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What is the secret to a
good sleep?
by Chris Chen, Nutritional Peer Educator
You may be mildly surprised that part of the answer to the above question is actually due to the effects of tryptophan, a
dietary source amino acid. Since tryptophan is a dietary amino acid, it cannot be produced by your body. Therefore, it must be obtained from foods that we eat.
How does tryptophan promote a restful sleep? Tryptophan must pass the blood brain barrier in order for it to enter into your brain. Once inside of the brain, tryptophan is converted into serotonin. In literature studies, serotonin has been associated with feelings of calm, relaxation, and of course, sleepiness. Therefore, without adequate levels of tryptophan in your brain, you will not be able to produce serotonin. Without serotonin, you will have a hard time feeling sleepy.
However, the task of enough tryptophan crossing the blood brain barrier is not an easy one. Our blood brain barrier is often limited to the limited amount of channels. Consequently, tryptophan is usually in competition by other amino acids in natural foods.
Once way to increase tryptophan uptake in the brain is to eat a carbohydrate rich food with a tryptophan rich food. This is because when the brain recognizes that sugar levels are increasing in the blood, the brain will produce insulin. As a result, the insulin actually diverts most of the other amino acids away from the blood brain barrier.
Thus, tryptophan is left with little competition to cross the blood brain barrier. Here are some healthy foods that are naturally rich of tryptophan: beans, whole grains (including rice), lentils, chickpeas, hazelnuts, peanuts, eggs, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds just to name a few.
Combining a tryptophan-rich food with a carbohydrate-rich food into a healthy meal or snack is actually easier than you think! Here are some suggestions:
References:
Harada, T., Hirotani, M., Maeda, M., Nomura, H., Takeuchi, H. (2007). Correlation between breakfast tryptophan content and morning-evening in Japanese infants and students aged 0-15 yrs. Journal of Physiological Anthropology. 2, 201-207.
Paredes, S.D., Terron, M.P., Cubero, J., Valero, V., Barriga, C., Reiter, R.J., Rodriguez, A.B. (2007). Tryptophan increases nocturnal rest and affects melatonin and serotonin serum levels in old ringdove. Physiology and Behaviour. 90, 576-582.
Silverthorn, D. U. (2007). Human Physiology. Pearson – Benjamin Cummings. 4th edition.
Pictures:
www.haikudesigns.com/
www.thehealthblog.net/
www.anneharveyillustration.com/ rmeasteregghunt.com/?p=75