Insomnia

How much GABA should I use for my anxiety? It depends on your unique needs (and there is an extremely large variation in dosing)

February 25, 2022 By Trudy Scott 55 Comments

GABA is a calming amino acid, used as a supplement, to ease low GABA levels. With low GABA you’ll experience physical-tension and stiff-and-tense-muscles type of anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia. You may feel the need to self-medicate to calm down, often with alcohol but sometimes with carbs and sugary foods. GABA also helps with muscle spasms and provides pain relief when muscles are tight.

One of the most common questions I get from individuals who are excited to hear about the benefits of GABA but are totally new to using this amino acid is: “How much GABA should I use for my anxiety?” Even individuals who may be familiar with GABA and have even experimented with it themselves and are seeing some benefits may also have this question.

Most are not aware of the extremely large variations in dosing that may work for different individuals. Today I’ll share some examples to illustrate both the wonderful benefits and this range of dosing which can be as much as a 1000x to 2000x variation in some instances!

Syd gets sleep and body anxiety benefits with just 1.5 mg to 3 mg GABA

As you can see in this first example, Syd gets sleep and body anxiety benefits with just 1.5 mg to 3 mg GABA. She shared this on a recent blog post where I discussed how using too much GABA can cause a niacin-like flushing sensation

I think it’s useful to note that some, like me, start out with tiny doses and still get benefits with no side effects. I take around 1.5 mg to 3 mg GABA at a time and it works for me! Really helps me sleep at night.

I also take approximately 1.5mg if I feel body anxiety. I divide a melt-able 25mg tablet into 8ths or less. (Very approximate, of course. Sometimes it’s just crumbs!)

Right now, anything higher and I’m a wet noodle the next day, meaning I feel super depleted and can hardly stand up. But, no niacin flush-like symptoms.

I appreciate her sharing and I’m so glad she found her ideal dose. As you can see it’s really really low. We call folks like Syd “pixie dust” people because they do really well with tiny tiny doses. It also shows that some folks get flushed with too much GABA and some don’t. Syd just feels depleted.

In case you’re wondering which product Syd is using, it’s the Kal 25 mg GABA, which she breaks apart.

To give this perspective, a typical starting dose is 125mg GABA for adults and half that for children. I share more below on this and how to use the symptoms questionnaires and do a trial.

Christina’s agoraphobic client was able to leave the house with 3000 mg GABA

A colleague, Christina Veselak, MS, LMFT, CN shared this feedback about her client who had agoraphobia i.e. fear of outdoor spaces:

I once had a profoundly anxious, agoraphobic client who I sent home with instructions to trial GABA until she either got relief from her anxiety or an adverse reaction. She came back a few days later to say that she had arrived at 3000 mg of GABA in the morning as her ideal dose.

That dose allowed her not only to leave her bedroom but also leave her house, socialize and babysit her hyperactive grandsons!

Most of my other clients could not tolerate anything near to that dose without getting an adverse reaction but it was perfect for her.

This really adds perspective to the range of doses that folks may respond to. This dosage is 1000x higher than Syd’s maximum dose and 2000x higher than her lowest dose!

Let’s address this question: How much GABA should I use for my anxiety?

The answer is this – it depends on your unique needs and biochemistry. I know it’s not the answer you (and almost everyone else too) probably want to hear but there really is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to GABA and the other amino acids.

The best way to determine if you may have low GABA and may benefit from using GABA is to look at the low GABA symptoms, rate them on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being worst, do a trial of GABA and rate the symptoms again right afterwards (in the next 2 to 30 minutes).

Here are the symptoms.

From there you continue to adjust up (or down) over the next few weeks to find your ideal dose. If you go too high you may experience an uncomfortable tingling niacin-like flush.

I can share this: for GABA, 125mg is a typical starting dose for adults that I use with my clients. Half that or less is a good ballpark for starting a trial for children. As with all the amino acids, they are always best used sublingually and taken away from protein.

Below is an example from someone who figured out 1-3 of the 125 mg GABA Calm product was ideal for her own needs.

Melissa is much calmer, sleeps well and stopped craving sweets with 125 mg to 375 mg GABA Calm a day

Melissa started using Source Naturals GABA Calm in anticipation of holiday travel and holiday gatherings and shared how much she benefited:

I have been taking 1-3 per day for two weeks. I’m glad I bought it before traveling home for Christmas – I was cool as a cucumber at the airport and was much calmer when visiting family and friends compared to last year!

The true test of its efficacy will be in two weeks when the semester starts. For now, I notice a general calmness and am sleeping well.

An unexpected result was that I stopped craving sweets after about a week of taking it!

And how wonderful for her! And we have much appreciation for her sharing her success.

