Does valerian help you sleep?
One trial says it may. Women after menopause who had insomnia reported better sleep quality on valerian extract than on placebo over 4 weeks. One trial is limited evidence.
What the studies found
“30% of the participants in the intervention group and 4% in the placebo group showed an improvement in the quality of sleep (P < 0.001).”
The details
- What the trials used
- 530 mg of concentrated valerian extract twice a day for 4 weeks. These are the doses studied, not advice on what to take.
- Who was studied
- Women aged 50 to 60, after menopause, with insomnia.
- Worth knowing
- Only women aged 50 to 60 were studied, so this says little about anyone else.
Before you try it
If you take any medicine or have a health condition, ask a pharmacist or doctor before adding a supplement. This page doesn’t link to any product.
How we checked this
This answer comes from one finding on our site, and that finding has been re-checked: each linked study was confirmed on PubMed and read against the finding’s grade, direction and study count. We then read every abstract ourselves on 7 November 2026 and wrote the answer from them, then checked it against recent reviews; the quotes above are copied word for word. If the finding changes, this answer is hidden until it is checked again. How we grade.