Calming herbs
Lemon balm
3.9 (30 owner comments)
Falling asleep fasterDeeper sleep
“Passionflower extract and Lemon balm extract helped me a lot.”
What owners report →Medical disclaimer: SnoozeVerdict summarizes what people say about sleep supplements on Reddit. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting a supplement, especially if you are pregnant, take medicines (including sleep or mood medicines), or have a medical condition. Poor sleep that lasts for months, loud snoring or gasping at night, or falling asleep during the day while driving or working needs a doctor, not a supplement. Full disclaimer.
Calming herbs · capsules or tea
Valerian root for Sleep: What People Report on Reddit
Illustration, not a product photo.
Valeriana officinalis root, usually taken before bed.
3.4 SnoozeVerdict score
111 owner comments (52 with a clear rating) from r/insomnia, r/sleep, r/Supplements, r/Anxiety, r/Nootropics, May 2026 to October 2026. Top 85% of the 20 rated supplements.
Owner sentiment3.5
Recommendations2.5
Tolerability4.0
ValueNot rated
Value for money: Not rated. The example products differ too much in dose to compare cost fairly. How we score.
The short version
Valerian root is rated below most supplements we track: 3.4/5. Of 52 rated owner comments, 35 were positive, 5 mixed and 12 negative; 13 mention an unwanted effect. People talk most about taste & form and side effects.
Reddit comments are self-reported and unverified. They tell you what people noticed, not whether a supplement works or is safe for you.
See how herbal sleep aids score side by side. Read which sleep supplements need extra caution first. Compare the top-rated options for nightmares by sleep problem.
More on Valerian
What it is
- Valerian is a plant whose root has been used for sleep since ancient times.[NCCIH]
- A 2006 meta-analysis found possible improvement in sleep quality but noted the studies were of mixed quality and possibly biased.[PubMed]
- NIH says the evidence for most complementary approaches to sleep, apart from melatonin in specific situations, is inconsistent or too limited to draw conclusions.[NCCIH]
Safety and interactions
- Side effects can include headache, stomach upset, mental dullness and vivid dreams; it should not be taken with alcohol or sedatives.[NCCIH]
- Rare cases of liver injury have been reported, mostly with other herbs, and stopping abruptly after long use may cause withdrawal symptoms; its safety in pregnancy is not known.[NCCIH]
Supplements can interact with medicines. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist first, especially if you are pregnant, take prescription medicine (including sleep, anxiety or antidepressant medicines), or have ongoing sleep problems. See sleep supplement safety and interactions.
Reports by sleep problem
| Context | Rated owner comments | Positive | Negative | Unwanted effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falling asleep | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Morning grogginess | 7 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Vivid dreams | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
What Reddit owners say
Commonly praised
- Taste & form: 10 owner comments
- Falling asleep faster: 4 owner comments
- Stopped working: 3 owner comments
Common complaints
- Side effects: 13 owner comments
- Morning grogginess: 4 owner comments
- Falling asleep faster: 2 owner comments
4/5“What really helped me were patches based on melatonin and valerian..”
5/5 Taste & form“Lifelong insomniac, I use valerian tea occasionally.”
4/5 Taste & form“When I've had jet lag I've found valerian tincture helps me get to sleep.”
2/5 Side effectsVivid dreams“Valerian root does stop working after a while.”
2/5 Morning grogginessSide effects“Glycinate extended my sleep time and made me groggy in the morning, ashgwanadha made me want to kys myself, valerian made me wake up in the low am's, theanine didn't do anything.”
+30 more owner comments
4/5“I took valerian root for awhile during a pregnancy.”
4/5 Taste & form“I feel like most "sleep" labeled tea works for me, but **Valerian** was the one also recommended by my therapist as the most effective for that”
4/5 Taste & form“If so, things like taking valerian (as pills or tea) before bed can help you wind down.”
3/5 Morning grogginessSide effects“valerian works for me but I end up groggy in the morning”
4/5 Calming“I take Valerian and Magnesium which makes me super relaxed yet my body does everything in it's power to resist sleep.”
4/5“I take Magnesium Glycinate and Valerian tablets before bed.”
4/5 Side effectsDeeper sleep“Actually I tried Valerian for a bit and I could sleep through the night.”
1/5 Morning grogginess“The only way I can sleep now is using Valerian tablets and alcohol.”
4/5“I can now sleep without Valerian tablets also, only about 6 hours, but that is a huge improvement for me.”
3/5 Morning grogginessSide effects“I take valerian before bed but a WAY weaker dose (am in the UK it's Kalms Day I take) - it's 2 tablets of an extract which is equivalent to 104-130mg.”
