www.arjonline.org 1 IntroductIon The National Sleep Foundation states, “Sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.” (1) Muscle repair, reduction of chronic health risks, improvement of mood, and the clearing of toxins from the brain are a small sampling of the benefits of a good night’s rest. Though the National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours of slumber for adults, there are over 3 million cases of insomnia a year. Insomnia is a condition where an individual finds it difficult to either fall or stay asleep, or both. This condition can be catalyzed by stress, trauma, hormonal imbalance, etc. Since this condition can be chronic, lasting for months or years, it can deeply impact a person’s performance at work, afect their schooling, and can even be lethal, as an individual with slowed reaction time, due to lack of sleep, in a vehicle is at a higher risk of getting into an accident. (2,3) The aforementioned consequences stress the imperative nature of treating insomnia. Medication, lifestyle-focused therapies, CBT, and other treatments are available to individuals with insomnia. (4) 5-HTP may be one such treatment. According to WebMD, “5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) can be converted to serotonin in the body. It is often used for depression. It has less evidence for insomnia and anxiety.” 5-HTP is a metabolic intermediate, or precursor, to serotonin and was extracted from the African herb Grifonia simplicifolia, which is “a plant found in western parts of Africa.” (6) Figure 1 is a portion of the 5-HTP sample removed from its capsule and Figure 2 is the Grifonia simplicifolia. As someone who struggles with symptoms of insomnia, particularly having trouble falling asleep, I found it appropriate to perform an individual case study to find whether or not taking 5-HTP would have any efect on my sleep schedule. As the overview section in the WebMD article stated that there is a need for testing 5-HTP’s status as an insomnia treatment, this case study is testing whether taking 200mg of 5-HTP consecutively will result in an increase in the statistical average of my time spent asleep. MaterIals and Methods Sample Preparation The 5-HTP extract was stored in capsules in a plastic vial container. Each dose was taken in 200 mg samples at 9:30 PM EST for 25 consecutive days. The 200 mg dosage was taken about 1-2 hours after having eaten supper, and prior to going to bed, at 10:30 PM EST. The time at which my alarm went of in the morning was set to 7:00 AM EST, however, as shown in the figures mentioned in the following section, there were occasions in which this was not the case. American Research Journal of Psychiatry Volume 2, Issue 1, 1-5 Pages Case Study | Open Access An Individual Case Study on the Effects of Griffonia Simplicifolia Seed Extract (5-HTP) on Incremental Sleep Schedule Improvement Christopher J. Sernaqué, NCPT Nationally Certified Psychiatric Technician, Telescribe for the Urology Clinic of the University of Michigan, and Crisis Counselor who studied Psychology and Forensic Science at Ashworth College, Integrative Mental Health at Texas State University-San Marcos, and obtained a Higher Education Teaching Certification from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University. AbstrAct The regulation and maintenance of the sleep-wake cycle are vital to maintaining optimal health. When this sleep-wake cycle becomes disrupted, there are several courses of action an individual can take to reset their sleep schedule, including taking sleep-medication prescribed by their provider. From an integrative health care perspective, the 5- hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) extract from the Griffonia simplicifolia may prove to be beneficial in this case study evaluating its effectiveness in helping an individual maintain a healthier sleep schedule, thus opening more discussion for larger case studies verifying the effectiveness of 5-HTP in treating insomnia. Keywords: Griffonia simplicifolia (Greh-phone-e-uh sim-ply-suh-foal-e-uh), 5- hydroxytryptophan (high-drox-e- trip-toe-fan), insomnia, sleep schedule, serotonin, statistical average, case study