5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan)

5-HTP looks like the cleanest idea in the supplement aisle — it's one step from serotonin, the 'feel-good' chemical, so why not just top up the raw material for better mood and sleep? The catch is exactly that directness. The trials behind the mood and sleep claims are small, old and inconclusive, so the benefit is more theory than proof. And because it genuinely raises serotonin, it doesn't play nicely with the many drugs that also raise serotonin — SSRIs and SNRIs for depression, tricyclics, MAOIs, migraine triptans, even tramadol. Stack 5-HTP on top of any of those and you risk serotonin syndrome: a cascade of agitation, tremor, racing heart, dangerous temperature and blood-pressure swings that in severe cases turns life-threatening. That's not a fringe worry in a region where antidepressants and migraine medication are widely prescribed. There's also a historical purity scandal (the 'Peak X' contaminant) that makes third-party testing worth insisting on. If your goal is sleep, melatonin is better studied; if it's mood, the safe levers — light, exercise, sleep — come first. 5-HTP is not casual.