Research has found that more than 30% of the US population suffers from poor sleep.
There are a variety of prescription medications that are used for promoting sleep, however, these can have there own adverse events.
For example, prescription sleep aids have been associated with daytime drowsiness, dependency, depression and even in rare instances suicidal thoughts and attempts.
Medicinal plants have been used throughout the world to promote sleep.
A recent systematic review was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food.
Here are a few plants that were selected
Valerian
– Valerian has several bioactive phytochemicals including valerenic acid, iridoids, including valepotriates, isovaleric acid, isovaleramide, alkaloids, gamma-aminobutyric acids (GABAs), flavanones, and 6-methylapigenin
– Valerian was studied in 17 human clinical trials.
Lavender
– Linalyl acetate and linalool are considered as the main ingredients, which could be related to the sleep-promoting effects of lavender, by modulating actions of glutamate and GABA in animal models
– Three Randomized controlled clinical trials and one open label study have been completed.
Kava
– Active ingredients of kava include a class of lactone named as kavalactones or kavapyrones. Kavalactones include kavain, dihydrokavain, methysticin, dihydromethysticin, yangonin, and desmethoxyyangostin
– Results from animal experiments suggest that these ingredients can modulate GABA activities
Other examples include
Chamomile – Recently, a clinical trial tested chamomile extract over a 28 day period with the results suggested sleep was improved with chamomile extract.
Ashwagandha – Phytochemicals found in this plant have GABA activity that can help the body relax.
Cherries – Cherries contain melatonin which is an important brain chemical that our bodies make every night to help us sleep.
Passionflower – Passionflower contains the amino acid, GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), which is known to help relax nerve cells.
Here are the results of more clinical research using plant medicine to promote better sleep.
Reference
Kim et al. Natural products from single plants as asleep aids: A Systematic Review. Journal of Medicinal Food. 2018 May; Volume 21 (Issue 5): Pages 433-444
His research on plant medicine has led to more than 45 publications and abstracts.This research has been presented at international meetings in the USA, France, Turkey, Peru, Israel, Austria, and Italy.