Natural Sleep Aid

[The Swede]

I've been having sleeping probs the last 6 months, so started taking the amino acid L-Tryptophan (1000 mg before bed) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan

Holy sheat, does that stuff work. I'm asleep in minutes and no longer wake up for hours on end -- Plus no grogginess or weirdness the next day, tons of energy in the AM. Amazing!!

[Gurkha]

Its also a naturally occuring substance in Turkey meal. Remember, after a heavy turkey dinner, you do feel sleepy.

[catmandoo62]

thats exactly what i was gonna say.eat turkey for a late night snack and you will be good to go to sleep.

[The Swede]

Nope, that's an old wives tale. I knew it would be brought up!!



Health
Thankgiving Myth: Turkey Makes You Sleepy
By Christopher Wanjek, LiveScience's Bad Medicine Columnist
posted: 20 November 2007 03:59 pm ET
Buzz up!
0 Comments | 1 Recommend
There are a couple of myths told each year at my house on Thanksgiving. One is that Uncle Lou will finally get the hint by Friday afternoon that he's overstayed his welcome and will leave without swiping most of the leftovers. The other is that there's a natural chemical in turkey called tryptophan that makes you sleepy after the Thanksgiving meal.

While the first myth stems from wishful thinking, the sleepy-turkey myth lingers around each year because it sounds so logical.

Alas, it is only marginally true. What's making you sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner is any combination of booze, bad conversation and a carbohydrate-heavy meal, but not the turkey itself.

The tryptophan trip

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid crucial for good health. Human bodies need tryptophan to build certain kinds of proteins. There is a sleep connection, though. The body uses tryptophan in a multi-step process to make serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps regulate sleep.

Turkey does have tryptophan. But all meat has tryptophan at comparable levels. Cheddar cheese, gram for gram, has more. While cheddar isn't the most exciting cheese in the cheese cellar, no one connects it with sleep. Turkey gets singled out for no other reason than being eaten during the biggest meal of the year.

In essence, big meals with any food containing tryptophan can cause sleepiness. The real culprits are all those carbohydrates from potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, bread and pie. The massive intake of carb-heavy calories stimulates the release of insulin, which in turn triggers the uptake of most amino acids from the blood into the muscles except for tryptophan.

With other amino acids swept out of the bloodstream, tryptophan—from turkey or ham or any meat or cheese, for that matter—can better make its way to the brain to produce serotonin. Without that insulin surge, tryptophan would have to compete with all the other kinds of amino acids in the big meal as they make their way to the brain via a common chemical transport route. And not enough tryptophan would make it to the brain because other basic amino acids are far more plentiful in food.

Turkey sleeping pill

Tryptophan can trigger the production of serotonin and sweet dreams if it is taken alone on an empty stomach. In fact, tryptophan supplements were a popular sleep aid in the 1980s. Then the FDA banned their sale in 1991 after a massive outbreak of an autoimmune disease called eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome.

Tens of thousands of people were sickened with flu-like symptoms and 37 died—likely not the kind of sleep anyone had in mind. Most of the cases were traced back to contamination at the supplement manufacturer's plant, but scientists still find a connection between high-doses of tryptophan and eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome.

There remains ongoing debate on whether tryptophan really causes eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome, with some arguing that the pharmaceutical industry pressured the FDA to ban this natural supplement, which acts on serotonin in a way similar to how Prozac and many anti-depressant drugs work.

Like a good dinner, this 16-year-old argument might be very stimulating or just put you to sleep.

What Do Turkeys and T. Rex Have in Common?
Top 10 Bad Things That Are Good For You
Can Turkeys Fly?
Christopher Wanjek is the author of the books “Bad Medicine” and “Food At Work.” Got a question about Bad Medicine? Email Wanjek. If it’s really bad, he just might answer it in a future column. Bad Medicine appears each Tuesday on LiveScience.

[Medmech]

Originally Posted by The Swede

I've been having sleeping probs the last 6 months, so started taking the amino acid L-Tryptophan (1000 mg before bed) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan

Holy sheat, does that stuff work. I'm asleep in minutes and no longer wake up for hours on end -- Plus no grogginess or weirdness the next day, tons of energy in the AM. Amazing!!

It works great another is valerian root.

[cmac2012]

Is valerian root that one that stinks to high heaven?

Tell you what Swede, if'n this works as good as you say it does, I'm going to have to put you on my permanent Christmas card list. I HATE lying in bed for hours, wanting to go to sleep, knowing that I have to get up at a semi-early hour.

[Medmech]

The tryptophan seems to be a great laxative as well thank god its not a tranquilizer.

[The Swede]

Originally Posted by Howitzer

It works great another is valerian root.

Yep, I'll give that a shot as well.

[Zeus]

My sleep aid. Two shots usually does it.

[The Swede]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Is valerian root that one that stinks to high heaven?

Tell you what Swede, if'n this works as good as you say it does, I'm going to have to put you on my permanent Christmas card list. I HATE lying in bed for hours, wanting to go to sleep, knowing that I have to get up at a semi-early hour.

I used it both Saturday and Sunday night, best sleep I've had in distant memory (I'm not exaggerating).


I just took 1000 mg, so in after Michelle Obama's speech, we'll see how it goes.

[cmac2012]

I remember once I bought some Valerian root at a sorta co-op style store, not too big, and I had the lid off the jar for about 30 seconds before one of the checkers stuck her head around the corner and said "You got the lid off of the Valerian root jar? Could you put it back on please?"

Found this on the web:

By Melissa Chiasson, MD and Julie Dickson, MD

Valerian root has been used for centuries in Europe and Asia as a sedative/hypnotic agent. It is claimed that Valerian root decreases the time it takes for a person to fall asleep and that it also improves sleep quality. However, there are many other purported uses for this plant. Unfortunately, most of these do not have any scientifically proven merit.

Valerian root has a distinctive unpleasant odor which is only present in the dried form. The fresh root has no odor. In the drying process, components in the root hydrolyze to form isovaleric acid. It is this compound that causes the offensive odor. This odor is said to be attractive to rats. According to legend, the Pied Piper used Valerian root to lure rats from the village of Hamlin.

[The Swede]

Originally Posted by Zeus

My sleep aid. Two shots usually does it.

I gave that up, thankfully. Never had a quality sleep all boozed up.

[cmac2012]

Beer makes me sorta sleepy had hard liquor jazzes me up. Not surprising as its molecule is largely similar to or made up of sugar.

[The Swede]

Evening meditation helps as well, but as Sawaki Roshi once shouted, "zazen is useless."

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by The Swede

I gave that up, thankfully. Never had a quality sleep all boozed up.

Yeah, I was *mostly* kidding. I sleep well most nights. When I'm really stressed and a lot is on my mind, can't wind down...I run. That works wonders for me. I find running clears my mind and gives me time to think things through/gives perspective.

I do however enjoy a scotch or two a few nights a week as a nightcap.

Glad you were able to find something that worked for you!