I see this herb is recommended for type A's as an aid to calm nerves and help with insomia.  I feel I could really benefit from this using stuff as I have been experiencing a lot of anxiety and insomnia.

My problem with it is that it smells like cat poo to me and there is no way I would be able to drink it as a tea.

Is it okay to take it in a capsule instead?

Have any other A's found this herb to be helpful in stress management?  Any other suggestions?

Thank you!

Have you read the LR4YT and tried any of the suggestion in that book?

Have you looked at the products that NAP offers?

Hi, MoDon.  Live Right is the only 'big' book I am still missing.  I have Eat Right, the Encyclopedia, and just found the cookbook at a local HFS. And I still have not read through all of those...

I have browsed the NAP site and several of the products are on my wish list to try.  But for now I have to try to make do with what I already have or can buy locally.  Maybe next month I would be able to place another order from the site.

Could you help me out with any suggestions?  Maybe there is a recommendation in the Encyclopedia that I should read.

Here is the The D'Adamo Anti-Stress Support Protocols or the similar protocol in the Encyclopedia.

Are you doing the proper exercises for your type to lower your stress? Try reading: Exercise, stress and your blood type.

LR4YT really covers the stress management issue well for each blood type.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post those links!

I was doing the 15 minute T-Tapp workout for several months.  3-5 times a week amd was amazed at how effective it was for stress relief and overall muscle toning.   But  got into a slump over the holidays and have not been as dedicated.  I am trying to get back into that, because when I don't I can feel tension building up in my neck.  

You can take valerian in a gelcap, or many other forms.....(I take it every night)

Great! I have gelcaps and think it is the only way I could stand to take the stuff.  Maybe I will have to invest in some chamomile  and oatstraw as well.  And will put the Cortigard and Methyl B12 on my shopping list.

Valerian at bedtime.  Gotcha!  My bottle says it can be taken twice a day.  Would it be okay to take one around lunchtime, or might it make me sleepy?

 It seems from about 2:00 till bedtime the stress gradually builds up.  And  after dinner I often feel jittery and edgy.  I do think I will keep my green tea consumption before noon and try a chamomile/oatstraw concoction in the afternoon.

I have made a tea with Valerian (which is rather stinky), dandelion root, red raspberry leaf and rose hips -- recommended by someone on the forum but I forget who     In any event, the other ingredients kind of mask the Valerian...  But, the interesting part is that when I drink this tea, I tend to fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon.  So, I would save it for an evening drink unless you have the time to take a nap!

Heather, I've also noticed that if I am browsing around on the computer, (even this fine site), before bedtime, that my mind is too "busy" to sleep. I have just started reading a book in the late evening, instead of researching, and last night, I had a much more restful nights sleep. I also did not wake up in the middle of the night like I usually do. You might want to try that, in addition to the Valerian?

I hope you have a good night!

I take 3 valerian caps 1/2 hour before bedtime and sleep from 8 to 9 hours.
However having said this...I also take St John's Wort during the day.
I have taken Lexapro during a crisis in my life.  The herbs work just fine for the regular things happening in an old gal's life.
namaste
ruthie

There's a tea made by either Traditional Medicinals or Celestial Seasonings, I don't recall which, called Sleepytime Extra.  The Sleepytime tea just has chamomile, but the Sleepytime Extra has valerian root.    I used to drink it and I didn't notice a bad smell--sort of unusual, but I wouldn't have called it bad.  Maybe they mix it with enough other stuff it smothers the scent.  At any rate, two cups of that at night would make me so dizzy and sleepy that I'd actually feel almost drunk.

Sleepytime and Sleepytime Extra are both made by Celestial Seasonings. I sometimes drink the Sleepytime Extra when I'm having trouble going to sleep, and it knocks me out.

Thank you for all the responses!  Everyone on these forums is always so helpful!

Maybe I will have to look for the Sleepytime teas.  Only problem there is that drinking very much before bed often leads to a midnight bathroom trip for me--which kind of defeats the purpose of the herbs.  But maybe I could make it with less water and drink it a couple hours before turning in.

dawgmama, I had not thought of the computer being an issue.  I actually feel drowsy while surfing in the evening... but maybe all the information is just too stimulating for my brain.  I will try to limit my night-time computer usage and see whawt happens.

Oh, puleeeeze don't complain about one nighttime bathroom trip.    You don't have a baby on your bladder.  

