This is the 8th installment of Kayla’s Quick Reads, a series of posts designed to be read from top to bottom in 5 minutes or less.

You can read the other posts in this series here.

About a month ago, I was talking to one of my best friends about having trouble sleeping and how that seems to be directly related to stress. I’m usually a 7.5-8 hours per night kind of girl, and I don’t typically have problems falling asleep but I did notice that I was having trouble staying asleep. I already take so many supplements and I really didn’t want to add anything to my daily intake, especially something with a whole bunch of side effects. I had heard of melatonin for sleep, Zzzquil, and a whole bunch of other stuff. But most of things options also come with lots of potential side effects and/or potential dependency. I don’t really have trouble sleeping when I’m not in school and I’m thoroughly convinced that the correlation there is the stress. Obviously when school is in session, there’s a lot going on and my stress levels are much higher than in the summer. So I didn’t want to try anything that was going to hurt me in the long run or cause me to become dependent. The friend that I was talking to suggested looking into Valerian root.  

Advertised as a supplement that aids in relaxation and better sleep, Valeriana officinalis, commonly known as valerian, is an herb native to Asia and Europe and the root portion has been used in traditional medicine for at least 2,000 years.

Valerian root contains a number of compounds that may promote sleep and reduce anxiety to include valerenic acid and isovaleric acid. The science behind it is all in the interaction with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical messenger that helps regulate nerve impulses in your brain and nervous system.

According to healthline, researchers have shown that low GABA levels related to acute and chronic stress are linked to anxiety and low-quality sleep.

Valerenic acid has been found to inhibit the breakdown of GABA in the brain, resulting in feelings of calmness and tranquility, working in the same way that anti-anxiety medications like Valium and Xanax do but without the side effects. Valerian root also contains the antioxidants hesperidin and linarin, which appear to have sedative and sleep-enhancing properties.

So the next time you’re having trouble sleeping, consider trying Valerian root. It’s easily accessible and pretty cheap and if you try it, be sure to let me know!

I hope you found this useful and as always, thanks for journeying with me.