VALERIAN VIGIL

What do you tell your insomnia patients about this less common sleep supplement?

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1. Counselling Conundrum: a real question from a patient

2. Concise Conclusion: a straightforward, patient-friendly answer 

3. Quick Wrap-up 

Clearly, there are nuances that may not be captured in this format. The goal here is to provide you with helpful counselling tips which often draw from multiple sources or those which are not commonly accessed by busy healthcare providers serving the community.

Counselling Conundrum: "I've been taking valerian root for about a week now, and have not noticed a difference. Is it worth taking?"

Concise Conclusion: Some research suggests valerian may improve sleep quality. If you want to see if it could help you, try it for 4 weeks (it can take that long to see the benefit).

Quick Wrap-up: Keep in mind valerian doesn't seem to improve objective sleep measures, and advise patients not to exceed 600 mg daily for a total duration of 6 weeks (limited data beyond this point). Take a look at our cue card for other pearls.

Dive Deeper

1) The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.

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