These results at this dosage are pretty typical for the majority of my clients. Of course there may need to be adjustments seasonally (possibly needing less after the holidays and closer to spring) or more around her period or more with added stresses in her life.

You can read more about the GABA Calm product she used here (you can find it in my online supplement store too).

Resources if you are new to using GABA as a supplement

If you are new to using the the amino acid GABA as a supplement, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see the low GABA and other low neurotransmitter symptoms)

If you suspect low levels of GABA or low serotonin and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids on your own so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the team you or your loved one is working with.

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the GABA products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

If you don’t feel comfortable reading my book, doing the low GABA symptoms questionnaire and doing trials of GABA on your own, you can get guidance from me in the GABA Quickstart Program.

If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. AS you’ve learned today, there are many nuances and best practices when using the amino acids. And it’s an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.

What have you found to be your ideal dose of GABA? And how has it helped you?

What dose did you start with and did you go too high and then have to back down again to get to your ideal dose? (be sure to share which product worked for you too)

Are you surprised to learn about this huge variation in dosing GABA? And if yes do you feel inspired to experiment with your current dosing?

If you’re a practitioner have you seen these variations?

Feel free to ask your questions here too.

GABA helps 14-year-old with Tourette’s Syndrome (the tics and sleep), and tyrosine makes him happier and his mind sharper

January 21, 2022 By Trudy Scott 30 Comments

We typically associate low GABA, a calming neurotransmitter, with a physical-type of tension- anxiety that also often affects sleep. However there is evidence that low GABA is also a factor in other conditions. One of these conditions is Tourette’s Syndrome, which is characterized by the presence of chronic tics which can be motor/movement and vocal. In today’s blog I share some research that suggests a deficit in GABAergic transmission may contribute to symptoms in Tourette’s and a case study where a teenage boy found relief from his tics when using the amino acid GABA as a supplement. GABA also improved his sleep. He also made some dietary changes – no gluten, no sugar and no caffeine – and supplemented with magnesium and melatonin. The amino acid tyrosine, used as a supplement, also improved his low mood and focus, both of which can be issues with Tourette’s.

Kim, a mom in this community, shared this wonderful feedback about her son in response to a Facebook post a few years ago:

Because of your book, I started using GABA for my 14-year-old son with moderate to severe Tourette’s Syndrome, and the results have been significant. Highly recommended for tics, and sleep for these individuals. Thank you.

I asked her how much GABA he used and how often and she shared this:

He used 750mg GABA nightly before bed, and if tics are really active then additional 300mg. Lots of water and a balanced diet with no caffeine…. life-saver.

Keep in mind that 750mg is considered a high dose. We typically start with 125mg GABA and increase based on each person’s unique needs. There is the temptation to think “I have tics and this is a very severe condition so I need a high dose to start.” You don’t want to be thinking like this. Some people may not need this much and others may need this high dose. We always use the trial method to figure out the ideal dose.

She also shared that when he added tyrosine, he saw benefits from that amino acid supplement too:

He recently added 300mg of l-tyrosine, and it promotes happiness and a sharper mind, due to brain fog. He says he really notices a difference. He has read your book as well.

How wonderful is this? GABA helped reduce his tics and improved his sleep, and tyrosine improved his mood and focus.

I love that he’s read my book – good for him and this mom! It’s never too early to have you and your child read this information. It’s empowering for them so they understand the changes they need to make and why these amino acids, dietary changes and elimination of caffeine make such a difference.

I recently checked in to see how he is doing now and asked what other nutritional approaches helped/help other than GABA, a balanced diet and no caffeine. She shared this:

He’s gluten free, magnesium for sure for the muscle tics, and melatonin for good sleep (Touretters need a routine sleep schedule).

He’s 18 now and is doing way better as he matures, but GABA no doubt has improved his life. We promote GABA and educate others as much as possible.

All this is so great to hear and I love that they now help to educate others about GABA too.

I appreciate that she gave me permission to share, hence this post. (The image above is a stock image and not her son.)

Tourette’s Syndrome and reduced GABA function

This paper, Reduced GABAergic inhibition and abnormal sensory symptoms in children with Tourette syndrome, describes the condition and the role of reduced GABA function:

Tourette Syndrome is characterized by the presence of chronic tics. Individuals with Tourette Syndrome often report difficulty with ignoring (habituating to) tactile sensations, and some patients perceive that this contributes to a “premonitory urge” to tic. While common, the physiological basis of impaired tactile processing in Tourette Syndrome, and indeed tics themselves, remain poorly understood.

It has been well established that GABAergic processing plays an important role in shaping the neurophysiological response to tactile stimulation. Furthermore, there are multiple lines of evidence suggesting that a deficit in GABAergic transmission may contribute to symptoms found in Tourette Syndrome.

