Valerian Root Benefits: Using nature’s miracle root

Valerian Root Benefits: Using nature’s miracle root

When Hippocrates had a headache, he might have enjoyed a nice steaming cup of valerian root tea. The ancient Greek physician was one of the first to describe the therapeutic benefits of valerian root.

Since its beginnings in Greece and Rome, people have sought the benefits of valerian for everything from headaches to heart health, nervousness, feminine problems to depression. Valerian also brings with it a unique mythological story. People once used it to keep away annoying elves. Experts also believe it helped the Pied Piper lure rats out of the city.

What is Valerian?

Garden Valerian ( Valeriana officinalis) is also known as garden heliotrope, tagar (in Ayurvedic medicine), cut finger and panacea - fun names for a potent plant! The species originally grew in Asia and Europe, but now also grows throughout North America. Its scientific name comes from the Latin “valere,” meaning to be strong or healthy.

Fair warning! Valerian is a powerful herb but also has a pungent smell.

People use the roots and rhizomes of the long-stemmed flowering plant for various ailments, but especially for anxiety and insomnia.
While valerian's small pink-white flowers have a sweet smell, valerian oil has a pungent odor that some humorously refer to as "dirty feet." Despite all the smells, people love it. Valerian is the most commonly sold herbal sleep remedy in both Europe and the United States. ((link removed))

The top 10 active ingredients in valerian

The active ingredients and compounds of this medicinal herb have not all been identified – and those that have been isolated and tested do not appear to be solely responsible for the herb's benefits. It is likely that the plant's various secondary metabolites work together as a team. ((link removed))

Here is a list of some of the beneficial compounds that valerian root contains. ((link removed))

• Valerensäuren
• Iridoide
• Valepotriates
• Adenosin
• Gamma-Aminobuttersäure (GABA)
• Alkaloide
• Sesquiterpene
• Flavanone
• Isovaleriansäuren
• Phytoöstrogene

8 Benefits and Uses of Valerian Root

Since valerian root has been used for centuries, you may have heard of some of its more traditional uses. However, valerian has a number of other unique benefits, from keeping skin healthy to increasing brain sharpness.

1. Helps you sleep

The most commonly touted benefit of valerian is that it acts as a sleep aid, kicking aside insomnia and restlessness and helping us get much-needed rest before bedtime. Although clinical evidence is limited, we have seen some promising studies.

Did you know that valerian supplements can promote a normal sleep schedule?

When postmenopausal women took valerian supplements twice daily for four weeks, a third of women were able to experience better sleep quality. ((link removed))
Another group of men showed better ability to fall asleep and better sleep quality after taking an aqueous valerian root extract. Night wakings, nightmares and sleepwalking did not occur. ((link removed))

Valerian appears to affect sleep by increasing serotonin and norepinephrine levels. ((link removed))

2. Relieves daily worries and occasional anxiety

At best, anxiety is annoying, slows you down, and makes you nervous about pretty much everything. At worst, it completely debilitates you. For centuries, traditional healers have used valerian to ease everyday worries and anxieties.

Impressive! Valerian root can be your natural remedy for daily anxiety!

Valerian extracts appear to reduce anxiety, particularly during complicated tasks or stressful situations. Women who underwent medical procedures felt better after taking valerian. Ninety minutes after taking a valerian supplement (valeric acid), they felt significantly less anxious.((Link removed), (Link removed))

3. Supports heart health

If you want to maintain a healthy heart well into your golden years, taking a valerian supplement may provide some benefit (though of course this is not a substitute for actual medical care).

Valerian oil appears to promote normal blood pressure, heart rate, and blood lipid levels—the amount of fat circulating in your bloodstream. Related valerian species (but not V. officinalis) can relax blood vessels, and it is likely that this is also true for the most commonly used types. ((link removed))

4. Helps during your menstrual cycle

Women with premenstrual syndrome often experience symptoms such as irritability, breast tenderness, sensitive mood or mood swings, and anxiety. In findings that will undoubtedly make women happy, valerian supplements not only help with physical ailments, but also emotional symptoms.

Researchers have found that valerian root has antispasmodic properties, meaning it relaxes muscles and relaxes uterine contractions that can cause discomfort and cramping. Women who take valerian may experience less severe cramps.

Taking valerian twice daily during the last seven days of a menstrual cycle can not only relieve physical symptoms, but also ease mood swings and balance the emotions associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). For more ideas, check out the best natural remedies for PMS symptoms.((Link removed), (Link removed))

5. Improves focus and concentration in children

Younger school children are naturally energetic and have trouble concentrating. However, when this begins to impact their daily life more than normal, it can become a problem. For children under 12, a combination of valerian root and lemon balm can promote concentration.

