Natural Sleep Aids and Sedatives

What is a Valerian?
In the wild, a Valerian is a summer flower with hundreds of tiny white or pink blossoms. Humans have been extracting properties of this plant for centuries, using its sweet scent as a perfume. Perhaps the most notable attribute of the Valerian is that it is also referred to as "all-heal," alluding in part to its natural sedative properties. All Valerian sedative properties sold come from specifically from the plant's root. A positive characteristic of this natural sedative in particular is that it will cause no effects the next day, even after continued use.

How do I ingest Valerian?
Valerian dietary supplements are usually sold in health food stores, pharmacies, and can be purchased online. There are a number of ways you may ingest the natural sedative, such as in tea form, a liquid or powder extract, or in pills. However, because the natural sleep aid isn't the strongest available, many people combine their Valerian intake with another natural sleep aid for more pronounced effects. On its own, Valerian acts as a sleep aid, but will not "knock someone out" if they are experiencing severe insomnia. If someone has a chronic sleep issue, daily ingestion over a period of a few weeks may be necessary for its sleep aid properties to make a difference.

What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland, and plays a key role in regulating sleep in animals. As people sometimes require a sleep aid to combat an issue with their own melatonin production, directly ingesting melatonin is sometimes very desirable. However, unlike Valerian, melatonin is a natural sedative that does have some reported after effects. Some of these include vivid dreams, lower body temperature, difficulty becoming alert in the morning, and changes in blood pressure and body temperature.

How do I ingest Melatonin?
Still, melatonin is used across America as a natural sedative, most commonly ingested orally as a dietary supplement or pill. Melatonin should never be used in high doses for a prolonged period of time, as it has only been proven as a safe natural sleep aid in lower doses (.2 to 20.0 milligrams per night). As there is a bit of a discrepancy between the safe low and safe high doses, melatonin use should always be discussed with someone's personal doctor.

WORKS CITED
"Johns Hopkins: Depression|Anxiety on Melatonin, Valerian for Insomnia: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts." Johns Hopkins Health Alerts: News on Prostate Cancer, Arthritis, Heart Disease, and Other Conditions Which Affect Health After 50 . Johns Hopkins. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/alerts/depression_anxiety/JohnsHopkinsDepressionAnxietyHealthAlert_799-1.html.