In this study, the authors used testing (magnetic resonance spectroscopy) and tasks that were vibrotactile (the perception of vibration through touch) to investigate the role of GABA and atypical sensory processing in these 8-12-year old children with Tourette Syndrome.

They found the following:

lower concentration of GABA in the sensorimotor cortex and “impaired performance on tactile detection and adaptation tasks, consistent with altered GABAergic function”
the altered/reduced GABAergic function correlated with the severity of motor tics and sensory impairments, “linking the core feature of Tourette Syndrome directly to … brain neurochemistry.”

The authors conclude that this provides a foundation for novel interventions (i.e. medications) but unfortunately do not offer the use of the amino acid GABA as one of these solutions. This is very unfortunate but not unexpected. I plan to reach out to the authors and share this case study and blog.

This research supports why GABA works so well for Kim’s son and why he needed higher amounts of GABA when his tics were more active/severe. And now I’m curious to find out if her son has/had sensory issues and how they improve/improved with GABA. I’ll report back if I hear from her about this.

It’s no surprise that GABA helps his sleep too. There is much evidence supporting this – like the the sleep promoting effects of combined GABA and 5-HTP (or GABA alone or 5-HTP alone). I’ve also shared many GABA-sleep success stories on the blog. Here is one: Since starting GABA my child sleeps for the first time in years and really notices a difference in his carb cravings. (Use the search feature and “GABA sleep” to find additional blog posts)

Interestingly only 8% of the children in the study had generalized anxiety disorder. Given how common low GABA is in anxiety, and that low serotonin can also be a factor with tics, I would have expected anxiety to be higher.

Evidence supporting the other nutritional changes he made

There is evidence to support the other nutritional changes that Kim’s son made:

There are reports that “an increase in tics has been related to the consumption of caffeine and refined sugar.” The authors acknowledge that there is no one diet for Tourette’s, so as always, it’s a matter of figuring out the ideal diet for each child (or adult) with tics. Oligoantigenic diets have been identified as significantly reducing tics. This involves removing foods that can potentially cause a food sensitivity leading to tics and/or behavioral impacts and/or insomnia.
A gluten-free diet maintained for one year in patients with Tourette’s Syndrome was shown to markedly reduce tics and OCD in children and adults
Magnesium is one of the most used supplements in children with Tourette’s Syndrome. When used with probiotics, omega-3 and multivitamins “Seventy-five per cent of supplement users in the Tourette syndrome group noted improvement, mainly in motor and vocal tics, sleep quality and anxiety reduction.”
Melatonin is listed with a number of medications commonly prescribed for tic disorders where sleep issues are also a factor

Keep in mind that the above is not a protocol for relief from tics for everyone with Tourette’s Syndrome. It’s what worked for the unique biochemical needs of Kim’s son.

That said, this could be a framework to start with and build upon.

Tyrosine improves his mood and focus

Tyrosine helps with low catecholamines, improving the curl-up-in-bed low-energy kind of low mood and poor focus. (You can see all the symptoms here.) The typical dose is 500mg tyrosine a few times a day. Kim’s son found just 300mg to be beneficial.

Interestingly, 48% of the children in this study had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with about half of those on stimulant medication. I wonder how many would have also benefited from tyrosine for improving their focus, as it did for Kim’s son.

Resources if you are new to using GABA or tyrosine as a supplement

If you are new to using the the amino acid GABA or tyrosine as supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see the low serotonin and other low neurotransmitter symptoms) and a brief overview here: Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary.

If you suspect low levels of GABA or catecholamines and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids so you are knowledgeable.

And be sure to share it with the team you or your loved one is working with. As I mentioned above, it’s empowering for your teen and also relatively easy reading too.

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the GABA and tyrosine products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

If, after reading this blog and my book, you don’t feel comfortable figuring things out on your own (i.e. doing the symptoms questionnaire and respective amino acids trials), a good place to get help is the GABA QuickStart Program (if you have low GABA symptoms). This is a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support. Another option is the budget-friendly GABA QuickStart Homestudy Program.

If you find you also need serotonin support, the Serotonin QuickStart Program is a good place to get help. This is also a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance on using tryptophan and 5-HTP safely, and community support during 5 LIVE Q&A calls. You can sign up to be notified when the next live launch of this program is happening.

There is no Dopamine QuickStart program (yet!) but be sure to let me know in the comments if you are interested in learning more about the use of tyrosine, DLPA and other nutrients for catecholamine and dopamine support.

If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. This is also a paid online/virtual program with an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.

Wrapping up and your feedback

Now I’d love to hear from you.

Have you seen results with GABA or any of the above approaches? Or has another approach helped you or your child?

