valerian root and headaches

[Hanna]

hi all, hope this message finds you beautifully well :)

I recently discovered that I grind my teeth during sleep sometimes and after some research I found that valerian tea helps in preventing that.  The morning after having some I woke up with a pretty bad headache and felt a bit nauseous. I've been planning to work with valerian root for dream work so I'm wondering if anyone has any alternatives or suggestions for combinations/different ways of taking it?  The brand is celebration herbals from whole foods.

thank you kindly

[elsie1111]

Hi Hanna

Yes I hear you!! valerian is a really strong herb! I've had a similar experience with herbs in the same family (crampbark). Its constituents are quite bitter and so if you had too much it might have caused vasoconstriction instead of dilation! But the bruxism itself might have been what caused the headache. You could possibly try valerian in a tincture instead of the tea. As it is a root it should be prepared as a decoction, which is where you boil the herb for around 15mins or so, depending, and then drink.

I used to grind my teeth every night, less so nowadays, and I'm not exactly sure what the reason is for that! But I have magnesium salt baths almost every night and they are a fantasic way to relax before bed, or passionflower, oat straw, or skullcap are also wonderful herbs that relax the nervous system, and the body. And for dream work, definitely look into mugwort.

Good luck! xx