I've tried both as have a few others I know. The tryptophan seemed to be calming, but the 5HTP gave me a paradoxical reaction, causing anxiety. This happens to some people, but another woman takes it and loves it, it helps her sleep.

As for energy, they both are serotonin precursors, so they are more calming and sedating than energizing.

Thanks for the info, I actually have a bottle of 5HTP, haven't taken it cause I really haven't looked into it that much. I only try and take what I feel comfortable with. Would like to what others have tried as well....

What is Tryptophan, heard of it, but not sure what is..

Ya know they have so many things out there now, it's hard to decide. You walk into a store, and you like wow...

Use as a dietary supplement
For some time, tryptophan has been available in health food stores as a dietary supplement. Many people found tryptophan to be a safe and reasonably effective sleep aid, probably due to its ability to increase brain levels of serotonin (a calming neurotransmitter when present in moderate levels)[18] and/or melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone secreted by the pineal gland in response to darkness or low light levels).[19][20] Some users of ecstasy will eat tryptophan-containing foods to shorten the 'come down' effect of having lower levels of serotonin than usual (due to an extra large release caused by the drug).

Clinical research has shown mixed results with respect to tryptophan's effectiveness as a sleep aid, especially in normal patients[21][22][23] and for a growing variety of other conditions typically associated with low serotonin levels or activity in the brain[24] such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder [25] and seasonal affective disorder.[26][27] In particular, tryptophan has been showing considerable promise as an antidepressant alone,[28] and as an "augmenter" of antidepressant drugs.[28][29] However, the reliability of these clinical trials has been questioned.[30][31]