And has GABA also helped ease physical tension and anxiety?

If you suffer from Tourette’s Syndrome, do you also experience ADHD and focus issues, insomnia, low mood and has tyrosine helped?

If you’re a practitioner have you seen GABA or tyrosine help your clients/patients with Tourette’s? What else has helped?

Feel free to ask your questions here too.

Does 5-HTP make you “wired-tired” and affect your sleep when cortisol is high? (“yes” and “not sure” and “no, 5-HTP was miraculous!”)

January 14, 2022 By Trudy Scott 38 Comments

Both 5-HTP and tryptophan are amino acid supplements that are known to help to boost serotonin levels so you can feel happy, calm, sleep well and not crave carbs in the afternoon/evening. They also help with panic attacks and phobias, lack of confidence, depression, negativity, imposter syndrome, PMS, irritability, anger issues, pain/fibromyalgia, TMJ and anger. I typically have my clients with low serotonin symptoms start with a trial of tryptophan because I see such excellent results with this amino acid. That being said, some people simply do better on one versus the other and you may do better with 5-HTP.

There is one big caveat with 5-HTP. I don’t recommend 5-HTP when a client has elevated cortisol levels because we know that it can raise cortisol levels in certain individuals. This can leave you feeling agitated, cranky, as well as “wired and tired” at the same time. You may be able to relate to this if you’ve ever used 5-HTP to help with anxiety and insomnia and ended up feeling more anxious and more wide-awake despite your exhaustion and need for sleep.

Today you’ll hear actual feedback from members of my community who responded to a past blog post: 5-HTP can raise salivary cortisol: does this cause a “wired-tired” feeling?.

Read on to hear how one woman found that 5-HTP did lead to her feeling wired and tired and how 5-HTP made sleep worse and worse in another; how one woman wasn’t sure if 5-HTP caused her disturbed sleep and waking in the night; and how one man found that 5-HTP was miraculous for his wife. In each instance I offer input and next steps if necessary. As you can see their responses were very different and my hope is that you may see yourself in some of these “cases” and learn more about using the amino acids.

And be sure to read the original blog post if you’d like to check out the study and some of my feedback on it and using 5-HTP.

5-HTP did lead to feeling wired and tired and made sleep worse and worse

Gloria shared how 5-HTP did not help her sleep and made her feel wired and tired. She figured out the tryptophan did work for her:

I so appreciate your blog and have learned so much that is helpful. I tried 5-HTP and it did not help me sleep. I do much better on Lidtke tryptophan. The 5-HTP did make me feel wired and tired. I also have that reaction to GABA Calm because of the taurine and do much better on GABA-T SAP. Thank you for all your research.

I appreciate her sharing and am so pleased she has good results with tryptophan. The Lidtke brand is the one I have the most success with. The GABA-T SAP is a combination of GABA and theanine and is another product I recommend and see good results with.

Alexandra knew she had high night time cortisol and yet has been taking 5-HTP at the recommendation of her psychiatrist and her sleep was getting worse and worse. She shared this on the above blog post:

Your posts do not stop amazing me! I have been diagnosed with HPA axis dysfunction with high cortisol at night, my psychiatrist had me on 200 mg of 5-HTP and my sleep was getting worse and worse! I had to stop taking it because I was going to get the DUTCH test done by Geneva and noticed I slept much better without it…. I am so grateful for your posts!

I appreciate her for sharing and glad she made the connection. Hopefully she shared this information with her doctor too.

The 200mg 5-HTP dose is considered relatively high, certainly as a starting dose. I start clients on 50mg and increase based on symptoms so I assume she worked up to taking 200mg.

When 5-HTP is making things worse we switch to tryptophan, also starting low and increasing based on need. Keep in mind that 50mg 5-HTP is equivalent to 500mg tryptophan but I like to have clients start low when making a switch and increase based on results.

It’s always important to address the high cortisol levels (with Seriphos and other adrenal support). And to consider checking for parasites, changes in sex hormones, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), gluten issues and other food intolerances, toxin exposure, new EMF exposure, medication side-effects, mold toxicity and infections – all of which can affect sleep and may impact cortisol levels.

Not sure if 5-HTP caused disturbed sleep and waking in the night

Merrily experienced some really good results using 5-HTP, starting low and working up to her ideal dose of 200mg. And then she started experiencing disturbed sleep and wasn’t sure if it was the 5-HTP:

Because of mood issues – dysthymia [low mood], irritability, negative thoughts, and low energy, my doctor recommended 5-HTP. I started on 50mg 5-HTP and have worked up to 200mg daily (which I’ve been taking at bedtime for over 2 years now). On the occasions when I cut back, mood issues returned which does suggest to me it’s working.

