The Tryptophan Snooze: Foods that Help You Sleep

Tryptophan may be a word you are not familiar with but I imagine you have felt its effect. It may have been responsible for that afternoon urge to snooze. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. It is considered essential because our bodies do not produce it; it must be provided in the foods we eat. Tryptophan converts to Niacin and is responsible for the production of Serotonin in our bodies. It is also key to the production of melatonin which aids in sleep. Taking this into consideration, it is easy to draw the correlation that a decrease in our Tryptophan levels can cause depression from the decrease in serotonin or insomnia from the decrease in melatonin.

In order to insure adequate Tryptophan levels, you cannot just increase the intake of foods which contain this amino acid. Tryptophan works in conjunction with other amino acids which may cause a reduction in the amount of tryptophan which can be absorbed.

Knowing this, in order to get the most from the tryptophan, you must know the foods which are highest in levels, and you must know what foods not to intake at the same time. Foods high in tryptophan which are consumed either on an empty stomach or by themselves will have the greatest impact on raising the levels.

Nutritiondata.com provides a listing of foods highest in tryptophan. You can choose particular food groups, or line the list up by amount of tryptophan. Among the list of foods which are high in content you will find:

Dairy Products - The old adage of warm milk putting you to sleep wasn't off the mark. A night time glass of soy milk is even higher in tryptophans and can help produce more melatonin.

Turkey - This *other white meat* is high in tryptophan and other nutritious ingredients. Other forms of poultry are also high in content.

Eggs - A single egg white contains more than 500mg of Tryptophan. Add some cheese to them for and egg white omelet as your midnight snack and increase your likelihood of a good night's sleep.

Fish - Many fish are high in Tryptophan content. Salmon, Cod and perch are all good sources of the amino acid.

Pastas - High carbohydrate items are high in Tryptophan and can raise the level quickly. This explains why many comfort foods are the high carbohydrate items.

As a cook or meal preparer, you may want to consider what items you feed your diners at a given meal. A lunch high in tryptophan may cause the need for a mid day nap and make for a tough afternoon at work!