Fortunately, traditional herbal remedies are currently available to help you with this common, modern-day problem. Over half of all Americans have some type of difficulty in getting or maintaining a restful night's sleep. Over-the-counter non-herbal medications for insomnia are limited to antihistamines which are normally used for allergies but which help you sleep because they are so sedating. The choices among herbal insomnia remedies, on the other hand, are numerous and mankind has had centuries of practice using them for sleeping difficulties. Several of them even have the backing of scientific research indicating their safety and effectiveness in helping improve sleep patterns.
Valerian root is one of the two more popular herbal therapies for insomnia. The plant from which the root is taken grows in temperate climates worldwide. It has been used for over a thousand years as a sleep remedy, most notably by the great Hippocrates himself. No one knows exactly how it works to induce sleep, however, modern scientific studies have been undertaken which show that it does, in fact, work clinically in human subjects. A German study published in 1998 showed that a combination of valerian root and hops (another sleep-inducing herb) worked as well as a prescription-strength benzodiazepine (similar to Valium) in the treatment of sleep disorders. And valerian root, unlike benzodiazepines, is not addictive.
On the other side of the world, natives of the South Pacific had their own remedy for insomnia. Kava kava, a shrub indigenous to the islands, has long been used by the natives to induce relaxation and provide a feeling of well-being when drunk at important religious rites. Scientific research supports the effectiveness of kava kava as a remedy for anxiety and sleep disorders. An article published in Pharmacopsychiatry in 1997, for example, showed significant improvement in anxiety in those subjects who took kava kava as compared with those who took a placebo. Like valerian, kava kava is not addictive.
Modern science has not been as generous to other herbal remedies commonly used for insomnia. Research on humans using herbs such as hops, passionflower and chamomile is scant and no scientific proof exists to indicate one way or another whether they have an effect on sleep. Still, they are found frequently in herbal sleep-aids. Fortunately, no one has proven them to be unsafe for consumption either. Given centuries of herbal tradition which supports their effectiveness for insomnia, we might expect them to be at least somewhat helpful for those with sleeping problems. Some herbal sleep-aids actually are a blend of a primary herb such as kava kava or valerian along with smaller amounts of hops, passionflower or chamomile. It is believed that the latter three herbs augment the sleep-promoting properties of the primary herbal ingredient.
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