In any given year, more than one-third of adults complain to their physicians about insomnia, and up to 6 percent use medications at least occasionally to help them sleep. Herbs and dietary supplements, such as the amino acid glutamine, are often promoted as sleep aids, but as of 2011 very few have been shown to be of real benefit for insomnia. Although the metabolism of glutamine can generate substances that cause drowsiness, it also can produce compounds that keep you awake.
Associated Problems
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine defines insomnia as unsatisfactory sleep that interferes with daytime functioning. Unsatisfactory sleep can be described in various ways, including difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep or with waking up too early. Daytime problems associated with insomnia include poor concentration or attention, memory impairment, fatigue, irritability, headaches, lack of motivation, poor performance and increased susceptibility to accidents. Unfortunately, some medications prescribed by physicians to treat insomnia can cause these same problems, so dietary supplements are appealing to people who wish to remain alert during the day.
Glutamine
Glutamine is one of 22 naturally occurring amino acids your body uses to manufacture structural proteins, enzymes, hormones, antibodies, neurotransmitters and other important molecules. Glutamine is readily manufactured in your tissues from glutamic acid, a closely related amino acid. Interestingly, the metabolic pathway leading from glutamic acid to glutamine also runs in reverse. Thus, depending on your body’s needs for either glutamine or glutamic acid, the converting pathway can operate in either direction.
GABA
Gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, is a neurotransmitter produced in your brain from the sequential conversions of glutamine to glutamic acid and thence to GABA. According to a study published in the February 2010 issue of “Frontiers in Neuroanatomy,” glutamine is the preferred precursor for GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter that typically causes drowsiness. However, since glutamine must first be converted to glutamic acid – an excitatory neurotransmitter – before it is converted to GABA, glutamine supplements could conceivably worsen your sleeping difficulties.
Potential Uses
Glutamine could be particularly useful in situations in which your sleeping problem is accompanied by conditions that are known to disrupt sleep, such as anxiety, panic disorder or chronic pain. Many medications designed to treat these conditions – muscle relaxants, sedatives and anticonvulsants – exert their effects by mimicking GABA in your brain. Similarly, many anesthetics, herbal sleep aids and even some street drugs cause drowsiness by attaching to GABA receptors or by increasing brain levels of GABA. Since glutamine’s metabolism is ultimately determined by your brain’s biochemical needs, ask your doctor if glutamine supplementation is appropriate for you.
References
- “American Family Physician”; Treatment Options for Insomnia; K. Ramakrishnan, D.C. Scheid; August 2007
- “Staying Healthy with Nutrition – the Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine: Glutamic Acid”; Elson M. Haas, M.D.; 2006
- “Frontiers in Neuroanatomy”; SAT1, A Glutamine Transporter, Is Preferentially Expressed in GABAergic Neurons; T.T. Solbu, et al.; February 2010
- “Psychopharmacology”; Glutamate: Its Role in Learning, Memory, and the Aging Brain; W.J. McEntee, T.H. Crook; 1993
