How to Use tryptophan in a Sentence

tryptophan

noun
  • Your body turns tryptophan into serotonin, which has many roles—like mood.
    — Ross Phan, Verywell Health, 10 July 2025
  • Melatonin and tryptophan work hand-in-hand to promote sleep health.
    — Daphne Yao, Health, 17 Feb. 2023
  • Yes, the experts said, because milk has tryptophan!
    — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Milk contains tryptophan, the same amino acid found in walnuts and turkey.
    — Lauren Manaker, SELF, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Any meat that causes this much drowsiness (thank you, tryptophan) belongs in the food hall of fame.
    — Ben Flanagan | [email protected], al, 27 Nov. 2019
  • Here are some essential titles from this year's crop to hunt down as the tryptophan still runs through your blood.
    — Ron Hart, Billboard, 27 Nov. 2019
  • Edamame also contains tryptophan, an amino acid that helps support sleep.
    — Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 20 Feb. 2026
  • The body uses tryptophan to help make melatonin and serotonin.
    — Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
  • The feast is digested by now at our house and the tryptophan is kicking in, but the late game is too good to drowse on.
    — Miami Herald, 25 Nov. 2025
  • But the tryptophan/carb combo is only part of the reason for your torpor.
    — Nick Stockton, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2024
  • And in the second place, even taking high-dose tryptophan supplements doesn’t seem to do so much for sleep.
    — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
  • And tryptophan is an amino acid that supports the production of melatonin.
    — Perri Ormont Blumberg, TIME, 25 July 2024
  • Magnesium and tryptophan have been linked to improved sleep.
    — Abby Norman, Verywell Health, 19 Sep. 2025
  • The post-feast nap is often blamed on turkey, which contains tryptophan — an amino acid linked to sleepiness.
    — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 27 Nov. 2025
  • Without niacin, the body cannot produce tryptophan, an essential amino acid.
    — Ben Crair, Smithsonian, 21 Feb. 2018
  • Research has shown that taking at least 1 g of tryptophan per day can help reduce the time spent awake during the night.
    — Discover Magazine, 30 June 2023
  • The first tryptophan then attracts an electron from the second tryptophan and so on.
    — Henrik Mouritsen, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2022
  • Calcium found in dairy products will help the brain use the tryptophan found in dairy to help make sleep-inducing melatonin.
    — Emily Price, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2017
  • Adding milk to your coffee could induce sleepiness since milk is a source of tryptophan, which could promote good sleep quality.
    — Lacey Muinos, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2023
  • And neither of those is nearly as effective a delivery system for crisp skin, gravy and tryptophan.
    — Elizabeth G. Dunn and Matthew Kronsberg, WSJ, 31 Oct. 2018
  • Turkey, too, contains some tryptophan.
    — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Bananas contain the amino acid tryptophan, which the body converts to serotonin and melatonin to encourage sleep.
    — Amy Brownstein, Verywell Health, 25 June 2025
  • Therefore, eating foods that are rich in tryptophan will help to encourage the production of melatonin.
    — Hannah Coates, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Pumpkin seeds may be a natural mood balancer thanks to tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin.
    — Alessandra Signorelli, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2024
  • One amino acid found in eggs that’s especially important for immune function is tryptophan.
    — Mykenna Maniece, Vogue, 8 May 2026
  • But while tart cherries contain melatonin and tryptophan—an amino acid that helps the body make even more melatonin, evidence is limited.
    — Perri O. Blumberg, Men's Health, 31 May 2023
  • Veggie Turkey Rollups Nosh on these turkey rollups for lunch or make as a light dinner, the tryptophan will do the rest.
    — NBC News, 10 June 2017
  • Walnuts provide tryptophan, an amino acid that helps your body produce melatonin, the hormone that regulates your sleep-wake cycle.
    — Lauren Manaker, SELF, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Some evidence suggests that the drowsiness occurs because of a compound called tryptophan.
    — Cat Lafuente, Health, 29 Mar. 2024
  • Yogurt is well-known for its tryptophan content, an amino acid essential to serotonin and melatonin production.
    — Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, Rdn, Health, 30 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tryptophan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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