5-HTP for Sleep Quality
5-HTP shows only weak, low-quality evidence for improving sleep quality: the single small human sleep trial helped just a poor-sleeper subgroup, while the combination data come from animals. It is not an established sleep aid, and U.S. regulators flag a safety concern.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
The human evidence is thin and low-quality. The only sleep-quality RCT (PMID 38309227, n=30, open-label, 100 mg/day for 12 weeks) found significant subjective improvement only in a poor-sleeper subgroup (p=0.005), with no benefit in the overall sample. A small double-blind crossover trial in Parkinson's REM-sleep behavior disorder (PMID 34403081, n=18) was preliminary and reported no p-values.
Supporting combination data are not human. The frequently cited GABA/5-HTP sleep results (PMID 27150227) come from mice and rats, not clinical trials, so they cannot establish efficacy in people. There are no double-blind RCTs in general insomnia and no systematic reviews or meta-analyses.
No major health body endorses it, and there is a safety flag. The U.S. FDA states it cannot determine that 5-HTP is safe for use as a dietary supplement (tied to the historical EMS outbreak), and NIH ODS, Harvard Health, and the Cleveland Clinic do not back it for sleep (Cleveland mentions it only to advise avoidance). A plausible mechanism plus tiny, subgroup-limited human data justify a weak (C) grade, not an endorsement.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.542
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 無高階證據可裁決
- tier_strict_requirement_check — Tier 條件達標，未降階
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 0 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status