I have a lot of experience with Valerian, so I thought I’d throw my two cents in.
I’ve been taking valerian, in pill or tea form, by itself and with other herbs like Kava, for over 10 years.
I got a nasty back injury years ago and discovered that valerian not only helps you fall asleep, but also does wonders for nerve pain (better than most opiates I was prescribed), it’s also a mild muscle relaxer.
Valium is synthesized from Valerian. It’s a natural depressant, and personally I prefer it to the pharmaceutical version.
For these reasons, I have to say that when I see people reporting various psychotropic effects like distorted vision, mild hallucinations etc from taking valerian, I’m inclined to think those “effects” are actually psychosomatic and not related to the herb at all. It’s not a complex herb, it simply relaxes the nervous system in a way similiar to alcohol. It shouldn’t make you “trip” any more than a couple beers would.
As for whether it’s stronger than a glass of warm milk, that all depends on the potency and quantity of the herb you are consuming. I’ve tried a couple dozen brands over the years, and trust me, quality counts. Also, warm milk does have an opiate-like effect that makes you drowsy, but it lacks the muscle-relaxant effects of valerian.
Which will work better depends on why you are having trouble sleeping. If you’re physically tense or stressed, I recommend valerian. Psychologically stressed, I recommend warm milk.
As mentioned above, one can easily build up a tolerance to Valerian, so use it sparingly. However, this is not becuase it’s an “opiate” it’s actually just a mild depressant.
Depending on your tolerance for drugs/chemicals/herbs, valerian may make you drowsy in the morning. So if you plan to use it, take it while you still have plenty of time for sleep. Don’t wait till you have 4 hours left before you need to go to work.
Finally, as to whether Valerian will help LD’s, everyone is different, but going by my personal experience, I can’t imagine why it would. If anything, I expect it would suppress REM for most folks. I’ve certainly never had more vividness or LD frequency while taking valerian. Usually, it makes me dream less and have terrible recall.
Hope this helps clairify a little.
Maybe it could be good for lucid dreaming if you took one after a WBTB, where you get more REM sleep?