when tryptophan was administered to women with really severe PMS or PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), it helped to significantly reduce symptoms in the women compared to the control groups who either received other medications or none at all. - Tryptophan helps with insomnia
Double blind studies (these are studies in which neither the scientist or the participants know which substance they have been given, so these studies give a more reliable result) show that tryptophan is beneficial in people who have insomnia and it is significantly better than even over-the-counter or prescription sleeping medications. - Tryptophan may relieve restless legs syndrome
Several older studies have show that tryptophan is beneficial in relieving the symptoms associated with restless legs syndrome and allowing people with this condition to have a better quality of sleep with a significant reduction in the symptoms.
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