Should I take Valerian Root?

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I don't have any issues actually falling asleep, but I've been having very awful nightmares that cause me to wake up screaming in a pool of sweat.
Strangely enough, they involve "The Ring" which I had not even thought about for several months before the dreams started up.

I tried drinking a few cups of relaxation tea, but it didn't work. It actually made it worse, because when I woke up, I had a brief hallucination of Samara Morgan crawling out of my mirror and trying to grab my neck.

Does anyone know if Valerian helps, or of not, if there is another over-the-counter medicine that helps with nightmares?

valerian won't help

I use to take valerian a few years ago for a brief period of time. Valerian is primarily to help with sleep and does assist with anxiety. I doubt that Valerian will assist with stopping nightmares though.

I have very awful nightmares, and flashbacks, sometimes after this happens I cant close my eyes for the rest of the night, because I am afraid it is going to happen again.
The things that help me is,
Dont eat anything at least 3 hours before going to bed, so your food is digested. Obviously don't drink anything like soda, the 3 hours before bed. No TV or movies with anything violent in them those 3 hours also. I have tried relaxing music while sleeping, helps me a lot. Also winding down with some relaxing music before bed helps, also watching or listening to comedy helps.
I have also tried night time hypnoses, and it has helped. Believe me, it is not as crazy as it sounds, and it doesn't make you do anything you don't want to. Pretty much just relaxes you like nothing else can.
Also I do scents, like if you get the most relaxing scent you like and put it beside your bed. Some scents like baby lotion just make me all warm and relaxed.
Pretty much if you have good thoughts the hours before you go to sleep, most of the time you will have good thoughts while sleeping.

The 100% drug free, roadracer

I don't think that there is any supplement which will stop nightmares. I sometimes take Valerian, which I don't find to be as effective as Melatonin. Plus, Valerian smells like a barn. Both Valerian and Melatonin help with relaxation. I've found that I don't wake up with anxiety attacks in the middle of the night when I take one or the other.

I know that was not much help. I hope that you find something that works for you so you can get some good sleep!

After I saw the Ring, I had nightmares for about a week and I had panic attacks. I can't watch horror movies.

Besides, even something like valerian needs to get run by your pharmacist to see if it conflicts with any other meds you might be taking.

I've taken valerian (before I was on other meds) and it did nothing for nightmares.

Also, a few cups of tea, for a 14 year old, woa, if it had caffeine, I would be suprised you where able to get to sleep at all Even if it is caffiene free, it still has some caffiene left in it.

Valerian is best used in instances where people are stuck in same old same old patterns because it can really inspire weird dreams.

Passion flower is a better choice if nightmares are a problem.

As has already been mentioned, if you're already on medications, check with a pharmacist to see if there are contraindications to using them and whatever herb together.

It is conceivable that if you're on medications already, they might be what is giving you nightmares. A pharmacist can tell you if nightmares are a possible side effect of your current medications.

I think Valerian smells like feet, (much less pleasant than barn, barn smells sweet like animals and wet hay and manure, mmmm), but I just started taking it. The reason I started is because I quit smoking weed (miracle drug, take note!) so I could pursue state assistance in my schooling and employablility. After I quit toking up, I had significant problems sleeping, and also managing my anger. Valerian, so far, seems to be a viable alternative.

My question, however, is whether it is available to the general public as a houseplant, or otherwise cultivatable plant? Where would I get it? I don't really like handing my money over to the man unless I really really have to.

If you're in the U.S. I don't see why you couldn't grow Valerian yourself as it's a legal herb.

I've sworn by it for years. Annoyingly I'm dead-tired during the day but then can't sleep at night. Largely anxiety and racing thoughts. Valerian does help with the racing thoughts, though it does not make me any more sleepy. I like that; I can take it, say, on my way home from work and if I get sidetracked with something else I haven't committed to going to sleep right now.

For the getting-to-sleep part I take Benedryl. Dirty little secret if you don't already know; check the active ingredient in almost any sleep aid like Unisom. It's the exact same thing as Benedryl, in the exact same dosage, only more expensive than whatever is the Wallgreens/generic form of Benedryl because it's being marketed as a sleep aid instead of allergy med.

By the way, I never noticed a difference in my dreams while taking Valerian Root.

But if the U.S. remake of "The Ring" freaked you out, might not want to watch the original Japanese "Ringu" for a while. Man the Japanese can do psychological horror! I saw the U.S. version and slept with the light on that night. I then bought "Ringu" and slept with the light on for 3 or 4 nights.

But I'm a sucker for that stuff!

Valerian is a perennial. It grows about 4 feet tall or so and is rather lanky. Its probably best grown out doors in sort of moist soil.

I got my original seeds from
Horizon herbs and its come up every year since. The roots are best harvested in the spring before it starts sending up a shoot
or in the fall after the above ground parts have died back down.
Its leaves resemble that of the Elder berry tree.

Warning; cats really seem to like the smell. They don't nibble at Valerian like they do Catnip but they do enjoy hanging around it and, in my yard, mark it with their pee.

Very true. The generic name is Diphenhydramine, so that's the active ingredient to look for when you're reading labels to save money.

(You'd be surprised how many people have several different medications in their house that all use the same main active ingredient. The cost of this adds up, and increases the likelihood of accidentally taking too much (ie. when your pain reliever and your throat medicine share the same ingredients and you take both.)

When I used to have a problem with nightmares I took a product called Meta-Rest, a mixture of melatonin and a small amount of kava. It's the kava that inhibits nightmares and anxiety, and the melatonin that helps with sleep. You can find it online or in health stores. More about the safety of kava below.

If you try kava, make sure you buy pure kava root, not kava mixed with its stems and leaves as ingesting the ground up stems and leaves is bad for the liver. As with all medicines and herbs, don't overindulge and abuse them. Also, don't mix alcohol and kava. (I almost never drink, so this wasn't a problem for me.) More about Kava on Wikipedia here

Yep Melatonin for getting to sleep and 5THP to stay asleep. I have an 11 year old (he is very tall and quite sturdy. I would say about the size of an average 14 year old) who has been prescibed both of these in Aus. I think you can get both without a script in the US. Try www.eherbs.com

cheers

I was getting very bad night terrors, and would wake up screaming, I was also on the antidepressant effexor.
Some of the side effects are bad dreams, anyhow I stopped taking them and went though 5 days of withdrawal,
this past week. I wouldn't recommend taking valerian root extract, since you didn't mention if you are on any meds,
as this or any other treatment may make your current problem worse.

If you are having very vivid dreams that are interfering with your sleep, talk to your doctor. One drug prescribed for vivid dreaming is Amytriptiline. It is an antidepressant. you will experience wooziness when you first take it. If the dose is large enough, it won't all wash out of your system before you take your next dose and will stop the wooziness. It is also being prescribed for Migraine prevention.