Insomnia Insomnia is a very common problem these days.  People try many different ways to get a good night's sleep, including resorting to sleeping pills. Did you know that sleeping pills work by artificially depressing the normal brain function?  These drugs  cause several negative things to happen, including chronic dependence on a chemically-induced sleep. However, there is a natural amino acid can provide a restful night's sleep without the side effects of the other prescription medications.  It has also been useful in treating depression.This natural substance is called L-Tryptophan. What is L-Tryptophan? L-Tryptophan is an amino acid, which means it is one of the building blocks of the proteins in our bodies.  It is also used by the body to make serotonin,  a neural transmitter. The brain uses this serotonin to regulate your mood and to put you to sleep.  Dr. Julian Whitaker, M.D., a leading proponent of natural therapies, says the safest way to increase serotonin levels is to take supplemental L-Tryptophan.  When supplemental L-Tryptophan is taken, the body changes some of this into serotonin, which brings on a natural sleep, as well as lifting the mood of a depressed person. What's so bad about sleeping pills and antidepressants? One of the most important reasons we sleep is to provide our brain time to dream. Sleep researchers say that dreams occur only during times of REM sleep, which stands for rapid eye movement. One of the side effects of  common sleeping pills is that normal REM sleep is shut down, which prevents us from having normal dreaming. As long as a person takes these drugs, a normal dream pattern will not occur.  Also, many people find that they cannot sleep without the nightly dose, and become dependent on the drug. Regarding antidepressants, there is a quite lengthy list of possible side effects, many of which are quite severe.  These include the ability to cause violent, irrational behavior in some individuals, and also personality change. Certainly there are times when these medications are needed, but for those patients who desire a more natural therapy, this is an option. How do I get L-Tryptophan? At this time, L-Tryptophan is only available from a compounding pharmacy, because there are no sources of manufactured products.  The pharmacy must put the ingredients into a capsule, which can only be dispensed with a doctor's prescription.  Many doctors are already looking for a more natural sleep aid or anti-depressant, and would be quite willing to prescribe this for their patients instead of a possibly harmful drug, if they knew it was available. But there is no giant drug company sales force knocking on every doctor's office door to spread the word.  If you would like more detailed information on this natural product to help sleep, please feel free to use our Ask the pharmacist option for a response via email. Click here for more detailed information.