It is three o'clock in the morning and you are wide awake again.
You wish there was something that you could safely take to induce temporary oblivion. Valerian may be the answer: this herb gently encourages sleep without the unpleasant side effects of conventional drugs.
• Promotes restful sleep.
• Soothes stress and anxiety.
• Improves the symptoms of some digestive disorders.
In the UK, Germany and other European countries, valerian is officially approved as a sleep aid by medical authorities. Harvested when the plant is two years old, the rootstock contains a number of important compounds - valepotriates, valeric acid and volatile oils among them - that at one time or another were each thought to be responsible for the herb's sedative powers. Many herbalists believe that valerian's effectiveness may be the result of synergy among the various compounds.
Taken for centuries as an aid to sleep, valerian can also act as a calming agent in stressful daytime situations. It is used in treating anxiety disorders and conditions worsened by stress, such as diverticular disorders and irritable bowel syndrome.
Unlike benzodiazepines - drugs such as diazepam (Valium) or aiprazolam (Xanax), commonly prescribed for these disorders - valerian is not addictive and does not make you feel drugged. Rather than inducing sleep directly, valerian calms the brain and body so sleep can occur naturally. One of the benefits of valerian for insomniacs is that, when taken at recommended doses, it doesn't make you feel groggy in the morning as some prescription drugs do.
Valerian also helps to relax the smooth muscle of the gastrointestinal tract, making it valuable for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and diverticular disorders, which often involve painful spasms of the intestine. In addition, because flare-ups of these disorders are sometimes triggered by stress, valerian's calming action may also account for its effectiveness.
Dosage:
1 to 2 tablets one hour before bedtime.
Caution:
Do not take if pregnant or breast feeding.
Mild drowsiness may occur. It is advisable not to drive or operate machinery.
| Product Specifications | |
| Typically per tablet: | |
| | 1600mg |
| (provided by 400mg of a 4:1 extract) | | | |
| | |
| Tableted with: | |
| Calcium Carbonate Prep., Microcrystalline Cellulose, Crosslinked Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Silicon Dioxide, Stearic Acid, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Stearate, Glycerin |
| | |
| Disintegration time: Less than 1 hour. |
