St. John's Wort vs Valerian Root for anxiety
Short answer: For anxiety, users rate them about the same: 82% report improvement with St. John's Wort (44 reports) and 86% with Valerian Root (36 reports).
St. John's Wort has 98 meta-analyses and 111 randomized trials on PubMed; Valerian Root has 2 and 8.
Based on 314 reports about St. John's Wort and 233 about Valerian Root. Not medical advice.
| St. John's Wort Supplement | Valerian Root Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 50%helped151 reports · high confidence | 57%helped119 reports · high confidence |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mixed |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | BResearch: Moderate |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 98 / 111 | 2 / 8 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Mood % reporting improvement | 87% (127) | 100% (2) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 89% (9) | 82% (109) |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 82% (44) | 86% (36) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 60% (10) | — |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 71% (7) | — |
| Common side effects | photosensitivity, serotonin syndrome, eye problems, dissociation | vivid dreams, drowsiness, brain fog, tolerance |
| Typical dose reported | 100 mg | 500 mg / before bed |
Our research supports the use of SJW as it reduced the number of depressive patients and their HAMD scores while having fewer risks and side effects than conventional medications.
Adv Clin Exp Med, 2023 ↗“St. John's Wort, Passion Flower, Hops, and Skullcap. My sleep improved with those.”
In conclusion, valerian could be a safe and effective herb to promote sleep and prevent associated disorders. However, due to the presence of multiple active constituents and relatively unstable nature of some of the active constituents, it may be necessary to revise the quality control processes, including standardization methods and shelf life.
J Evid Based Integr Med, 2020 ↗“I really like lemon balm especially if combined with valerian root! Helps me sleep and relax at night.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate