Valerian:Efficacy in
Stress/Anxiety Reduction and
as a Sleep Aide
Valerian and Stress/Anxiety
Reduction
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Why should valerian work to reduce stress and anxiety?
Valerian contains several compounds that act to effectively relax
the Central Nervous System (CNS)
Flavanoids such as valepotriates, valereneic acid, and
glutamine are purported to increase realease and decrease the
uptake of GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid), a neurotransmitter
in the CNS.
GABA acts to relieve anxiety, promoting a “cool, calm” attitude
Case Studies Supporting Valerian
Department
of Psychology,
University of Surrey
Psychopharmacology Research
Group
Department of Pharmacology,
Federal University of Parana
Case Study on Healthy Volunteers
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54 participants, separated into three groups
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Two mental stress tests were given one week
apart
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18 subjects taking valerian for 7 days
18 subjects taking kava for 7 days
18 subjects as a control
One test before valerian and one after the week
Heart rate, and Blood Pressure were recorded.
Did it Work?
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Comparing Test One and Test Two in
Valerian Group
 Systolic
Blood pressure decreased
 Heart rate in relation to mental stress was said
to decrease
 Subjects stated feeling less pressure during
test two
 This study proposes that Valerian may benefit
health by reducing physiological harm caused
from stress
Study Problems

Subjects reported feeling less pressure
during Test two but…
 It
was their second time taking the test
 The study did not report if there was any change
in the Test’s form
 This may not have only influence the pressure
the individuals felt but also the physiological
results
Study on Stress Patients
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Nineteen subjects suffering from stressedinduced insomnia
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First, subjects received six weeks of kava
Then a two week ‘wash-out’ period
Subjects then received 600mg of valerian daily for another
six weeks
Another ‘washout’ period
Followed by six more weeks of both valerian and kava
Results were measured in relation to social, life, and
personal situations
Did it Work?
The study reported that the result of
taking each compound by itself resulted
in a lowering in the level of the subject’s
overall stress.
 The study declared that this experiment
showed promising results for further
research
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Study Problems
This studies sample size wasn’t very big
 There was no control in this experiment
 There wasn’t much information on how
the subject’s life, personal, and social
event stress level were measured.
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Study with Anxiety Patients
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This study had 36 outpatient subjects who
were diagnosed with generalized anxiety
disorder
 There was a two week wash-out period
 Subjects were randomly put into one of three
treatments for a four week period
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 The
Valepotriates- 81.3 mg per day
Diazepam- 6.5 mg per day
Placebo group
study was described as having a, “parallel,
double-blind, flexible-dose, placebo-controlled
design”
Did it Work?
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All three groups showed a significant decrease in the
Hamilton anxiety inventory
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The overall result was that there is a possibility that
the valepotriates may have an effect on stress, and
further studies are warranted
Study Problems
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One main source of question was that
the results state that there was a
significant decrease in the total
Hamilton anxiety scores represented all
three groups, including the placebo
group
 This
suggests other, possibly psychological,
factors could have played a role in the results
Valerian: Efficacy as a Sleep
Aide
Methods
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Placebo controlled, single-blinded study
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Gathered 7 days of baseline information regarding sleep quality
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Followed by 7 days of supplementation (The BLUE pill): taken
approximately a half-hour before subjects went to sleep
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Results were gathered utilizing a “Sleep Survey” to measure any
effects the supplement may have had.
Results
Average Scores between Baseline and
Supplementation Periods
Baseline Period
Supplementation Period
4.50
4.00
Average Score
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
Q6
Q7
Q8
Q9
Q10
Results Continued
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For questions 1-9: No major differences between
supplementation period and baseline period
Question 10: Feel “physically” awake during the day?
-Appears to be a difference between supplementation period
and baseline period.
-Value was lower for the supplementation period
- Most likely due to one subject taking a codeine cough
medicine during supplementation period
*no adverse side effects reported by subjects taking the
supplement
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Even More Results
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For the next graph, we changed the scoring system used in the survey so that a
recorded score of 5 is “desirable” for each question. Example:
No
5
4
Somewhat
3
2
Yes
1
Have trouble falling asleep
Wake up during the night and have
difficulty getting back to sleep
Wake up too early in the morning and
have difficulty getting back to sleep
Feel excessively sleepy during the day
So, we did this for all the questions, therefore, the “ideal” night’s sleep score adds
up to 50
Last Results Slide, I Promise!
Overall Sleep Quality Score for Duration of Baseline
and Supplementation Periods
Baseline Period
Supplementation Period
50
Sleep Quality Score
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
1
2
3
4
Day
5
6
7
Conclusions
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There was no day to day change in overall sleep quality during the
supplementation period.
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There was no difference in the average scores reported on the survey
between the supplementation period and baseline period (the one
question where they did differ can be explained by a subject using
codeine)
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Therefore, we conclude that whatever we did have (valerian or
placebo) did not work to improve sleep quality.
Limitations
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There are several confounding variables that could very likely have had an impact on our results.
These would include:
 Having a cold or illness, these can often make us tired, such as mono, or effect our sleep
pattern and mood
 Taking other drugs or dietary supplements could possible decrease the absorption rate of
the pill, some people could even be on prescription sleep aids or sedatives that would
change the result of our supplement.
 We did not control the time we went to bed, the time we awoke, and how long we slept.
Many of us could have had an early class or work and regardless of how good the sleep
was, it just wasn’t enough hours
 The population was not randomly chosen. College kids are known for outrageous sleeping
patterns and irregular schedules. Our bodies are not adjusted to a certain schedule,so any
kind of activity could alter our response
 The dosage was also small, and the trial time was limited. An ideal study would have been
four to six weeks long to allow our bodies to adjust to the drug, and each person would
get a dose that would be proportionate to their body size.
 Physical activity, other sedatives or stimulants could have altered the effect of the drug
since exercise is known for increasing hormones that keep you awake and drinking
alcohol puts many people to sleep
Suggestions for Future
Research
Make a baseline for what was “a long time” to get to sleep, and what was
short. For some people, not falling asleep in ten minutes is long for them while
for others it may be at least an hour.
 Another good question would be how long it took to get out of bed in the
morning, and how many total hours of sleep each person got. Being able to
compare how many hours a person got before and during use of the
supplement would make a much clearer case.
 Also, each time a person takes a nap, that alters their sleep schedule and can
have a huge effect on how they feel and answer the survey at the end of the
day. An additional question on the survey of many naps, and for how long
would greatly improve the validity of the study.
 The most obvious change we could make though would be for each participant
to keep a journal before and during the supplement use, recording their food
intake, activity patterns and other medications or supplements being used.
There are so many confounding variables that could effect the results, a
journal would be a good start to monitoring each participant individually.
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Thanks for Listening!