Valerian → Sleep duration and regularity
Higher Valerian increases Sleep duration and regularity.
Taavoni 2011 found that 530 mg of valerian extract twice a day for four weeks raised the share of postmenopausal women whose Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index improved to 30 percent versus 4 percent on placebo (n=100). Chandra Shekhar 2024 found a similar PSQI and actigraphy direction in 72 completers. Donath 2000's sixteen-person polysomnography was thinner.
Randomized trial · Contested · N=100
Supported by an experiment or a tightly identified design. Read the caveats.
Mechanism
Authors treat a valerian root extract as a mild sleep aid. They do not isolate one receptor. Taavoni, Ekbatani, Kashaniyan and Haghani (2011) assigned 100 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 60 with insomnia to 530 mg of concentrated valerian or placebo twice a day for four weeks. Sleep quality changed versus placebo (P<0.001). Thirty percent versus 4 percent were classed as improved. Chandra Shekhar, Joshua and Thomas (2024) assigned 80 adults with sleep complaints to a standardized V. officinalis extract or placebo for eight weeks. 72 finished. PSQI total fell versus placebo on days 14, 28, and 56. Wrist actigraphy improved sleep latency and actual sleep time on days 3, 14, 28, and 56, and efficiency from day 14. The abstract does not publish the minute counts. Donath, Quispe, Diefenbach, Maurer, Fietze and Roots (2000) crossed 16 people with psychophysiological insomnia through single-dose and 14-day valerian and placebo, with eight polysomnography nights. A single dose did nothing. After 14 days, sleep efficiency rose versus baseline on both arms. Slow-wave sleep latency was 13.5 versus 21.3 minutes (P<0.05).
Caveats
Researchers assigned people to a root extract or a control, so this is a trial stamp. The larger files are questionnaires. More papers of the same design do not settle the claim. Taavoni is menopause and a Pittsburgh score, not a lab night. Chandra Shekhar is a branded extract. Donath is sixteen people: efficiency rose on placebo too, and a single dose was null. This is a journal entry, not medical advice and not a reason to take a root for insomnia.
Effect
qualitative. Taavoni 2011: 530 mg BID, 4 wk, N=100, 30% vs 4% PSQI improved. Chandra Shekhar 2024: N=80/72, PSQI and actigraphy moved. Donath 2000: N=16, single dose null; 14-d SWS latency 13.5 vs 21.3.
Nodes
Named confounders
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Valerian → Sleep duration and regularity.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-valerian-sleep (atlas updated 2026-09-02).
Papers
- Effect of valerian on sleep quality in postmenopausal women: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.
S Taavoni, N Ekbatani, M Kashaniyan, H Haghani · 2011 · Menopause (New York, N.Y.)
- Standardized Extract of Valeriana officinalis Improves Overall Sleep Quality in Human Subjects with Sleep Complaints: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Study.
H Chandra Shekhar, L Joshua, JV Thomas · 2024 · Advances in therapy
- Critical evaluation of the effect of valerian extract on sleep structure and sleep quality.
F Donath, S Quispe, K Diefenbach, A Maurer, I Fietze, I Roots · 2000 · Pharmacopsychiatry