Quoted from Ribbit

Oh, puleeeeze don't complain about one nighttime bathroom trip.    You don't have a baby on your bladder.  

!  Not at the moment, but have had 4 previously. And my bladder does not hold its water as well as it used to. So, depending on how late and how much I drink, I could be up two or three times within a short time of having fallen asleep. I will also throw in here that my 4 year old frequently wakes up around 4 am, either needing the bathroom herself, or whatever...


Besides, it isn't so much the trip to the bathroom itself  that causes the real problem.  It's that I can't get back to sleep after getting up and moving around. For me, that kind of defeats the purpose of taking the herbs in the first place.

What usually works for me, although not last night, it to count backwards from 100. I usually drift off around 67 for some reason. Also Poly had a suggestion in another thread:

Quoted from Poly

Drea - my friend taught me the easiest sleep-trick, when you can't sleep: Just turn around, so you have your head where your feet were before. I don't know why, but it works every time. At least for me!

alternate nostril breathing is a great tool, also.

Heather, adrenal fatigue can contribute to having trouble falling asleep after being up for a few minutes.  Methinks all mothers have adrenal fatigue to some extent.  Some of us, if we simply wake up, can go back to sleep, but if we're awake for any length of time, our adrenal glands kick in because we don't have enough natural energy to keep us awake, and it's harder to fall back asleep after your adrenal glands kick in.  It's like being startled awake by hearing a strange noise at the other end of the house and wondering if it's a burgler, then trying to fall right back to sleep.  That's how I feel sometimes--startled--when I have to get up more than just a few times.

Funny, Drea---I used to do that when I was little--turn around in bed, and I could fall asleep.  Harder to do, though, if you then have a man's feet in your face.

True. But you will be asleep and not care!

Quoted from Ribbit

Heather, adrenal fatigue can contribute to having trouble falling asleep after being up for a few minutes.  Methinks all mothers have adrenal fatigue to some extent.  Some of us, if we simply wake up, can go back to sleep, but if we're awake for any length of time, our adrenal glands kick in because we don't have enough natural energy to keep us awake, and it's harder to fall back asleep after your adrenal glands kick in.  It's like being startled awake by hearing a strange noise at the other end of the house and wondering if it's a burgler, then trying to fall right back to sleep.  That's how I feel sometimes--startled--when I have to get up more than just a few times.

Funny, Drea---I used to do that when I was little--turn around in bed, and I could fall asleep.  Harder to do, though, if you then have a man's feet in your face.

I hadn't thought of adrenal fatigue.  Maybe I should ask about that when I see the doc on Wed. I have had exactly the type of waking experience you described.  Sometimes I wake up with my heart racing and absolutely nothing is going on.  It will be dark, quiet--and I can't even recall having any dreams.

Fatigue ought to be my middle name right now.  I also plan on asking for tests for both forms of anemia, because I wake up in the morning still feeling like I could go right back to sleep--even when I don't wake up and get 8 or more hours of rest during the night.

And during the day my brain feels like it is still sleeping.  Just this morning, I asked one of the kids to get a cloth off of that, um, thing it was sitting on.  I tried three times before I could remember to say 'box'.  Or I will walk from one room to another and totally forget why I went in there.  Or be talking and completely forget what I was saying.  I know we all have these types of moments, but, for me, they seem to be getting more frequent.  I was assuming it was just from stress and sleep deprivation, but maybe its something else.

Well, I do that too--have trouble thinking of nouns.  I can come up with all sorts of adjectives, but have trouble with nouns sometimes.  I can blame it on pregnancy brain.  Are you still nursing at all?  

I know what you mean about stopping mid-sentence.  I do that--totally forget what I was saying.  Coffee helps me.  As an A, you can have coffee too.....have you tried one cup just in the morning to see how it helps you?  Makes me feel absolutely wonderful, though I have to lay off for a little while longer before I can have it again.  Do you have wheat completely out of your diet?  That can cause all of what we have been talking about.

Valerian works pretty well for me - when sleeping is the goal I tried it the first time when I had an ear infection and it knocked me out.

Ribbit, i am not nursing. I do know what you mean about the pregnancy brain, thing, though.  My husband has often had to remind me to shut the car door  when we got out.  

I've never been much of a coffee drinker, but since my DH, makes a pot every day, I have tried it a couple of times.  I haven't noticed much of a difference, so far, but maybe I need to give it a few weeks.