Andrew Huberman on 5-HTP
12 episodes · 17 references · 2021–2025
- Huberman is broadly negative on 5-HTP, especially as a sleep aid, citing disrupted sleep architecture and personal bad experiences - He acknowledges limited benefits for OCD symptoms, appetite suppression, and immune-supporting sleep during illness - No sustained personal consumption; he tried it and abandoned it due to sleep disruption
Consumption
- Huberman has personally tried 5-HTP and L-tryptophan as sleep aids on multiple occasions - He consistently experienced very deep sleep for 1–4 hours followed by inability to fall back asleep - He ultimately abandoned 5-HTP supplementation due to these negative effects
Benefits
- 5-HTP may reduce OCD symptoms similarly to SSRIs by increasing available serotonin - Three studies show 5-HTP produces a notable decrease in appetite - Boosting serotonin via 5-HTP before sleep may enhance immune response during illness
Best Practices
- When feeling onset of infection, 300–500 mg of 5-HTP taken 30–60 minutes before bed may support immune-boosting sleep - Use is limited to acute illness scenarios, not routine supplementation - No long-term dosing protocol recommended by Huberman
Cautions
- 5-HTP disrupts sleep architecture: causes deep sleep for 1–4 hours then spontaneous waking with inability to return to sleep - Supplementing serotonin precursors may impair endogenous serotonin production and slightly increase cortisol - Huberman explicitly recommends against 5-HTP for most people as a sleep aid and warns against post-MDMA 5-HTP protocols
“Supplementing precursors to serotonin like 5-HTP can enhance the amount of serotonin that's available in the brain and blood and thereby lead to the particular quality of sleep that allows for a more robust immune response.”
Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System
“They find that they do have significant effects in improving or reducing the symptoms of OCD in somewhat similar way to some of the SSRIs.”
The Science & Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
“I personally have tried taking a supplement which was L-tryptophan or 5-HTP, and I'll be honest the sleep that I had with increased serotonin by way of tryptophan or 5-HTP was dreadful.”
Using Science to Optimize Sleep, Learning & Metabolism
“Anytime I've taken 5-HTP to try and improve sleep, I fall asleep and then I wake up very deep deep sleep and then I wake up very alert and I have trouble with the later phases of sleep.”
Dr. Matt Walker: Protocols to Improve Your Sleep | Huberman Lab Guest Series
“I myself have tried 5-HTP prior to sleep. It led to very deep sleep for about one to three hours and then I woke up and I could not fall back asleep. I decided to abandon 5-HTP as a sleep aid.”
Optimize & Control Your Brain Chemistry to Improve Health & Performance | Huberman Lab Podcast #80
“...5-HTP is a supplement that I actually do not recommend for most people for sake of sleep, because it can disrupt the normal architecture of sleep and create a deep sleep early in the night and then a spontaneous waking.”
Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System
“You will see protocols that people have put out on the internet such as, after taking MDMA, you should take a bunch of 5-HTP. There's really no evidence that any of those things can be beneficial, and there is actually some reason to believe that it might be detrimental.”
The Science of MDMA & Its Therapeutic Uses: Benefits & Risks | Huberman Lab Podcast