How does Vitamin B6 as P5P and 5-HTP Work as Effective Sleep Aids?

Sleep deprivation is a common disorder among adults and teenagers all over the world. It is the condition when one is unable to fall asleep or stay asleep. This disorder affects your overall health adversely. The patient, not only experiences disturbed sleep cycles but also goes through various other symptoms, like poor concentration, fatigue, weak memory, daytime sleepiness, low energy, irritability, and proneness to committing mistakes.

There are some health supplements, such as vitamin B6 as Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate (P5P) and 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), that serve as a sleep aid and help to mitigate this problem of insomnia.

Let us learn about these components elaborately and their benefits in boosting sleep in this article.

Vitamin B6 as Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate (P5P) Explained

Vitamin B6 is available in three different forms. To get the nutritional benefits out of these three types, they should be changed to P5P first inside the liver. Being a coenzyme, P5P works with other enzymes to help them complete their tasks rapidly and efficiently. It is a vital element of biosynthesis, which is a biological process that produces more complex products required for the body’s proper growth and maintenance of life. Biosynthesis helps produce energy in the body and is necessary for cellular function and survival.

P5P vitamin is essential for carrying out different functions in the body, like metabolism at the cellular level, mood regulation, muscle growth, and repair, sleep regulation, and other tasks. Taking pure P5P doesn’t require to be converted in the liver. This means on consuming P5P supplement one can obtain more benefits from the nutrient, especially when taken with magnesium.

Role of Vitamin B6 as P5P Supplement in Promoting Sleep

• Helps to Sleep and Regulate Sleep-Wake Cycles

A study revealed that a lack of vitamin B6 or P5P can lead to sleep disturbances.

Vitamin B6 has been observed to stimulate some parts of the brain at the time of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This is found to enhance the vividness of dreams.

Moreover, vitamin B6 is helpful in improving an individual’s arousing cortisol levels, that enables the brain to get prepared for any expected stress.

Insufficiency of the active form of P5P vitamin in the body may result in shunting tryptophan towards the making of an organic acid known as kynurenine. This lowers melatonin and serotonin levels that lead to sleep disturbances.

• Aids in Reducing Anxiety and Depression

According to the National Institutes of Health, about 50 to 70 million Americans have long-term and chronic sleep disorders and wakefulness.,.

Anxiety and stress may be associated with sleeping problems. Anxiety disorder can aggravate the problem more. It can pose a serious problem causing a night without sleep, and various other health issues.

Consuming a combined supplement of vitamin B6 as P5P and magnesium diminish postmenstrual syndrome (PMS)-related anxiety. Furthermore, a lack of vitamin B6 is found to be related to symptoms of depression.

Those who suffer from panic attacks or hyperventilation attacks are seen to be deficient in vitamin B6.

Thus, vitamin B6 supplements in the form of P5P in addition to the regular balanced diet can help to minimize stress, anxiety, and depression, and act as an effective sleep aid.

What is 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)?

Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, that helps to produce feel-good chemicals in the body and brain is made through a few chemical steps. This production of serotonin begins with the amino acid L-tryptophan. 5-Hydroxytryptophan or 5-HTP is one of those chemicals that help transform L-tryptophan to serotonin.

5-HTP is not available naturally in foods. It has to be taken as a supplement, which is manufactured from the seeds of Griffonia Simplicifolia, an African plant. Deficiency of serotonin has been related to a few medical conditions, like anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, weight gain, and others. So, some physicians suggest to consume 5-HTP supplementation along with daily medications as a sleep aid and to improve other health conditions.

How can 5-HTP Help You to Get Better Sleep?

• Promotes Sleep

5-HTP aids in producing serotonin, that can be changed into the melatonin hormone. The role of melatonin in the body is to regulate sleep. Its levels increase during the evening to boost sleep and drops in the morning enabling you to wake up.

Human-based research has revealed that taking 5-HTP and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in a combined form as a supplement, could considerably lower the time taken to fall asleep, enhanced duration of sleep, and improved quality of sleep.

Other studies were done on many insects and animals also showed that 5-HTP enhances sleep quality.

An analysis of treatments done for sleep disturbances showed that 5-HTP may treat disorders associated with arousal, like sleepwalking and sleep terrors.

• Beneficial in Reducing Anxiety

It is known that a lack of serotonin is likely to enhance anxiety and panic. Due to this reason, serotonin-producing 5-HTP supplements are used to inhibit these conditions.

A 2002 study found that consuming 5-HTP supplements lessened panic and anxiety in individuals suffering from panic disorder.

As low serotonin level is related to sleep disorders, taking this supplement every day can improve the quality of sleep.

In Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed the possible benefits of P5P vitamin and 5-HTP supplementation in improving the condition of sleep disorders. Add this in your regular diet and get a full night sleep to wake up refreshed and ready for the day.