Lately I am experiencing problems with disturbed sleep, waking during the night which I had not associated with the 5-HTP. Shall I switch to tryptophan?

Thank you so much for your blogs, your book and lectures. You really make a difference Trudy!

She has a few options. One is to cut back the 5-HTP again and see if her mood issues return. If they don’t return and sleep improves she can stay on the lower dose but may need to increase it temporarily during the winter time

Another option is to space out her dosing and take less at night and some mid-afternoon.

Finally she could switch to tryptophan. As I mentioned above, 50mg 5-HTP is equivalent to 500mg tryptophan but I like to have clients start low when making a switch and increase based on results.

If these approaches don’t work it would be useful to test salivary cortisol levels to see if her cortisol levels are now high and if yes, address this with Seriphos and other adrenal support as I mentioned for Alexandra above. And to consider checking the same root causes that can affect sleep and cause high cortisol levels.

No, 5-HTP was miraculous for his wife!

When serotonin levels are low and cortisol is not high, results with 5-HTP can be miraculous for some individuals. Russell shared how much his wife benefitted from just 50mg 5-HTP twice a day:

I treated my wife with 5-HTP when she suffered from work burn out, depression and menopause. This all hit at once.

I spent hours researching what I could to relieve the night sweats, mood swings etc. and came upon 5-HTP. I used 50 mg 5-HTP, one before bedtime and the other on waking up and it basically fixed everything that was associated with the problems mentioned above.It was miraculous to say the least and my wife was also very happy.

I’m thrilled for his wife and thanked him for sharing the wonderful results she has experienced with 5-HTP.

If her results were not sustained, I’d suggest taking her doses mid-afternoon and before bed as this is when serotonin is lowest. Otherwise, I’d say continue as above.

Keep in mind that 50mg 5-HTP twice a day is a typical starting dose and we increase from there. In her case, this was sufficient and she did not need to increase her dose or take additional doses during the day.

Positive research and positive case studies

My intention is not to scare you away from doing a trial of 5-HTP if you have low serotonin symptoms, but rather to educate. As with all nutritional approaches, there is no one-size-fits-all so we just need to be smart with using amino acids.

There are also many studies supporting the serotonin-boosting effects of 5-HTP:

These blog posts illustrate other positive case studies where 5-HTP was extremely beneficial:

I see wonderful results like this all the time, but always keep the high cortisol and “wired and tired” potential issues in the back of my mind.

Unfortunately many practitioners only ever recommend 5-HTP due to their concerns about tryptophan.

Resources if you are new to using 5-HTP (or tryptophan) as a supplement

If you are new to using the the amino acid 5-HTP (or tryptophan) as a supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see the low serotonin and other low neurotransmitter symptoms) and a brief overview here: Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary.

If you suspect low levels of serotonin and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the team you or your loved one is working with.

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the 5-HTP and tryptophan products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

Have you used 5-HTP with success? Or have you used it and felt “wired-tired” with an impact on your sleep? Have you correlated the success or failure of your 5-HTP use with your salivary cortisol levels?

What approaches have you used to lower your cortisol levels?

If you switched from 5-HTP to tryptophan did you have success with that?

If you’re a practitioner is this something you see with your clients/patients and take into consideration?

Feel free to ask your questions here too.

The seasonality of GABA: worsening anxiety, insomnia and intrusive thoughts in winter (and the need for increased GABA supplementation)

January 7, 2022 By Trudy Scott 33 Comments

Seasonal variations in serotonin have long been documented with much research on the winter blues and SAD lamps. There is less awareness about GABA seasonality and I only recently started to look into the research when I wrote about the need to increase tryptophan or 5-HTP temporarily when a winter dip in serotonin causes more severe anxiety, OCD and/or the winter blues.

Following on from my blog post on the seasonality of serotonin, it’s important to be aware of the seasonality of GABA and that GABA levels may also be lower in the winter months. This is also due to shorter days and less light because of more overcast and cloudy/rainy/snowy days.

You may find you need to increase your GABA supplement dosing during this time, in order to get the same benefits for your low GABA physical anxiety, stiff and tense muscles, insomnia (the low GABA lying-awake-tense type), feelings of overwhelm, intrusive thoughts (the low-GABA type), and stress-eating or self-medicating with alcohol.

Read on to learn more about seasonal fluctuations in GABA, an example of how adjusting GABA could look and some of the possible mechanisms.

Intuitively increased GABA without knowing about the seasonality of GABA

A few weeks ago I shared on Facebook that GABA has a seasonal aspect and an increase may be needed in winter when it’s darker earlier and colder. Elicia offered this input:.

I use GABA Calm and usually take 1 or 2 a day. The past two days I’ve taken 4 because I suspected that I needed an increase.

