It is now clear that our moods are the product of our brain chemistry. Individuals who experience moods such as anxiety, depression, or hostility are expressing a chemical condition in the brain. When we consider mood from the perspective of body chemistry, we gain a new way of looking at troubling or disabling emotions. Moods are no longer seen as character flaws. They occur when our body chemistry is out of balance - and can be a sign that certain essential nutrients have become depleted. Fortunately, we can restore good moods and higher performance by providing key nutrients such as tryptophan.

Depression . More than 20 million Americans experience major episodes of depression, according to the National Institutes of Health. Millions more suffer from moderate or occasional depression. We now know that depression is one of the conditions most often caused by imbalances in brain chemistry, resulting from stress, lifestyle, or genetics. Low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin are a common feature in depression. The research suggests that low serotonin affects a significant number of people, perhaps the majority of those with depression.

The research makes it clear that low serotonin results when tryptophan levels in the body are depleted. Tryptophan is the raw material that the brain uses to make serotonin. Low levels of serotonin and tryptophan can be an important factor in anxiety, depression, and other uncomfortable moods. This link has been confirmed in hundreds of studies conducted over the past 15 years.

Anxiety. Another 19 million American adults have some type of anxiety disorder, including obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks. These conditions have also been associated with low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Research indicates when tryptophan is depleted anxiety and panic attacks can occur.

Sleep . Quality sleep has such a major effect on moods we have included it here. Many of us are too wired - or too tired - to get to sleep. In fact, surveys suggest that more than two-thirds of Americans don't get enough sleep. When serotonin levels are low, we are likely to have difficulty unwinding. It is the soothing effect of serotonin that allows us to relax and fall asleep. We know that the body must have enough tryptophan for natural relaxation to occur.

Tryptophan is also the precursor of melatonin, the hormone that controls our internal clock in response to day-night cycles. Taking a tryptophan supplement can provide double benefit by supporting melatonin production and increasing serotonin to promote relaxation and sleep.

Performance . Researchers have studied a wide range of performance issues that are affected by low serotonin and low tryptophan. Often they evaluate these conditions by temporarily lowering tryptophan levels. It is interesting to note how rapidly tryptophan is depleted and how much it affects performance.

. "After 6 hours of tryptophan depletion, subjects reported significantly more tiredness and lowering of mood...and memory performance declined."

. "By 5 hours, the tryptophan-[depleted] group had significantly elevated scores on the depression scale. The tryptophan-[depleted] group also performed worse than the other two groups in a proofreading task."

. " In healthy volunteers the effects of tryptophan depletion...include some mood lowering, some memory impairment and an increase in aggression."

. " Tryptophan depletion specifically impaired long-term memory performance in all subjects: delayed recall... [and] reaction times were significantly impaired."

. "Depleted subjects reported greater increases in feelings of restlessness and incompetence, were less successful [at the task], and showed greater increases in blood pressure."

Tryptophan supplements have been found to improve performance. For example, at the School of Medicine of the University of Mainz in Germany , researchers found, "s leep duration increased following tryptophan intake. The administration of tryptophan caused a significant improvement on performance in a concentration task."

The huge number of people that are affected by the various problems related to low serotonin suggest there are widespread deficiencies of tryptophan. Fortunately we know that serotonin levels can be easily and safely increased with tryptophan supplements.

References:

Klaassen T, and others. "Specificity of the tryptophan depletion method." Psychopharmacology ( Berlin ). January 1999; Vol. 141, No. 3: pages 279-86.

Young SN, and others. "Tryptophan depletion causes a rapid lowering of mood in normal males." Psychopharmacology ( Berlin ). 1985; Vol. 87, No. 2: pages 173-177.

Bell C, and others. "Tryptophan depletion and its implications for psychiatry." British Journal of Psychiatry . 2001 May; Vol. 178: pages 399-405.

Riedel WJ, and others. "Tryptophan depletion in normal volunteers produces selective impairment in memory consolidation." Psychopharmacology ( Berlin ). February 1999; Vol. 141, No. 4: 362-369.

Wingrove J, and others. "Tryptophan enhancement/depletion and reactions to failure on a cooperative computer game." Neuropsychopharmacology . December 1999; Vol. 21, No. 6: pages 755-764.

A Aberg-Wistedt and others. "Serotonergic 'vulnerability' in affective disorder." Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica . May 1998; Vol. 97, No. 5: pages 374-380.

D Baldwin and S Rudge. "The role of serotonin in depression and anxiety." International Clinical Psychopharmacology . January 1995 Supplement, Vol 4: pages 41-45.

C Bell and others. "Tryptophan depletion and its implications for psychiatry." The British Journal of Psychiatry . May 1, 2001 ; Vol. 78: pages 399-405.

CJ Bell and DJ Nutt. " Serotonin and panic." The British Journal of Psychiatry . June 1998; Vol 172: pages 465-471.

C Benkelfat and others. "Mood-lowering effect of tryptophan depletion. Enhanced susceptibility in young men at genetic risk for major affective disorders." Archives of General Psychiatry . September 1994; Vol. 51, No. 9: 687-697.

Z Bhagwagar and others. " Cortisol modulation of 5-HT-mediated growth hormone release in recovered depressed patients." Journal of Affective Disorders . December 2002; Vol. 72, No. 3: pages 249-255.

DB Menkes and others. "Acute tryptophan depletion aggravates premenstrual syndrome." Journal of Affective Disorders . September 1994; Vol. 32, No 1: 1 pages 37-44.

FA Moreno and others. "Tryptophan depletion and risk of depression relapse: a prospective study of tryptophan depletion as a potential predictor of depressive episodes." Biological Psychiatry . August 15, 2000 ; Vol. 48, No. 4: pages 327-329.

K Schruers and others. "Effects of tryptophan depletion on carbon dioxide provoked panic in panic disorder patients." Psychiatry Research . April 10, 2002 ; Vol 92, No 3: pages 179-187.

KA Smith and others. "Relapse of depression after rapid depletion of tryptophan." Lancet . March 29, 1997 ; Vol. 349, No. 9056: pages 915-919.

J Stastny and others. "Effects of tryptophan depletion and catecholamine depletion on immune parameters in patients with seasonal affective disorder in remission with light therapy." Biological Psychiatry . February 15, 2003 ; Vol. 53, No. 4: pages 332-327.

S Steinberg and others. "A placebo-controlled study of the effects of L-tryptophan in patients with premenstrual dysphoria." Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology . 1999; Vol 467: pages 85-88.

Wingrove J, and others. "Tryptophan enhancement/depletion and reactions to failure on a cooperative computer game." Neuropsychopharmacology . December 1999; Vol. 21, No. 6: pages 755-764.

Young SN, and others. "Tryptophan depletion causes a rapid lowering of mood in normal males." Psychopharmacology ( Berlin ). 1985; Vol. 87, No. 2: pages 173-177.