I recently purchased 16 oz. of valerian root (actual root). I am used to the capsules and was wondering if anyone knew the best way to prepare and consume this root and propper dosage. I have a manual herb grinder but the root is pretty darn hard to grind.Any input would be greatly appreciated.

it may be more effective to make a tea. chop and grind the material as fine as possible and boil. never tried valerian but i've heard its a little subtle. if you get the chance try kava kava.

i like kava aswell, the only thing about the valerian root is that it's so difficult to gind in my herbal grinder that i'm afraid it will break my food processer.I guess i'll just have to do a little work and chop them into smaller pieces before i put them in the processer. I wish i thought of this before i bought 16 oz. Oh well

try chewing on a portion, may taste horrible but it'll definately work.

Valerian is bomb! i just buy the solaray extract capsules from wild oats..

Its perfect for falling asleep, youll sleep inn, and may feel groggy the next day if u take too much.

I recently just use Melatonin for falling asleep & dreaming aid.

I would say grind up & boil three washes, strain each time & then boil it down to one 8 oz cup..

Kava kava is good for social interaction, nervousness, good mood, clear head.. it never made me fall asleep or feel tired like Valerian.

i agree mod squad.Kava is rekaxing but doesnt put me down.Same w/ kratom (which i love).When you say boil three washes and strain each time (excuse my lack of visualization) but what you you meen by that. Also i just bought some african dream root, does anyone have any experience w/ this in combo w/ valerian?

i think African Dream root is ground to a owder & then you make a cold tea out of it, you drink everything(no straining) Once in the morning, mid day, & then at night before bed. It may take a couple "loading" days to notice full effects when u sleep.

3 washes is boiling all the material in 3 different containers & then combining them all into one after you have boiled each.

so youll boil the first tea bag(low heat), then strain liquid into a bowl.
then boil the bag again(med heat), then strain into ^^ the same bowl.
then the third time(boil everything out..HOTT) & then strain a last time into bowl..

& now just simmer down letting your drink evaporate down to however much u want to drink.

boiling once would probably work, but this is just so you dont waste any..

Affrican dream root in a dose op 250mg is more than enough for making a tea out of it. I just add boiling water to it and let it rest half an hour before drinking the tea. First day it worked with me but using it subsequent days works even better.

Valerian capsules work to relax a bit. I once took about 20 of them and just felt relaxed, nothing more, nothing less.

With Melatonin I can sleep perfectly. I only need 0.1mg sublingual to work. Takes about half an hour before it startes to work. I need less hours of sleep if I take melatonin.

I never tried to mix them though since I'm not really into mixing things.

If anyone here has cats - Cats love Valerian more then Catnip, spread some herb on the floor and they'll roll around in it and drool - and if they try and eat it it's safe,

My 2 love it, but it smells really bad to me

cool, i will sprinkle some valerian for my cats

If you like Valerian, you'd LOVE "Lady's Slipper" root!

Wild lettuce and passionflower at a 1:1 ratio made into a tea will knock me out completely. 2 teaspoons of finely ground leaf (total) steeped for 5 minutes and strained! I add honey and milk, but that's 100% personal preference.

1/2 teaspoon of either is very calming. I prefer the wild lettuce though, it lasts longer and has a dreamier quality.

Valerian root is great, but I cannot get over the smell. Kava is wonderful, just don't ever take it while on a phen (mesc included!). I've never tried the African dream root, but I think I may have to get some of that.

Why no Kava + Mescaline?

Well, for me, it gave a VERY unpleasant feeling. Nothing horrible...just unpleasant. Alcohol and phens do the same thing for me...

Tryptamines and kava/alcohol seem to go much better together.

i made a mistake by buying the actual valerian root when like squad said to just buy the capsules.It's wat too much of a pain in the arse to gring and make tea plus it does smell like wet socks.I actually took tripples advice and tried to give some to my cats but they werent into it either.I've been taking melotonin lately works like a charm but i take anywhere from 4 -6 tablets (i forget how many miligrams),although i want to look into lady's slipper and the concotion acolon_5 mentioned.I was also using the african Dream Root and it definately enhanced my dream's and even had one amazing lucid dream but i started slacking on taking it,just because during the work weak i'm alway's on the go.I also have a wee bit of a xanax habit (i've been weening) and i find that benzos really dull your dreaming.Got to get off.African dream root does work,though

If ya like Benzos... try lady's slipper, Xanex is the closest thing I'd compare it too actually.

I'm definately gonna check out lady's slipper.

I was prescribed xanax due to high levels of stress at my job (i handle other peoples $) and low and behold i started abusing them,which is where i stand now.

Actually, Acolon_5 gave me some good info on the best way to ween down because abuse of anything is bad and it does dull my dreams.

Once i'm off the benzo's do you think lady's slipper is a good alternative to dealing with stress on the job?

Most DEF.

That and Kava, and of course cannabis and the entheogens are always good too!

I went through a period of using valerian root tincture. I liked it but went off it when I took a lot more than usual only to wake up in the middle of the night with terrible stabbing pains in my stomach. Probably related because that never happens to me otherwise.

Give L-theanine a try as well...