I take it for physical anxiety, insomnia and intrusive thoughts. My symptoms had been worsening recently. The increased GABA seems to be helping.

She also asked what an increase in GABA would look like.

My feedback for her is (you guessed it!) that it depends on each person. If 4 x instead of 1 or 2 x GABA Calm a day helps to ease her symptoms then that’s the right amount for her unique needs at this time. It may be less or more for someone else. And it’s going to change again after the winter season.

I’m so glad to hear she intuitively increased her dose without knowing about the seasonality of GABA and that she saw her worsening symptoms improve.

Other approaches to boost GABA levels may help too: Yoga, meditation, tai chi and essential oils.

Seasonal fluctuations are also found in anxiety disorders and bulimia nervosa

As I mentioned above, SAD or seasonal affective disorder, appears to be relatively common and is well-recognized.

This review paper, An overview of epidemiological studies on seasonal affective disorder mentions anxiety and other conditions too:

Seasonal variations in mood, depressive symptoms usually peaking in winter
SAD was more prevalent at higher northern latitudes, but the prevalence varied across ethnic groups.
SAD has also been identified in children and adolescents.
Seasonal exacerbations and remissions are not limited to mood disorders, it has also been found in bulimia nervosa, anxiety disorders and other psychiatric illnesses.

Some of this may be related to low serotonin and as you’ll see below, melatonin and low GABA (and low dopamine too), and the liver, all may play a role too.

GABA is higher in summer/lower in winter and tied to liver function

In this animal study, Effect of the pineal gland on 5-hydroxytryptamine and γ-aminobutyric acid secretion in the hippocampus of male rats during the summer and winter, they report that

GABA secretion in the hippocampus of rats had a seasonal rhythm consisting of increased secretion in summer and decreased secretion in the winter.

Additionally, the liver can regulate the content of active substances, including GABA, and its function is controlled by brain centers, especially in the marginal lobe.

This paper reports similar seasonal changes with respect to serotonin, stating that both fluctuations may be related to the seasonal changes of “regulation by the liver”. The authors remind us that in Chinese Medicine the liver is closely related to emotions, and that the liver functions well in hot weather and is weak in winter.

GABA exhibits seasonal rhythms related to the pineal gland and melatonin

The introduction of this animal study (by the same authors), Molecular mechanisms of seasonal photoperiod effects of the pineal gland on the hippocampus in rats highlights a number of points related to seasonal variations in mood:

Based on the theory of “five Zang-organs corresponding to the seasons” in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), physiological functions including emotions vary with the seasons.

The production of mood-related neurotransmitters such as 5-hydroxytryptamine [serotonin], γ-aminobutyric acid [GABA], dopamine, and norepinephrine exhibits seasonal rhythms, which are related to the regulation of the hippocampus by the pineal gland-MT [melatonin] system.

In other words, GABA (and these other neurotransmitters) exhibit seasonal rhythms related to melatonin secreted by the pineal gland, thereby impacting the hippocampus.

Be sure to read the paper for additional information on depression, seasonal affective disorder and bright light therapy; the seasonal effects of the pineal gland on the hippocampus; the role of melatonin and photoperiod/length of night; the hippocampus and melatonin receptors and more.

The authors were looking for direct evidence of the signalling mechanisms that cause this to happen:

Our findings suggest that the MTR-Gs/Gi-cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling pathway is involved in the seasonal photoperiod [length of night] effects of the pineal gland on the hippocampus and may underpin seasonal changes in emotions.

Feel free to read more about all this in the paper too as it’s beyond the topic of this blog.

Other factors to consider: sugar/alcohol, stress/pyroluria and low serotonin

I’d also consider the following:

The increased consumption of sugar at this time can lead to reduced zinc, magnesium and B vitamins (like vitamin B6 and thiamine) and this can further reduce GABA levels, which relies on these nutrients as cofactors for production. By boosting GABA levels with the amino acid GABA (and higher amounts if needed) you can actually reduce some of the cravings and stress-eating.
Overindulging in alcoholic holiday beverages can also deplete zinc and B vitamins, further affecting GABA production. Using higher amounts of the amino acid GABA (if needed) can also prevent self-medicating with alcohol. This often happens when trying to fit in and socialize.
If you have the social anxiety condition called pyroluria, the added stress of family and holiday gatherings can also contribute to zinc and vitamin B6 being dumped, and further impacting serotonin production.
The need to also increase tryptophan or 5-HTP temporarily when a winter dip in serotonin causes more severe anxiety (the low serotonin worry-type), OCD and/or the winter blues.

Resources if you are new to using GABA as a supplement

If you are new to using the the amino acid GABA as a supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see the low GABA and other low neurotransmitter symptoms) and a brief overview here: Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary.

