I wasn’t sure where to put this so, sorry if it’s in the wrong place.
So has anyone here heard of, or tried Valerian root? It’s a herbal medicine that is supposed to help you sleep, and relax.
I’ve been having trouble sleeping for a while now, and I’ve been considering taking it. But I’m not sure if it will affect my dream recall or if it will make me tired during the next day.
Well, Valerian will help your sleep-related problems, but usually when I drink valerian tea before bed, I don’t remember the slightest shred of any of my dreams.
Valerian causes CNS depression (obviously) and has anticholinergic properties, too. I don’t know about it’s efficacy as a sleep aid, but for all LD purposes, it will just complicate things.
(Melatonin is a better sleep aid; it’s more effective and safer.)
I have used valerian often as a sleep aid, as melatonin is a presciption drug here in Norway. It works best if i drink it about an hour before going to sleep. It makes me fall asleep faster, and even faster if I eat ginkgo too, because then I don’t have to wait for my feet to heat up! Since we need a proper amount of sleep time to dream, it could help in that way.
The information that I’ve read about Valerian has been very mixed. I’ve read that its supossed to make your dreams more vivid and help you remember them, but then I’ve read that it does the opposite. I’ve been taking one 450mg tablet before bed for the past month or so and I’ve found that it has actually hurt my dream recall. I thought about upping the dose to the suggested 2 tablets daily, but I think I’m going to stop taking them and see if my dream recall gets any better. I’ll post my results in a few days of not taking Valerian Root.
I’m going to let you in on a secret. The best thing in the world for dream recall is called your mind. It’s hard work. Although, there are some substances that help dream recall and lucidity. The best and safest approach I have found is through will and intention.
I have found that valerian increases the vividness of my dreams, but severly reduces my dream recall. I would not recomend it. I would recomend kava kava root, however. It is more potent than valerian root, and will not hinder your DR as much.
Kava does work. The main problem is relying on these herbs and vitamins. The mind is the biggest pharmacy of all. Faith/will/intention are the only true lucid dreaming drugs. A dream journal is a lucid dreamers best ally. I agree though. Valerian has never helped me much. Kava does work well. But nothing works better than a dream journal and willing yourself to remember.
Might I suggest melatonin. It helps with resetting your biological ‘clock’ and I have noticed that dreams are basically left alone. You only have to take it for a few days, untill your body basically gets used to the new bed time that you set.
Yes well I was giving a suggestion since the valerian root didin’t seem to be what she was looking for. But I guess I can let her make her own decisions, Ill keep my suggestions to myself, sorry.
Yes I have tried the valerian root in pill form. It gives you a fantastic night sleep but I’m not sure if it helps with your dreams. It may make you forget them but I’m not sure, I forgot, I haven’t taken it in a while.
Well yes, it will help you sleep…but if you want to have anywhere near decent DR I wouldn’t recommend taking it…then again, if you don’t care about LD’ing and just wanna sleep, by all means go ahead.
seems everybody here agree that valerian root does not help, but i think there IS exceptions, since it helped me alot in havin more vivid dreams and rememberin them too. i think u can just try it yourself & see what will happen!
also mixin drugs works ok, i used to take both vitamin B-6 & valerian before going to bed
although I agree with “DreamTraveler” & i think “Nothing works better than a dream journal and willing yourself to remember.”