Natural Remedies for Insomnia: A Comprehensive Guide

I mentioned using a pedometer watch in a recent post as a way to see how much sleep you were getting. A low tech and cheap way, but a possibility none the less.

My watch (when paired with a smartphone) will give you a bar graph each day to show you the light and deep sleep. I was rather horrified to see the sleep pattern of my teenage daughter when she used her watch to track her sleep. Few and brief were her periods of deep sleep. No wonder she is tired a lot!

I tried a few things - some herbs, melatonin, etc.

5 HTP was the best for improving the amount and frequency of deep sleep for her. It does not cause any side effects for her that we have noticed, anyway.

~Mama to Many~

5 HTP for Sleep and Depression

I recently discovered 5 HTP for my sleep issues. I never seemed to go into a deep sleep and would grind my teeth. I have back, neck and sciatica issues so the pain would keep me up at night.

With 50 mg of 5 HTP about an hour before I go to bed, I go into a deep sleep and finally become fully rested. I wake up in the morning loving my life. I am feeling that 5 HTP is going to be great dealing with my SAD, which seems to happen every year Jan- March. I just want off the planet with SAD... it will sneak up on me..

My attitude towards life is much better. It seems my depression has lifted somewhat. I don't seem to crave carbs as much.

I have been able to sleep less and less over the last few years. I have tried so many things to help get past my insomnia (I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep). I heard about your website and searched for things to help me sleep. The only thing I had in the house that night was 5htp. I take it for mood but have always taken it in the mornings. I didn't think it would help but felt desperate so i tried it. I have been taking it for 9 nights and have only had trouble sleeping 2 of those nights; a HUGE improvement! Thank you!!!

ive taken 5HTP (150mgs) and it relaxed me and made it way way easier to sleep. with stress during the day, i hadnt been able to sleep until 5-7 in the morning, but when i started taking this i was feeling sleepy by about 10pm, asleep before midnight!

I found this remedy when I was looking for herbal remedies for my daily headaches. I found 5-HTP. According to the article, some of the things it helped with are insomnia, headaches, anxiety & depression. I thought could it be? I immediately went to my husband to show him what I had found because he had problems sleeping at night as well. We went a few days later to our local drug store and picked up a bottle of 50mg. 5-HTP. We had decided on the lowest dosage available in our area, upping the dosage as we went along if it was necessary. We have only been on it for a few days now but there is a very noticeable difference. We both have been sleeping through the night and feeling more refreshed when we wake. My anxiety attacks are gone as well as my headaches. We both are much less snappish than what we were before. We haven't noticed any side effects so far. We are taking them with a meal or a small snack and so far we have stayed at 50mg. Thanks for the very useful information that lead to this discovery!