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Valerin, does it work?

Paradox74

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Is there any scientific evidence that shows Valerin to be effective as a sleep aid? If so, then is it a good choice or are there other alternatives out there?

Thanks in advance.
 
Do you mean Valerian?

Wikipedia says that the evidence is as yet inconclusive and that "Most studies found no significant differences between valerian and placebo either in healthy individuals or in persons with general sleep disturbance or insomnia."
 
I bought some unprocessed valerian root at a health food store several years ago, with the idea of making a tea out of it.

I couldn't get past the dirty socks odour of the stuff. Apparently, the Vikings found that flavour quite enjoyable, and drank it for pleasure.
 
DickK said:
Do you mean Valerian?

Wikipedia says that the evidence is as yet inconclusive and that "Most studies found no significant differences between valerian and placebo either in healthy individuals or in persons with general sleep disturbance or insomnia."
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That's very interesting because (warning, here's comes some purely anecdotal evidence) I take 1ml of valerian tincture to help me sleep when I'm anxious and I find it works every time. It also leaves a distinct heaviness in the body in the morning, making it much more difficult to get out of bed.

I think the reason that studies may have shown no difference than with placebo is because valerian is effective in cases of anxiety, not insomnia. This is because it is very efficacious at calming the mind. Insomnia is a symptom of anxiety. If you get a group of people who are not displaying anxiety symptoms, and give them valerian, then no I wouldn't expect to see any difference in the results.
 
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I have used it, but I'm not sure if the pill-taking ritual had a placebo effect.

Rolfe.
 
A systematic review of valerian as a sleep aid: Safe but not effective
Sleep Medicine Reviews
Valerian is an herb that is widely available in a variety of commercial preparations and is commonly used as a sleep aid. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of valerian concluded that evidence in support of the effectiveness of the herb was inconclusive. Therefore, in an effort to more closely examine this issue, a systematic review was conducted to examine the evidence on the efficacy of valerian as a sleep aid with specific attention to the type of preparations tested and the characteristics of the subjects studied. A comprehensive search of studies investigating valerian was conducted through computerized databases and hand searches of reference lists. Standardized forms were used to summarize findings and standardized criteria were used to assess study quality. Out of 592 articles initially identified, a total of 36 articles describing 37 separate studies met criteria for review: 29 controlled trials evaluated for both efficacy and safety, and eight open-label trials evaluated for safety only. Most studies found no significant differences between valerian and placebo either in healthy individuals or in persons with general sleep disturbance or insomnia. None of the most recent studies, which were also the most methodologically rigorous, found significant effects of valerian on sleep. Overall, the evidence, while supporting that valerian is a safe herb associated with only rare adverse events, does not support the clinical efficacy of valerian as a sleep aid for insomnia.
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http://www.smrv-journal.com/article/S1087-0792(07)00042-1/abstract

I underlined the conclusion
 
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Diphenhydramine, (generic for Benadryl), one 25mg is just drowsy enough to let me sleep. Not too drowsy the next day.
 
casebro said:
Diphenhydramine, (generic for Benadryl), one 25mg is just drowsy enough to let me sleep. Not too drowsy the next day.
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Its odd that anti-histamines have such sedating effects, and dipenhydramine is the most sedating of them all. 50mg I find an ideal dose for sleep, 100mg is a definate knockout dose, and reports going ove 100mg have reported hallucinogenic effects and delirium, so I stopped at 100mg. Can be brought on ebay for pennies a dose.
 
Check Wiki for the history of diphenhydramine. Seems it was the precursor to the SSRIs. Has an anti-depressant effect. I've been taking it daily for a couple months now, to help with allergic angina. Works for that, and I do seem to be in a better mood.
 
DickK said:
Do you mean Valerian?
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Yes, I do. Sorry for that typo.

So far, it doesn't seem effective. I took it several times (pill form) and noticed very little difference in the quality of my sleep. By the way, yes it stinks.
 
