Valerian, an herb used traditionally for insomnia and anxiety, may help some menopausal women conquer sleeping problems. The latest news on this long-popular herb is that it improved sleep in 30 percent of women who received it during a study at Tehran University in Iran. Investigators there recruited 100 postmenopausal women to take two capsules of valerian or a placebo every night for a month. They found that 30 percent of the women who took the herb reported better quality of sleep - they were able to fall asleep faster and woke up less often than they had previously. Only four percent of the women in the placebo group reported these improvements. None of the women complained of side effects from the valerian. The study was reported in the September 2011 issue of the journal Menopause. When buying valerian look for products standardized to 1% valerenic acid. The usual dose is one to two tablets at bedtime or one teaspoon of the tincture in one-quarter cup of water. While side effects are rare, you can become psychologically dependent on valerian.
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