Amino acids & neurotransmitter precursors
Glycine
3.9 (281 owner comments)
Deeper sleepTaste & form
“glycine on its own was the missing piece for me for years.”
What owners report →Medical disclaimer: SnoozeVerdict summarizes what people say about sleep supplements on Reddit. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting a supplement, especially if you are pregnant, take medicines (including sleep or mood medicines), or have a medical condition. Poor sleep that lasts for months, loud snoring or gasping at night, or falling asleep during the day while driving or working needs a doctor, not a supplement. Full disclaimer.
Amino acids & neurotransmitter precursors · capsules
5-HTP for Sleep: What People Report on Reddit
Illustration, not a product photo.
5-hydroxytryptophan, a serotonin precursor made from Griffonia seeds.
3.7 SnoozeVerdict score
37 owner comments (17 with a clear rating) from r/insomnia, r/sleep, r/Nootropics, r/Supplements, r/Anxiety, May 2026 to October 2026. Top 50% of the 20 rated supplements.
Owner sentiment3.5
Recommendations1.9
Tolerability5.0
ValueNot rated
Value for money: Not rated. The example products differ too much in dose to compare cost fairly. How we score.
Safety note: 5-HTP raises serotonin. Do not combine with SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, triptans, tramadol or other serotonergic drugs (risk of serotonin syndrome). Talk to a doctor first if you take any antidepressant. More on safety.
The short version
5-HTP is rated below most supplements we track: 3.7/5. Of 17 rated owner comments, 13 were positive, 1 mixed and 3 negative; 0 mention an unwanted effect. People talk most about deeper sleep and falling asleep faster.
Reddit comments are self-reported and unverified. They tell you what people noticed, not whether a supplement works or is safe for you.
Before mixing them, read how amino acid sleep aids differ. Read which sleep supplements need extra caution first. You can also compare all rated sleep aids on one page.
What it is
- 5-HTP is made in the body from tryptophan and is converted to serotonin; supplements are usually made from Griffonia seeds.[PubMed]
- A 2024 randomized trial in older adults measured sleep quality with 5-HTP supplements.[PubMed]
Safety and interactions
- 5-HTP raises serotonin. Do not combine it with SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, triptans, tramadol or other serotonergic drugs without a doctor: the combination can cause serotonin syndrome.[PubMed][PubMed]
Supplements can interact with medicines. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist first, especially if you are pregnant, take prescription medicine (including sleep, anxiety or antidepressant medicines), or have ongoing sleep problems. See sleep supplement safety and interactions.
What Reddit owners say
Commonly praised
- Deeper sleep: 2 owner comments
- Falling asleep faster: 2 owner comments
- Taste & form: 1 owner comment
Common complaints
No recurring complaints yet.
4/5“I take tyrosine daily but I only take 5-htp once in a while on a weekend where I can sleep in a bit longer.”
4/5“Considering buying this - I've been using 5-htp at night and its been very effective but apparently L-Tryptophan is a lot healthier for the body and mind”
4/5“I took about that, 900 mg 5-HTP per day, for a while.”
2/5“I had tried and my mom had given me so many other anxiety supplements and sleep supplements, gaba, 5htp, melatonin, lemon balm skull cap, all that kind of stuff but it never went away”
1/5“I absolutely get more sleep paralysis type symptoms when I take 5htp with any DORA.”
+10 more owner comments
4/5“5 htp helps me a lot to sleep. I take 200mg of it only on rough nights. Some nights even that is not enough.”
4/5“I'm trying 5htp now and it seems to be working better for me.”
4/5“5-HTP helps me a lot, but I try to only use it on bad sleep days.”
4/5 Deeper sleep“If I take L-Tryptohan or 5HTP in the evening, approx 90 minutes later I will sleep a deep sleep”
4/5“What helped me is starting to do little things to feel again, move a little, get a massage, break isolation, watch a video, 5htp and vitamin b complex supplements, warm baths, tons of rest still because it felt like my brain was sensitive,…”
4/5 Falling asleep faster“5-HTP helped me fall asleep faster when I tried it but it gave me wild dreams for the first week or so, your mileage may vary”
3/5 CostMood“I tried this that contains 5HTP for a month.”
4/5“Some of these ingredients like 5-HTP could have bad drug interactions if you take other things.”
4/5“I started supplementing with glycine, taurine and 5 HTP (that is a serotonin precursor, there is another one too, but my levels of that were fine so 5HTP was the limiting factor).”
1/5“Same thing has happened when I took 5-HTP.”
Example products
These are examples of 5-HTP products sold on Amazon. They are not ranked by Reddit and the score above is for the ingredient, not a specific product. Check the label for dose and other ingredients.
Example product · not Reddit-scored
Now Supplements, 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) 100 mg, 120 Veg Caps
$15.99 on Amazon (price as of 2026-11-03). Prices change; check Amazon for the current price.
Example product · not Reddit-scored
THORNE 5-HTP, 100 mg 5-Hydroxytryptophan & Active Vitamin B6, 90 Capsules
Brand on Reddit: 3.6 from 11 owner comments · Thorne owner reviews
$39.00 on Amazon (price as of 2026-11-03). Prices change; check Amazon for the current price.
Example product · not Reddit-scored
Natrol 5-HTP 100 mg Time Release, Helps Support a Balanced Mood, 90 Tablets
$14.90 on Amazon (price as of 2026-11-03). Prices change; check Amazon for the current price.
Research to read
Published studies (we list them so you can read the evidence yourself; inclusion is not an endorsement):
- The impact of 5-hydroxytryptophan supplementation on sleep quality and gut microbiota composition in older adults: A randomized controlled trial. Clin Nutr 2024
- Serotonin a la carte: supplementation with the serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan. Pharmacol Ther 2006
FAQ
What do people with sleep problems say about 5-HTP on Reddit?
Across 37 Reddit comments from people who say they have used it for sleep, 13 of 17 rated comments were positive and 3 negative, for a SnoozeVerdict score of 3.7/5. These are self-reported experiences, not clinical evidence.
Is 5-HTP scored on clinical evidence?
No. The score summarizes Reddit owner comments only. Factual statements on this page link to NIH or PubMed sources, and nothing here is medical advice.
Related supplements
Amino acids & neurotransmitter precursors
L-theanine
3.8 (333 owner comments)
CalmingFalling asleep faster
“I've been taking l-theanine for like 8 years now, no side effects, withdrawls when I stop, or anything negative from it at all.”
What owners report →
Amino acids & neurotransmitter precursors
L-tryptophan
3.6 (27 owner comments)
Deeper sleepMorning grogginess
“L-tryptophan which is what makes it the most effective for me, and I'm really hard to sedate!!”
What owners report →Comparisons: 5-HTP vs L-tryptophan · Melatonin vs 5-HTP
Last updated 2026-11-04. Mentions scanned: 129 in 113 threads.