If you suspect low levels of GABA and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the team you or your loved one is working with.

Have you noticed worsening anxiety, insomnia, intrusive thoughts or even bulimia in the winter months?

Have you noticed you need more GABA in the winter? And then you ease off at the end of winter again?

What changes in your dosing have made a difference with your symptoms?

Did you adjust intuitively or were you aware of the GABA seasonality aspect?

And do you notice something similar with serotonin support and needing additional melatonin in winter too (if you already use it)?

If you’re a practitioner, do you have your clients/patients make adjustments too?

Feel free to ask your questions here too.

5-HTP for a calm brain, and a racing mind at night: questions and answers

April 16, 2021 By Trudy Scott 39 Comments

5-HTP is an amino acid, made from the seeds of an African plant, Griffonia simplicifolia, and used as a supplement to ease low serotonin symptoms. With low levels of serotonin you’ll experience the worry-type of anxiety with ruminations, obsessing, panic attacks, insomnia (often lying awake worrying). This type of anxiety is different from the low GABA physical/tension type anxiety. Other low serotonin symptoms include low mood/depression, late afternoon and evening carbohydrate cravings, pain, digestive/IBS symptoms, PMS, irritability, rage and anger, TMJ, low confidence, imposter syndrome and perfectionism.

When I share my low serotonin blogs on Facebook I receive so many great questions about 5-HTP. Today I’m going to share some of these questions and my answers so you can get the benefits too.

Gail asks why 5-HTP stopped working for her when it had been working so amazingly well:

I took 5-HTP and it worked amazingly….for about 6 months. Then it did nothing. Any idea why?

I took 100 mg per day. It’s hard to explain, but it calmed my brain down. I wasn’t so quick to blurt things out during the day and at night I was able to sleep because my mind wasn’t racing. Nothing else changed at that time. That was a few years ago, I think I’ll buy more and try again

I would guess that something did shift around the 6 month mark and would try and identify what it was so you know for the future. It could have been accidental gluten exposure (from the diet or even cosmetics), hormonal shifts (perimenopause or menopause), adding collagen or gelatin on a regular basis (this can lower serotonin in susceptible folks) and/or changes in thyroid health.

If you have pyroluria and were exposed to major stresses (life stresses or toxic mold etc.) you’d lose vitamin B6 and this could affect serotonin production. The addition of the birth control pill and antidepressants can also deplete vitamin B6. I share some possible reasons for low serotonin on this blog on imposter syndrome (as mentioned above, imposter syndrome is a common sign of low serotonin).

With these wonderful benefits Gail experienced, trialing 5-HTP again is worth considering. Because 5-HTP works so quickly she’ll feel that sense of calm right away and she won’t blurt things out during the day (possibly caused by lack of confidence and/or irritability and/or anger?). Also, her mind won’t race at night, she’ll fall asleep quickly and will stay asleep, waking rested, calm, happy, confident and optimistic.

And in future if something like this happens again, I’d try to identify the cause and bump up 5-HTP temporarily.

Wendy asks about headaches as an adverse effect:

What do you recommend if 5-HTP gives you headaches?

Headaches are not a common adverse effect with 5-HTP (compared to the amino acid tyrosine which is recognized to cause headaches and migraines in susceptible folks).

Even if you are seeing benefits – for the worry-type anxiety and other low serotonin symptoms – with 5-HTP you don’t ever want to push through with something like headaches and continue to take it. I have clients use less 5-HTP and observe if they still see the benefits with no headaches.

We also make sure low serotonin is the issue. If it’s not then any amount of 5-HTP will either do nothing or cause adverse effects. If the issue is low serotonin then I have clients do a trial of tryptophan.

If the 5-HTP is being used to ease low mood/depression caused by low catecholamine or low endorphins depression then neither 5-HTP or tryptophan is going to help and may cause adverse effects. And tyrosine and/or DPA are better choices.

Gerry asks this question after my interview on Your Best Sleep Ever Summit:

Great talk Trudy. When you want to increase serotonin, do you take both 5-HTP & tryptophan or just one or the other?

They can be used alone or both can be used together. I like to have clients add one new amino acid supplement at a time so we know what is working before confounding things with another one. I typically start with tryptophan for low serotonin support simply because I have such good results with it and because 5-HTP can raise cortisol in some folks.

We start with tryptophan mid-afternoon and evening (after doing a trial earlier in the day to make sure it helps). If tryptophan causes adverse effects or doesn’t work then we do a trial of 5-HTP and then use it afternoon and evening (when serotonin levels tend to drop).

