Lai Yee Lung FSHN 480 , April 29th, 2013

Valerian Root & Chamomile,

Alternatives to Ease

Sleeping Problems

Sleeping problems have negative impact on our health, performance on job, study, friends, and family which increase our stress level and worsen sleeping problems. Sleeping pills is an easy way out of sleeping problems but it creates dependency and side effects.

Sleeping Pills? No Thanks!

Sleep is crucial for anabolism (healing, recovery, white blood cells formation, etc.)7,8 and brain functioning (learning, memory formation, creativity)9,-2. Without high quality sleep, we will experience decrease in executive functions, episodic memory, long term memory, visual-spatial reasoning, verbal short-term memory, and it might also causes health problems15 . Not including other sleeping problems, chronic insomnia alone affects more than 10% of US population11. This 10% spend $1200 more annually on health care2. People take sleeping pills to solve sleeping problems but these sleeping pills are very likely to cause side effects like daytime fatigue and cognitive impairments. In addition to the side effects, sleeping pills do not cure the root of the problem and create dependency6. There are alternatives to sleeping pills. Here, you are going to be introduced to traditional herbs: valerian root and chamomile6.

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Valerian root; with the Same Effect, but Side-Effects

Valerian root is a herb that promote natural sleep6; its effect is comparable to commercial sleeping pill oxazepam13. It improves sleep efficiency and increases the duration of REM sleep14 ( a stage of sleep that is important for creativity). However, one might need to consume valerian root products for days to weeks to see its effects6. Studies indicate that valerian root has no risk of dependence and it has extreme low number of adverse events when consumed14. We can now purchase valerian root at pharmacy or grocery stores in the forms of essence oil, capsule, tea, and dried root.

Relax Everyone, its Chamomile

Chamomile has the ability to improve sleep quality even in individuals without sleeping problems2. The chemical compound in chamomile has a structure similar to neurotransmitter that regulate sleep and mood2,6. In a study, anxiety level in individuals who consumed chamomile were significantly lower then individuals who did not16. There is no recorded side effects from consuming chamomile, but individuals who are allergic to daisy should avoid chamomile. Like valerian root, chamomile comes in tea, essence oil, and dried forms; it is also made into shampoo, candles, and even jelly.

Read This!
Diet/herbs is one of many solutions for sleeping problems. We should always read product label here is a statement on Sleepytime herbal tea:

Reference
1.Zick, Wright, Sen, and Arnedt, 2011. Preliminary Examination of the Efficacy and Safety of a Standardized Chamomile Extract for Chronic Primary Insomnia: A Randomized Placebo -controlled Pilot Study. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Sept 22, 2011, Vol.11, p.78. 2.Ozminkowski, Wang, and Walsh., 2007. The Direct and Indirect Costs of Untreated Insomnia In Adults in the United States. Sleep,30 (3):263-273. 3.Nebes, Buysse, Halligan, Houck, and Monk, 2009. Self-reported Sleep Quality Predicts Poor Cognitive Performance in Healthy Older Adults. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 64, 180187. 4.Bastien, Fortier -Brochu, Rioux, LeBlanc,, Daley, and Morin, 2003. Cognitive Performance and Sleep Quality in the Elderly Suffering From Chronic Insomnia: Relationship Between Objective and Subjective Measures. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 54, 3949 5.Schmutte, Harris, Levin, Zweig, Katz, and Lipton, 2007. The relation between cognitive functioning and self-reported sleep complaints in nondemented older adults: Results from the Bronx Aging Study. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 5, 39 56. 6.Wheatley, 2006. Herbal Products, Stress, and the Mind. In: Yehuda, S., Mostofsky D., 2006. Nutrients, Stress, and Medical Disorders. Totowa, N,J. Humana Press. Pp.137-151. 7.Gumustekin K., Seven, B ; Karabulut N., Aktas O., Gursan N ., Aslan S., Keles M., Varoglu E., Dane E., 2004. Effect of Sleep Deprivation, Nicotine, and Selenium on Wound Healing in Rats. International 15.Gould L., Reddy C.V.R., Gomprecht R.F., 1973. Cardiac Effect of Journal Of Neuroscience, Vol.114(11), pp.1433-1442 Chamomile Tea. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 13, 475-479 8.Mark O., 2009. Sleeping to Fuel the Immune System: Mammalian 16.Amsterdam J.D., Li,Y., Soeller I., Rockwell K., Mao J.J., Shults J., Sleep and Resistance to Parasites. BMC Evolutionary Biology, Vol.9 2009. A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of Oral (1), p8 Matricaria recutita (Chamomile) Extract therapy for Generalized 9. Morrissey M.J., Duntley S.P., Anch A.M., Nonneman R., 2004. Anxiety Disorder. J. Clin. Psychopharmacol. 29, 378382. Active Sleep and Its Role in the Prevention of Apoptosis in the Developing Brain. Medical Hypotheses Vol.62(6), pp.876-879. 10.Robertson, E.M., Pascual L.A., Press D.Z., 2004. Awareness Modifies the Skill-Learning Benefits of Sleep. Current Biology, 2004, Vol.14(3), pp.208-212 11.Maquet, P., 2001. The Role of Sleep in Learning and Memory. Science, Vol.294(5544), pp.1048-1052. 12.Walker, M.P., Liston C., Hobson J.A., Stickgold R., 2002. Cognitive Flexibility Across the Sleep -Wake Cycle: REM-Sleep Enhancement of Anagram Problem Solving. Cognitive Brain Research, 2002, Vol.14 (3), pp.317-3241. 13.Ziegler G., Ploch M., Miettinen A., Collet W., 2003. Efficacy and Tolerability of Valerian Extract LI 156 Compared with Oxazepam in the Treatment of Non-organic InsomniaA Randomized, DoubleBlind, Comparative Clinical Study. Alternative Medicine Review, Vol.8(2), p.207(1) 14.Donath F., Quispe S., Diefenbach K., Maurer A., Fietze I., Root I., 2000. Clinical Evaluation of the Effect of Valerian Extract on Sleep Structure and Sleep Quality. Pharmacopsychiatry, 33(2), 47-53