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A few problems with valerian that I've noted. These are things that make it difficult to use, difficult to study, and difficult to get good results with.

Valerian has a very memorable, unique and unpalatable odor. To me it smells a lot like unwashed jockstrap, left in a locker overnight, the day after a hard game of football. It's not nauseating, but not something I'd really think to put in my mouth, or in fact even try all that hard to sniff. This makes it unappatizing to use and difficult to blind in studies.

The active principle dissolves poorly in water. When valerian was part of the USP, it was dosed as an alcoholic tincture. I've prepared it in the past by the USP method, and in my personal experience found it to be much more effective than brewing it as tea.

The active principles are volitile. The root loses potency quickly if not kept in the dark, in a cool place, and in a sealed jar. It's impossible to know how potent the root is without such tools as gas chromatography, so it's hard to know how much to use. If the tea is brewed too hot, even if the root was potent the active principle will evaporate, leaving only the stink. The tea should be brewed in water that has been brought to a boil then allowed to cool till it stops boiling before it is poured over the root.

Valerian is said to be anxiolytic. That means it helps sooth anxiety, quiet racing thoughts, and such, but not neccesarily that it makes one sleep. Other sleep aids of the era, such as chloral hydrate, chloroform or tincture of opium were more effective at producing sedation.

Long story short; you'd be better off with an over the counter sleep aid, like 25 mg. of benedryl, or if nothing from the over the counter stuff works, talking with a doctor.

A
 
I understand all sleeping pills are more effective if washed down with whisky.
 
FreshHat said:
I couldn't get past the dirty socks odour of the stuff. Apparently, the Vikings found that flavour quite enjoyable, and drank it for pleasure.
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The Vikings used to filter all their herbal concoctions in their own dirty socks, so they wouldn't've noticed.
 
Thanks for that post Andrew W. I didn’t know if the reason my post with my testimony had been ignored was because personal experience (without supporting evidence except “take my word for it”) is frowned upon on JREF, but nevertheless I do appreciate reading the scientific studies linked here. I like the snake oil chart too. :)

Andrew, your post corroborates my experience, that valerian doesn’t assist with sleep but calms an over-active mind. I didn’t know the word for such a substance was ‘anxiolytic’. I learn something new today.

If a racing mind is what stopping a person from sleeping, then they are likely to sleep better with valerian. I’m not medically trained but I would imagine there are many causes of insomnia and that not being able to get to sleep, or waking often, is but a symptom.

Paradox74, what is the strength of the pills you are taking? I take 1ml of valerian tincture made with a glycerine base which is (according to the label) equivalent to 500mg of dried herb. It stops those racing thoughts. I still think if the problem is a difficulty getting off to sleep, or waking in the night, then valerian is probably not going to help much.
 
23_Tauri said:
If a racing mind is what stopping a person from sleeping, then they are likely to sleep better with valerian. I’m not medically trained but I would imagine there are many causes of insomnia and that not being able to get to sleep, or waking often, is but a symptom.

Paradox74, what is the strength of the pills you are taking? I take 1ml of valerian tincture made with a glycerine base which is (according to the label) equivalent to 500mg of dried herb. It stops those racing thoughts. I still think if the problem is a difficulty getting off to sleep, or waking in the night, then valerian is probably not going to help much.
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A racing mind is usually what keeps me up at night, but that may not be the cause of my insomnia.

As for the strength of the pills that I am taking, I cannot remember. I've stopped buying the stuff months ago and by now the dosage may have changed. Perhaps in the near future I'll be able to rediscover the amount of Valerian that I have been taking.
 
Paradox74 said:
A racing mind is usually what keeps me up at night, but that may not be the cause of my insomnia.

As for the strength of the pills that I am taking, I cannot remember. I've stopped buying the stuff months ago and by now the dosage may have changed. Perhaps in the near future I'll be able to rediscover the amount of Valerian that I have been taking.
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Might be time to talk to a doctor. If it is a problem.
 
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