The Lullaby Herb: Saffron
There is little more frustrating than not being able to fall asleep. There is also little that is worse for you. A good night sleep is essential for your mental and physical well being. Cutting edge research is increasingly showing that the beautiful herb saffron can help.
This new systematic review included five controlled studies of saffron and insomnia that included a total of 379 people.
In one, saffron led to significant improvement in sleep disorders, anxiety and anxiety with depression.
In another, saffron significantly improved scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Diary, the Insomnia Severity Index total score and the Restorative Sleep Questionnaire.
In a third study, while scores of mood upon awakening did not significantly improve in the placebo group, they improved by 14.42% on 28mg of saffron. Sleep quality improved nonsignificantly on placebo but by a significant 22.6% on saffron. Insomnia symptoms questionnaire scores went up by a nonsignificant 3.86% on placebo but by a significant 16.81% on saffron.
The analysis showed that 28mg of saffron extract a day “remarkably reduced” stress, anxiety and negative mood.
The review supports the evidence that saffron improves both sleep quality and quantity as well as anxiety. Saffron was already working at 7 days but works even better when taken longer. Interestingly, saffron was shown to elevate concentrations of melatonin at night.
Nutr Metab Insights. 2023;16:11786388231160317.
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For much more on treating insomnia naturally, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.
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