Compound or practice · Sleep
Valerian
A traditional sedative herb with inconsistent trials and a common morning-grogginess complaint.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 1
- graded outcome
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
1 at grade C — 1 graded row
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Subjective sleepEvidence grade C
Inconsistent
Smalllow
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Subjective sleep (grade C).
- Caution with Melatonin: Two sedating levers — pick one to avoid morning grog.
- Watch with Melatonin: Two sedating levers — pick one to avoid morning grog.
Interactions
Documented pairings with supplements and medicines. A medicine on this list is a conversation for whoever prescribes it.
MelatoninCaution
Two sedating levers — pick one to avoid morning grog.
The evidence in words
What it is
Valerian root is a long-used sleep herb thought to act on GABA signaling.
How it works
Its valerenic acid appears to modulate GABA-A receptors, producing mild sedation — mechanistically plausible, clinically unreliable.
What the evidence shows
Meta-analyses are inconsistent: some subjective sleep improvement, weak objective data, high variability between products. Next-morning grogginess is a frequent complaint. A benign but unreliable option.
How to use it
300–600 mg of extract 30–60 minutes before bed; effects, if any, may build over days.
Safety & interactions
Generally safe; additive sedation with alcohol, benzodiazepines, and other CNS depressants. Melatonin — Two sedating levers — pick one to avoid morning grog.
Bottom line
Hit-or-miss. Worth a cheap trial for mild insomnia, but don't stack it with other sedatives and expect some morning fog.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- Standard
- 300–600 mg extract, 30–60 min pre-bed.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Valerian for Subjective sleepEvidence grade C — InconsistentEvidence grade C
- Valerian: dosage and how to take it300–600 mg extract, 30–60 min pre-bed.Evidence grade C
- Valerian: side effects, safety & interactionsGenerally safe; additive sedation with alcohol, benzodiazepines, and other CNS depressants.Evidence grade C
- ApigeninThe chamomile flavone behind the bedtime-tea calm — mild, benign, thinly studied as an isolated supplement.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.