Not only that, but valerian with lemon balm can also calm children and reduce impulsivity. Given the history of valerian helping with sleep, it wasn't surprising that parents also noticed a difference in the children's sleep and social behavior. The jury is out on whether valerian root has similar effects in adults. ((link removed))

6. Can help with stress

Let's be honest. We are all stressed. Between work, family, commitments and finances, sometimes our lives are just one big ball of stressors. Everyone could use a break. Don't worry: Valerian root is here to help.

54 volunteers signed up to intentionally stress themselves with a mental experiment (All in the name of research!). Some took kava kava supplements, some took valerian, and some took a placebo.

The results were encouraging. Those who took kava and valerian not only had lower blood pressure during the stressful task, but they also reported subjectively feeling less stressed. In the valerian group, their heart rate even normalized. ((link removed))

7. Relieves menopausal symptoms

Once women reach the menopause and even perimenopause, the years before menstruation stops, women experience many new and often unpleasant symptoms: hot flashes, mood swings, cramps and heightened emotions.

Science shows that valerian root is beneficial in reducing menopausal symptoms!

Women took valerian two or three times a day for eight weeks, and valerian not only made hot flashes less intense, but also reduced their frequency. Valerian appears to be beneficial and may be an option for women who do not want to receive hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after menopause. ((Link removed), (Link removed))

8. Boosts brain health

Scientists have studied valerian and its connection to brain health and cognitive activities, such as the ability to solve tasks and puzzles, think further, and remember details - and reported encouraging results.

Valerian root extract can help you complete tasks. Valerian can also increase your tendency to explore and try new things. Additionally, valerian may help promote normal levels of stress-causing hormones in the hippocampus region of the brain. ((link removed))

Popular forms of valerian

Valerian comes in many forms, from teas to capsules or tablets to liquid extracts and tinctures to essential oils.

You can take it like melatonin, a hormone from the pineal gland that is commonly sold as a sleep aid. Tea and supplements are the two most popular preparations for valerian roots.

tea

Hot tea is calming and relaxing, and with valerian tea you have the added benefit of increasing sleepiness. Try this recipe. You can usually find dried valerian roots in the main section of health food stores.

Relaxing valerian tea recipe before bed

Ingredients

• 1 Teelöffel getrocknete Baldrianwurzel
• 1 Teelöffel getrockneter Kamillentee
• 1 Tasse heißes Wasser
• Honig nach Geschmack

preparation

1. Baldrianwurzel und Kamille in ein Teesieb geben.
2. Gießen Sie kochendes Wasser über die Baldrianwurzel und die Kamille.
3. Decken Sie die Tasse ab und lassen Sie sie 10 Minuten ziehen, um die therapeutischen Eigenschaften zu extrahieren.
4. Entfernen Sie das Teesieb.
5. Auf Wunsch mit Honig süßen.

Dietary supplements

Valerian root powder is widely used as a dietary supplement and is available in capsules, tablets or liquid extracts.

While capsules are probably the most common form, extracts help concentrate the nutrients from the root in an effective and powerful way. They are beneficial for people who do not want to swallow capsules. Avoid alcohol-based extracts as they are hard on your system.

Valerian Root Side Effects & Precautions

Valerian is generally safe. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported that “few adverse events attributable to valerian have been reported for clinical trial participants.” They add that the side effects reported include headaches, dizziness, itchy skin and gastrointestinal upset - but similar effects are also reported for the placebo (a sugar pill), so these are not necessarily attributed to valerian.

Valerian can increase sleepiness, which is a desirable effect in most cases. However, if you are taking it for other reasons, use caution if you need to remain alert at work or while driving. It may also increase sleepiness the next day. However, a second study found no change in next-day sleepiness when people took up to 900 mg of valerian.

According to the NIH, pregnant women, children under three, and nursing mothers should avoid taking valerian because the risks have not yet been studied. People taking barbiturates or other sedatives should avoid valerian as it worsens the effects. ((link removed))

Always remember to check with your doctor if you are taking any medications to determine possible interactions.

Points to remember

Historically, traditional healers used valerian root for sleep and anxiety problems, but today science has begun to uncover its many benefits.

The many phytochemical components include powerful phytoestrogens, flavanones and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which work together to create a calmer, more relaxed body and mind. This relaxation effect can help with various aspects, whether premenstrual or menopausal symptoms, concentration, daily stress, anxiety and more.

Valerian root has an excellent safety record, but if you are taking other medications, especially those with sedative or relaxing effects, be careful when taking valerian.