Scootch said:
I'm up. Anyone else?
Also - anyone know what I can take to knock myself the hell out?!
benzodiazepines work to aid sleep by making your gamma aminobutyric acid receptors more sensitive and gaba is all though your body and is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter that slows down the others for rest such as adrenalin and stress hormones and so relaxes you, so that's why they help you sleep but... we all know how addictive they are so that's not a good option but...
Valerian root isn't addictive but its speculated to work by mimicking gaba and having an affinity for those receptor sites and is a very good sleep aid, start with two and try one more each night till they make you sleepy, I'm a pharmacology geek to a ridiculous level also hops, skullcap and kavakava (this can be dangerous if an unscrupulous maker doesn't use the right part of the plant however....pm me if you're gonna try kavakava, it is however a darn powerful relaxant for a plant great for sleep if you get the proper stuff, ill post later how to spot safe kava kava, its almost like being a lil drunk, it affects gaba too.)
yeah just herbal niteol/herbal mix sleep aids helps some folks i buy my herbs/extracts in large amounts then mix them myself, but im a shaman i have a huge herbal medicine collection i use and treat most everything herbally but yeah a pharmacy/health food shop should have Valerian root extract id recommend that...
don't write it off if its not what you hoped for the first time, you just need to find a reasonable level to suit you and can be synergistic with other sleepy herbs, it also depends on the quality of the root, how strong the extract is, i recommend high strength you can take more than 2 its not hugely toxic when looking for your right dose but still take things slow with increases, for example taking like 10 high strength extract pills isn't a good idea lol
Valerian is also a good sedative, anticonvulsant, migraine treatment and pain reliever ^_^