If tryptophan is working in the afternoon and evening, and additional support for worry or ruminations or panic or anxiety is needed earlier in the day, we may consider 5-HTP which can often also help improve focus. We may also consider tryptophan earlier in the day too.

It’s very individualized and we may mix and match to find the ideal combination and dosing based on trials and symptom resolution. It’s important to be aware that some folks do better on 5-HTP and some do better on tryptophan.

Here are some useful blogs related to low serotonin and the amino acids:

You can see all the low serotonin symptoms here.
Fibromyalgia: tryptophan or 5-HTP for anxiety, depression, pain and insomnia
You can see the 5-HTP and tryptophan products I use with my clients here on the supplements blog.
You may find this helpful too – GABA for easing physical anxiety and tension: some questions and answers.

As always, it’s not only the low serotonin we need to address. 5-HTP offers quick relief but we must always do a full functional workup looking at diet, nutritional deficiencies, digestion, all hormones, toxins and infections (and so on) so we can address all possible root causes – and why serotonin is low in the first place.

Thanks to these folks for asking good questions and for allowing me to share here.

What questions do you have about 5-HTP?

Which low serotonin symptoms can you relate to and has 5-HTP or tryptophan helped? Or have you found success with a combination.

Feel free to post your questions and feedback in the comments below.

Night eating syndrome: is low serotonin a root cause and is tryptophan a solution?

April 9, 2021 By Trudy Scott 28 Comments

According to this paper, Circadian Rhythm Profiles in Women with Night Eating Syndrome, “Patients with night eating syndrome (NES) – first described in 1955 – demonstrate a phase delay in the circadian pattern of food intake, manifested by evening hyperphagia, nocturnal awakenings with food intake, and morning anorexia.”

I would start by asking this question: is low serotonin a root cause and is tryptophan a possible solution? I’ll share why below and where to start in order to find a solution.

Before I do that let me explain the terminology used in the above quote: Circadian means it happens every 24 hours, hyperphagia is obsessive food-seeking behavior, nocturnal awakenings are waking in the night and anorexia refers to restricted eating in the morning.

There is no research supporting the use of serotonin support with either tryptophan or 5-HTP for night eating syndrome but I would still start here for the following reasons:

this behavior happens in the evening and at night and it’s well recognized that serotonin levels are lower later in the day and at night
carbohydrate cravings and addictions occur with low serotonin and cravings are most intense later in the day (typically afternoon and evening)
obsessive behaviors are common with low serotonin
insomnia or night-time waking is a common symptom with low serotonin
doing a trial with either of these amino acids will very quickly confirm if low serotonin is a contributing factor or will rule it out

I would also have my client look at other low serotonin symptoms which would help confirm that low serotonin may be a factor for them: worry-type of anxiety, ruminations, PMS, irritability, rage or anger, TMJ, panic attacks, perfectionism, depression, low self-esteem and so on. You can see all the low serotonin symptoms here.

We typically start with a trial of tryptophan simply because so many of my clients do so well with it. The other reason is that 5-HTP can raise cortisol and cause a wired-tired feeling. That being said, some folks do better on one vs the other so if tryptophan doesn’t help then we trial 5-HTP. You can see the products I use with my clients here on the supplements blog.

I would love to see tryptophan or 5-HTP being more extensively – because it works so effectively and quickly, and is addressing the root cause – but also because there is research that does support the serotonin connection to night eating syndrome:

Night eating syndome has been associated with “depression, emotional eating, sleep problems, and food addiction as well as with being overweight or with having obesity (especially as people age)” – all low serotonin symptoms.
Night eating patients are “responsive to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment” (antidepressant/SSRI treatment)
Bright light therapy may help with night eating because of it’s “serotonergic antidepressant mechanisms of action.” Night eating syndrome also shares features with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and it’s not uncommon to experience both. The winter blues or SAD is common with low serotonin. I write more about SAD and bright light here.

I’d also consider low blood sugar as a contributing factor. We would need to rule out the use of the sleep medication Ambien/Zolpidem which has been shown to cause amnesia and sleep related eating disorders which resolves when the medication is stopped.

As always, it’s not only the low serotonin we need to address. Tryptophan or 5-HTP offer quick relief but we must always do a full functional workup looking at diet, nutritional deficiencies, digestion, all hormones, toxins and infections (and so on) so we can address all possible root causes – and why serotonin is low in the first place.

I share some possible reasons for low serotonin on this blog on imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is another common sign of low serotonin.

Have you been diagnosed with night eating syndrome or do you feel you possibly fit the profile? Does it happen every night and what foods are you drawn to? Which low serotonin symptoms can you relate to and has tryptophan or 5-HTP helped? What about light therapy? And was an antidepressant prescribed?

Feel free to post your questions and feedback in the comments below.