"tryptophan" news and stories

Wine, fast food, beer, a heavy meal: all things that make you crash right to sleep, right? New research shows that though these foods may help you fall asleep, they don't actually make your sleep any more restful.

Washington Post columnist Jennifer LaRue Huget recently wondered if there were some magic food to solve sleep problems but found that it was more plausible to define which foods actually hinder sleep.

As it turns out, if you want to get a good night's rest, don't consume a ton of fat or alcohol before hitting the hay, as these both have the ability to disrupt the REM cycle, which is when your body actually rests.

The holidays tend to stress us out. Stress makes it hard to sleep. The best thing for you when you're stressed? Sleep. Evolution FAIL.

Everyone knows about tryptophan, that magic amino acid present in turkey that totally knocks you out after Thanksgiving. There's actually quite a lot of it in egg whites, soybeans, and parmesan cheese, too.

It probably doesn't occur to you to get up and eat some turkey in the middle of the night to help you sleep. That's because the protein in turkey and many other tryptophan-rich foods gets your mind ticking. If you awaken from a turkey-induced slumber, you'll find yourself thinking clearly and unlikely to fall back asleep. Conclusion: Turkey is the perfect nap-food.

Here are eight foods and drinks that help you sleep, naptime and/or nighttime:

1. Turkey - the classic nap food.
2. Rice cakes - a food with a high glycemic index eaten about four hours before bed can cause the perfect crash.
3. Milk - also has tryptophan, and is very soothing when warm.
4. Yogurt - dairy foods without a lot of protein are ideal.
5. Wine - don't overdo it; one or two glasses is relaxing; more can disrupt your sleep patterns.
6. Bedtime Tea from Yogi Tea - this tea is serious business.
7. Chamomile tea - your grandmother's version of the same thing.
8. Oatmeal - melatonin, people.

I dare you to have them all in one sitting just to see what happens. Thank you and good night.

Your mother always told you the breakfast was the most important meal of the day, but it turns out they all are. According to researchers in England, you make the best decisions on a full stomach.

This article in the Telegraph Online explains the tests that researchers put subjects to in order to get the results. Serotonin is a chemical the brain produces to make us feel good, but it is dependent on tryptophan (an amino acid we can only get through ingesting food). Turns out that you need to eat to make serotonin, so the best advice is to eat before you need to make big decisions.

Serotonin is also linked to cranky and aggressive behavior. If you have low serotonin levels, you'll probably be a little cranky. That means you should also eat if you need to stay in a good mood. I'm sure no one is suggesting that you gorge yourself constantly, but if you feel hungry then eating something could help. It would at least help prevent any afternoon office fights.

Whether or not there are as many isoflavones/antioxidants in the average chocolate bar as was previously thought, there is no doubt the beloved chocolate, savior of our existence, is packed with some other very cool ingredients, such as: caffeine, which works to reduce swelling of tired muscles, and sugar for short term energy, and tryptophan, which is what makes you sleepy when you eat turkey at Thanksgiving. There's also a sex drug called phenylethylamine.

This delightful chemical is what science types refer to as the "chocolate amphetamine." This is why nothing beats dark chocolate after sex; the sugar gets your post-orgasm blood flowing again, and the phenylethylamine gooses the post-coitus high. Here's an interesting tidbit: the ancients Aztecs used cocoa beans as money! They used gold like it was dry wall, but cocoa was the cigarettes in the jail of their existence.

This would all be great news, except that I like my chocolate to be made in Pennyslvania instead of Germany, and readily available at the local deli for 75 cents, full of nuts (just like Pennsylvania) but no doubt lacking in the phenylethylamine department. As for those Dark Lindt numbers that boast 85% or 70% cocoa in proud white letters on their labels, I can attest to their effect in my own sparkling sex life. But when there ain't no woman around, when it's just me and my Woody Allen stress, I go for the Snickers or Mr. Goodbar, as they both cause and cure, in the true American way.

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