What is Tryptophan and Can It Help You Sleep Better?

The good news is that for all the foods and drinks that all the stimulators innkeepers awake at night, nature has provided sleep-inducing alternatives.

Tryptophan, the insomniacs friend

Foods containing a chemical called Tryptophan deliver sedated effects.

Tryptophan is an amino acid and essential chemical for life as it helps us to build protein. We consume about 1 to 3 g of Tryptophan a day, but we can boost our intake by seeking out foods that have a higher concentration. It has the effect of speeding up the onset of sleep, decreasing the number of spontaneous wakings during the night, and increasing the overall length of sleep during the night.

Elderly people, who suffer from increased sensitivity to noise, find it especially helpful. The use of antidepressants can raise the level of serotonin, which is low in the brains of the oppressed people.

Eating a healthy meal around four hours before bedtime, including complex carbohydrates or some of the vegetables listed further down will help start the relaxing process.

If needed, a tryptophan-rich snack before bedtime, such as suspects listed below should greatly improve your chances of getting a good night's sleep. Remember, however, to make sure you give any snacks enough time to digest (an hour or so) before you go to bed.

Foods rich in Tryptophan

✔ Bananas

✔ Turkey

✔ Milk and other dairy products

✔ Almonds

✔ Cabbage

✔ Oats

✔ Poppyseed

✔ Pumpkin seed

✔ Spinach

✔ Wheat

✔ Evening primrose seed (contains the most tryptophan out of any food source)

✔ Poultry

✔ Eggs

✔ Chocolate

✔ Soya bean

✔ Tofu

✔ Basil

✔ Dill

For the midnight snackers

It’s hard to skip the big old midnight snack.

Although, if you want to increase the quality of your sleep, you must do it.

Or, at least, consider eating light food rich in Tryptophan instead of that cold pizza, or those couple of scoops of ice cream ;)