Open Source Apothecary At Home / Mind and sleep
Mind and sleep
Anxiety, low mood, insomnia, focus
Anxiety, low mood, insomnia and focus. Two things are true at once here: behavioural treatment beats every supplement for insomnia, and for depression the psychological and exercise evidence is stronger than the herbal evidence. A few herbs have real trials — St John's wort, oral lavender, kava — each with a specific preparation and a specific interaction list. The red flags matter more than the remedies.
6 entries
Anxiety: kava, lavender and the herbs with trials
Kava has the best trial evidence of any herb for anxiety, and it is the one with a liver warning attached.
remedyInsomnia: what works before the herbs
CBT-I is the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia and it outperforms every supplement. Valerian and melatonin are what is left after that.
remedyLow mood and depression
St John's wort works for moderate depression and is one of the most interacting substances in this handbook. Both facts are load-bearing.
remedyMemory and dementia: what is established, and what is sold
Ginkgo, curcumin and omega-3 have all been tried. The interventions with evidence are blood pressure, exercise and hearing.
guideStress, cortisol and the adaptogen category
Ashwagandha and rhodiola have small trials showing reduced stress measures. The category is a marketing term.
guideWinter low mood: light, and the things that are not a supplement
Bright light therapy has randomised evidence for seasonal affective disorder. It is the intervention, and it is not a supplement.
remedy