4/5“Besides perimenopause issues I recommend taking valerian root.”
2/5“Read that it interacts with Valerian which I took at night so stopped taking St John's wort.”
1/5 Morning grogginessSide effects“This is pretty excessive imo, also have you noticed grogginess from this stack, for me valerian always made me feel terrible in the morning.”
2/5 Morning grogginessSide effects“Not a fan of valerian root, it makes me feel terribly groggy in the morning/next day.”
4/5 Side effectsVivid dreams“Valerian root helped me sleep. Google says below 600mg if you're sensitive to nightmares.”
4/5 Taste & form“The only sleep combo that's really effective for me, and I've tried a lot, is Valerian and Melatonin.”
4/5“The one that works for me has licorice root, passion flower,,& Valerian in it”
4/5“Valerian really helps me, it's the strongest out of most herbs”
4/5“Try Valerian Root, it is known for anxiety and insomnia relief and has helped me a lot.”
4/5“I would also recommend taking Valerian root and magnesium glycinate those supplements helped me, but like any other supplements they don't work overnight.”
3/5 Side effectsFalling asleep faster“nothing worked unfortunately, I got a slight droop out of valerian root tea though.”
1/5 Falling asleep faster“Took something similar back when my sleep was terrible, the valerian smell alone is like dirty socks but it knocked me out decent.”
4/5“But the two supplements I added in the last week seem to be still helping, phosphotidylserine and l-theanine (along with valerian and magnesium).”
4/5“It contains melatonin but also valerian root and L-tryptophan.”
4/5“I took valerian root when I was pregnant, and it helped a little.”
3/5 Morning grogginessSide effects“I will say some things that have sometimes helped me before when waking up at odd hours before pregnancy (that were not overly sedating if you are worried about being groggy if baby wakes up) — chamomile tea with honey, L-theanine, valerian root.”
4/5 Takes timeStopped working“I've been using valerian for about 15 years.”
4/5“I took valerian root when I was pregnant and it helped.”
2/5 Stomach upset“Valerian isn't great. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't and it gives me a terrible stomach.”
4/5 Taste & form“I added skullcap tea and valerian root. That helps a bit. Read an hour before bed.”
Brands with their own owner reviews
- Celestial Seasonings / Sleepytime: 3.0 from 7 owner comments
Example products
These are examples of Valerian root products sold on Amazon. They are not ranked by Reddit and the score above is for the ingredient, not a specific product. Check the label for dose and other ingredients.
Example product · not Reddit-scored
Now Supplements, Valerian Root (Valeriana officinalis) 500 mg, 100 Veg Caps
$5.99 on Amazon (price as of 2026-11-03). Prices change; check Amazon for the current price.
Example product · not Reddit-scored
Gaia Herbs Valerian Root, 60 Vegan Capsules, 30 Servings
$29.69 on Amazon (price as of 2026-11-03). Prices change; check Amazon for the current price.
Example product · not Reddit-scored
Nutricost Valerian Root Extract 120 Capsules for 60 Servings Per Bottle, Vegetarian, GMO Free and Gluten Free
Brand on Reddit: 4.1 from 5 owner comments · Nutricost owner reviews
$11.95 on Amazon (price as of 2026-11-03). Prices change; check Amazon for the current price.
Research to read
Published studies (we list them so you can read the evidence yourself; inclusion is not an endorsement):
FAQ
What do people with sleep problems say about Valerian root on Reddit?
Across 111 Reddit comments from people who say they have used it for sleep, 35 of 52 rated comments were positive and 12 negative, for a SnoozeVerdict score of 3.4/5. These are self-reported experiences, not clinical evidence.
Do people report side effects with Valerian root?
13 of 52 rated owner comments (25%) describe an unwanted effect such as grogginess, headaches, vivid dreams or an upset stomach. Check the safety notes on this page and ask a doctor or pharmacist before starting.
Who talks about Valerian root most?
Most rated owner comments come from people who struggle to fall asleep (8 comments, 5 positive).
Is Valerian root scored on clinical evidence?
No. The score summarizes Reddit owner comments only. Factual statements on this page link to NIH or PubMed sources, and nothing here is medical advice.
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What owners report →
Calming herbs
Tart cherry
3.8 (45 owner comments)
Falling asleep fasterTaste & form
“tart cherry concentrate before bed knocks me out harder than anything else ive tried and i track my sleep data so i got the numbers to back it up”
What owners report →Comparisons: Valerian root vs Chamomile · Valerian root vs Passionflower · Melatonin vs Valerian root · Valerian root vs L-theanine
Last updated 2026-11-04. Mentions scanned: 403 in 317 threads.