Valerian eases pain and promotes sleep

Insomnia, or sleeping problems can be treated naturally with herbal teas, infusions and baths. Sedative herbs such as hops and valerian are used to relax the nervous system to that you enjoy natural, restorative sleep. Each herb contains a variety of active constituents and has a main action and several subsidiary actions which determine the conditions for which it is most appropriate.

For Light to moderate sleeping problems reach for chamomile or lavender first. These herbs are a mainstay at my house, and I use one or both of them every day in one form or another. For a relaxing, calming massage to promote restful sleep blend Chamomile with other soothing oils like lavender, or use it in an aromatherapy lamp. Drink a cup of calming and soothing chamomile tea before retiring, and you will drift off easily. Dried chamomile flowers are always an effective and sweet-smelling ingredient in making herbal sleep pillows. Lavender is a wonderful sleep aid and like chamomile can be used in all it's forms, and is safe to use long term. Combine with valerian, or chamomile for a relaxing tea, diffuse in an aroma lamp for restful sleep, use it in your evening bath, sprinkle a few drops of lavender on sheets and pillowcases, and add dried lavender flowers to sleep pillow mixtures.

One of the best and most studied herbs for insomnia, valerian allays pain and promotes sleep. It is of especial use and benefit to those suffering from nervous overstrain, as it possesses none of the after-effects produced by narcotics. I have used this herb to good effect for myself, and the tincture is a convenient way to take it, especially when you wake up restless in the middle of the night,and cannot get back to sleep because of nagging pain. Another favorite is Mugwort , an old fashioned herb used in "dream pillows" to stimulate dreams and ease sleep. A cup of mugwort tea before bed will help ease sleep, and is one the herbs that has a special affinity for women.

Using Aromatherapy

Essential oils that are calming and relaxant help reduce states of nervous excitement and treat sleep problems. Just a few drops of oils such as lavender or sweet marjoram can help you fall into blissful sleep with no unpleasant side effects. Melissa is recommended for nervousness, depression, insomnia, and nervous headaches. The volatile oils in the plant (particularly citronella) have a sedative effect even in minute concentrations. The sedative property of ylang-ylang calms excitability, making sleep easier.

Herbs Used for Insomnia

California Poppy * Camphor * Chamomile * Corydalis * Fo-Ti Root * Hops * Jamaican Dogwood * Kava-Kava * Lavender * Marjoram,Sweet * Mugwort * Orange * Passion Flower * Red Poppy Flowers * Rooibos * Sandalwood * Skullcap * Valerian * Wild Cherry * Wild lettuce * Ylang-Ylang *

California poppy For: Sleep
Profile	California poppy is most often employed to provide restful sleep Linda B. White, M.D., The Herbal Drugstore (2003)

Chamomile For: Restful sleep
Profile	For a relaxing, calming massage to promote restful sleep blend chamomile with other soothing oils like lavender, or use it in an aromatherapy lamp. Drink a cup of calming and soothing chamomile tea before retiring, and you will drift off easily. Dried chamomile flowers are always an effective and sweet-smelling ingredient in making herbal sleep pillows.

Fo-Ti Root For: Sleeplessness
Profile	Fo-Ti root is traditionally combined with jujubes and/or biota to treat insomnia. Steven Foster and Yue chongxi, Herbal Emissaries (1992)

Hemp (Cannabis) For: Easing pain, sleep
Profile	The principal use of Hemp in medicine is for easing pain and inducing sleep, and for a soothing influence in nervous disorders. It does not cause constipation nor affect the appetite like opium. It is useful in neuralgia, gout, rheumatism, delirium, insanity, infantile convulsions, insomnia, etc. The tincture helps parturition, and is used in senile catarrh, gonorrhoea, menorrhagia, chronic cystitis and all painful urinary affections. An infusion of the seed is useful in after pains and prolapsus uteri. The resin may be combined with ointments, oils or chloroform in inflammatory and neuralgic complaints. Maud Grieve, Modern Herbal Vol 1 (1931)

Hops For: Insomnia
Profile	Hops is a traditional cure for insomnia - a number of phytochemicals in hops possess sedative and muscle-relaxing qualities. Other compounds depress the central nervous system. James Duke, The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook (2000)

Hops For: Hop Sleep pillow
Profile	The volatile oils released while sleeping on a hop pillow induce sleep Richard Mabey, The New Age Herbalist (1988)

Lavender For: Sleep aid
Profile	Lavender is a wonderful sleep aid and can be used in all it's forms. Combine with valerian, or chamomile for a relaxing tea, diffuse in an aroma lamp for restful sleep, use it in your evening bath, sprinkle a few drops of lavender on sheets and pillowcases, and add dried lavender flowers to sleep pillow mixtures.

Lemon Balm For: Insomnia
Profile	A double-blind study of twenty people with insomnia compared the benefits of 0.125 milligrams of the sedative triazolam (Hal-cion) against placebo and a combination of valerian and lemon balm. The herbal combination was found to be as effective as the drug. Phyllis A. Balch, Prescription for Herbal Healing (2002)

Lemon balm - Melissa For: Mild depression
Profile	Lemon balm herb and Melissa oil are recommended for nervousness, depression, insomnia, and nervous headaches. The volatile oils in the plant (particularly citronellal) have a sedative effect even in minute concentrations. Richard Mabey, The New Age Herbalist (1988)

Mugwort For: Stimulate dreams, sleep
Profile	A traditional herb used in "dream pillows" to stimulate dreams and ease sleep

Passionflower For: Anxiety, insomnia
Profile	Generally used for treating insomnia, passionflower is a strong calming herb and is occasionally useful for severe daytime anxiety.

Passionflower For: Insominia, Neuralgia
Profile	Passionflower is known to be a depressant to the motor side of the spinal cord, slightly reducing arterial pressure, though affecting circulation but little, while increasing the rate of respiration. It is official in homeopathic medicine and used with bromides, it is said to be of great service in epilepsy. Its narcotic properties cause it to be used in diarrhoea and dysentery, neuralgia, sleeplessness and dysmenorrhoea. Maud Grieve, Modern Herbal Vol 1 (1931)

Schisandra For: Fatigue and sleeplessness
Profile	Schisandra is believed to have an adaptongenic function, increases non-resistant immune response, reduces tiredness and sleeplessness Steven Foster and Yue chongxi, Herbal Emissaries (1992)

Valerian For: Promotes sleep, eases pain
Profile	The drug allays pain and promotes sleep. It is of especial use and benefit to those suffering from nervous overstrain, as it possesses none of the after-effects produced by narcotics. Maud Grieve, Modern Herbal Volume 2 (1931)

Wild lettuce For: Induce sleep
Profile	Wild lettuce teas and tinctures are used to induce sleep and is included in some herbal mixtures used to treat arthritic pain. . Learn wild lettuce. (), Moutain Rose Herbs

Insomnia Information

• Depression :
  The simple act of preparing and savoring a herbal tea is part of the self healing process.
• Anxiety/Panic :
  Many plant medicines alleviate occasional anxiety. Sensitivity to this group of herbs varies widely, some people can relax with one cup of chamomile tea, others need several doses of a much more potent herb to feel results.
• Stress :
  Before you reach for the pill bottle, or try to drown the pain with alcohol, or eat chocolate until you fall into a sugar induced stupor (my personal demon) try some of these herbal and essential oil remedies to help you cope.