People mainly take Kava for anxiety, mood, sleep. Based on 104 first-hand reports and 41 meta-analyses & systematic reviews in the medical literature. Ranked #192 of 1,974 overall.
Of reports that state an outcome, 66% are positive.
Of the people who reported each effect, the share who said it got better.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses from PubMed, with their published conclusions.
3+ meta-analyses or systematic reviews and 10+ randomized controlled trials in humans. The grade measures how much human research exists — read the conclusions below for what it found.
Conclusion: Numerous interactions between herbal medicines and conventional drugs have been documented. While the significance of many interactions is uncertain, several interactions, particularly those with St John's wort, may have serious clinical consequences.
PubMed 19719333 ↗Conclusion: Medicinal herbs may be promising for the treatment of anxiety. However, these results should be considered preliminary because of the unconvincing sample sizes, together with the potential effectiveness of placebos.
PubMed 35378276 ↗Conclusion: There is currently encouraging, albeit embryonic, evidence for medicinal cannabis in the treatment of a range of psychiatric disorders. Supportive findings are emerging for some key isolates, however, clinicians need to be mindful of a range of prescriptive and occupational safety considerations, especially if initiating higher dose THC formulas.
PubMed 31948424 ↗Conclusion: Based on the current data and clinician input, a range of nutraceuticals and phytoceuticals were given either a supportive recommendation or a provisional recommendation across a range of various psychiatric disorders. However several had only a weak endorsement for potential use; for a few it was not possible to reach a clear recommendation direction, largely due to mixed study findings; while some other agents showed no obvious therapeutic benefit and were clearly not recommended for use. It is the intention of these guidelines to inform psychiatric/medical, and health professional practice
PubMed 35311615 ↗As stated by users — not a recommendation. Follow the label or your doctor.
How often each side effect came up across all reports.
Verbatim quotes, shortened only — each links to the original discussion.
“I've tried kava before but that gave me a stomach ache”
“Kava has a definite affect on me, but didn’t budge any of my sleep scores.”
“the other has a reverse tolerance but potentially fries your liver”
“Another interesting study showing no differences in liver function after 6 weeks compared to placebo”
“Uridine (UMP)+DHA, Bacopa monnieri, kava”
User data from public discussions; research from PubMed. Information only, not medical advice — talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. Data updated October 2, 2026. How we rate