http://channels.netscape.com/ns/atplay/package.jsp?name=fte/tryptophan/tryptophan

>  
> Drink This at Night. Be Alert in Morning
>
> Wouldn't it be great to wake up clearheaded and alert? You're not 
> dreaming! Researchers from the University of Maastricht in the 
> Netherlands have found that drinking a special evening milkshake 
> spiked with the amino acid tryptophan--it's what is in the 
> Thanksgiving turkey that makes you sleepy--may clear the morning fog 
> of those who don't get enough shuteye the night before, reports Reuters.
>
Evening intake of alpha-lactalbumin increases plasma tryptophan 
availability and improves morning alertness and brain measures of attention.

Markus CR, Jonkman LM, Lammers JH, Deutz NE, Messer MH, Rigtering N.

Department of Experimental Psychology and the Biomedical Center, 
University of Maastricht, Maastricht, Netherlands. 
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BACKGROUND: Brain serotonin function is thought to promote sleep 
regulation and cognitive processes, whereas sleep abnormalities and 
subsequent behavioral decline are often attributed to deficient brain 
serotonin activity. Brain uptake of the serotonin precursor tryptophan 
is dependent on nutrients that influence the availability of tryptophan 
via a change in the ratio of plasma tryptophan to the sum of the other 
large neutral amino acids (Trp:LNAA). OBJECTIVE: We tested whether 
evening consumption of alpha-lactalbumin protein with an enriched 
tryptophan content of 4.8 g/100 g increases plasma Trp:LNAA and improves 
alertness and performance on the morning after sleep, particularly in 
subjects with sleep complaints. DESIGN: Healthy subjects with (n = 14) 
or without (n = 14) mild sleep complaints participated in a 
double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The subjects slept at the 
laboratory for 2 separate nights so that morning performance could be 
evaluated after an evening diet containing either tryptophan-rich 
alpha-lactalbumin or tryptophan-low placebo protein. Evening dietary 
changes in plasma Trp:LNAA were measured. Behavioral (reaction time and 
errors) and brain measures of attention were recorded during a 
continuous performance task. RESULTS: Evening alpha-lactalbumin intake 
caused a 130% increase in Trp:LNAA before bedtime (P = 0.0001) and 
modestly but significantly reduced sleepiness (P = 0.013) and improved 
brain-sustained attention processes (P = 0.002) the following morning. 
Only in poor sleepers was this accompanied by improved behavioral 
performance (P = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Evening dietary increases in plasma 
tryptophan availability for uptake into the brain enhance sustained 
alertness early in the morning after an overnight sleep, most likely 
because of improved sleep.

The significance of tryptophan in infant nutrition.

Heine WE.

Children's Hospital, University of Rostock/Germany.

In the newborn, tryptophan (Trp) and its metabolites are essential to 
brain maturation and to the development of neurobehavioral regulations 
of food intake, satiation and sleep-wake-rhythm. Due to the high Trp 
concentration in human milk in relation to the total of neutral amino 
acids, the blood-brain transfer of tryptophan as a precursor of its 
metabolites serotonin and melatonin is optimal. In contrast, commercial 
infant formulas are lower in Trp and higher in neutral amino acid levels 
resulting in comparatively lower Trp serum concentrations. 
alpha-lactalbumin enriched, protein-reduced formulas adapted to 2.2% Trp 
were shown to be capable of producing Trp serum values that did not 
differ from those in breast-fed infants.


Apologies if this was posted before. I'm lurking and not keeping up. But 
I think this is, at last, a hint to why babies are so alert at 5 a.m. 
after sleeping so little. I wonder if a breastmilkshake could help new 
mothers feel more rested?
Jo-Anne

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