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🪵 Why Valerian Root (Valeriana officinalis) is in Return To Sleep
Valerian root has been treasured for centuries as a calming herb, and modern science is now uncovering exactly how its unique compounds may support better sleep. Here’s what the research shows:
🔍 1. Helping you fall asleep faster (reducing sleep latency)
✔ Backed by the study
A 2023 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial found that standardized valerian extract significantly reduced the time it takes to fall asleep (sleep latency) and improved overall sleep efficiency. Participants also reported feeling more refreshed upon waking and experienced reduced anxiety.
🔍 2. Supporting the brain’s natural calming system (GABA pathways)
✔ Backed by the study
Valerenic acid, a key compound in valerian root, interacts with GABA-A receptors — the same calming pathways influenced by natural relaxation processes. By enhancing GABA activity, valerian may help the body transition into a restful state.
🔍 3. Enhancing adenosine, the body’s natural sleep signal
✔ Backed by the study
A 2025 mechanistic study on valerian extract identified adenosine (0.05%) within the root, along with compounds like valerenic acid and pinoresinol that act as positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of the adenosine A1 receptor (A1AR). Adenosine builds up in the brain during wakefulness, signaling the body that it’s time to sleep. These compounds boost adenosine’s natural sleep-promoting effect, helping shorten the time to fall asleep.
🔍 4. Reducing restlessness and nighttime anxiety
✔ Backed by the study
The 2023 clinical trial found that valerian extract lowered Beck Anxiety Inventory scores, showing it may help reduce pre-sleep anxiety — a common factor that delays falling asleep.
🔍 5. Offering a gentle, multi-compound approach
✔ Backed by the study
Valerian root is rich in sesquiterpenes, lignans, flavonoids, and caffeic acids, which together contribute to antioxidant, calming, and muscle-relaxant effects. This multifaceted profile helps explain why valerian has been used for centuries as a traditional sleep aid.
✨ This science-backed herb forms a key part of Return To Sleep — offering gentle, natural support for relaxation, reduced sleep latency, and a refreshed feeling upon waking.
🌿 Why Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is in Return To Sleep
Passionflower has been used for centuries as a calming herb, and modern science is uncovering how its unique compounds support relaxation and healthy sleep.
Here’s what the research shows:
🔍 1. Calming the mind through GABA support
✔ Backed by a systematic review (Janda et al., 2020)
Passionflower is rich in flavonoids such as apigenin, luteolin, vitexin, and isovitexin. These compounds interact with GABA receptors in the brain — the body’s natural “calm-down” system — helping to quiet racing thoughts, reduce tension, and prepare the mind for sleep.
🔍 2. Supporting sleep quality
✔ Backed by a clinical trial (Ngan & Conduit, 2011)
In a study of healthy adults, drinking passionflower tea for one week led to improved subjective sleep quality, confirmed by polysomnography (the gold standard of sleep measurement). The effects were most noticeable in participants with mild sleep disturbances, suggesting passionflower helps when the mind feels restless at night.
🔍 3. Natural support for anxiety and stress
✔ Backed by multiple human trials (systematic review, 9 RCTs)
Across several clinical studies, passionflower reduced anxiety levels, sometimes performing comparably to pharmaceutical sedatives such as oxazepam — but without impairing memory or daily performance. By easing nervous tension, passionflower creates the right conditions for restorative sleep.
🔍 4. Safe, gentle, and traditionally trusted
✔ Confirmed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
Passionflower is officially recognized as a traditional herbal medicine in Europe for the relief of nervous restlessness and sleep disturbances. Clinical studies report it as safe, with no serious adverse effects.
In Return To Sleep, passionflower brings its calming, GABA-supporting properties to help you relax, unwind, and drift off more peacefully — a gentle, natural ally for nights when rest feels out of reach.
🔗 Read the full studies:
•https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12325-023-02708-6
•https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12155840/
🌼 Why Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) is in Return To Sleep
Chamomile has been treasured for centuries as a calming bedtime tea, and modern research now supports its role in easing stress and improving sleep quality. Here’s what the science shows:
🔍 1. Supports falling asleep faster and staying asleep
✔ Backed by the studies
A 2024 meta-analysis of 10 clinical trials (772 participants) found that chamomile significantly improved overall sleep quality, helping people fall asleep faster and wake less often during the night. A 2025 clinical trial confirmed these findings, showing chamomile tea reduced night-time awakenings and shortened the time it took to drift off to sleep.
🔍 2. Contains apigenin — a calming flavonoid
✔ Backed by the studies
Chamomile flowers are rich in flavonoids such as apigenin, which binds to GABA-A and benzodiazepine receptors in the brain — the same calming pathways targeted by many sleep medications. This gentle interaction helps the body relax naturally, without creating dependency.
🔍 3. Supports stress reduction and healthy cortisol balance
✔ Backed by the 2025 trial
Participants drinking chamomile tea showed a significant reduction in cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone. Lower cortisol at night is linked to calmer moods and improved readiness for deep, restorative sleep.
🔍 4. May encourage natural melatonin production
✔ Backed by the 2025 trial
Chamomile tea was shown to boost melatonin levels — the hormone that regulates our sleep–wake cycle. This helps signal the body that it’s time to rest, making it easier to return to a natural sleep rhythm.
🔍 5. Gentle, safe, and antioxidant-rich
✔ Backed by the studies
Across the reviewed clinical trials, no serious side effects were reported. Chamomile’s antioxidant compounds (like bisabolol and chamazulene) may also support overall relaxation by reducing oxidative stress, which can disrupt healthy sleep patterns.
✨ Together, these benefits make chamomile a key part of Return To Sleep — a blend crafted to support relaxation, ease stress, and help you gently transition into restful slumber.
🔗 Read full studies →
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19476337.2025.2504527
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229924000591?via%3Dihub
🌿 Why Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) is in Return To Sleep
Lemon balm has been cherished for centuries as a calming herb, and modern research is confirming why. Its unique plant compounds interact with the body’s natural pathways for stress, relaxation, and sleep — making it a supportive ally for winding down and restoring balance. Here’s what the science shows:
🔍 1. Supporting restful sleep through GABA pathways
✔ Backed by studies
Lemon balm is rich in rosmarinic acid, which helps boost calming GABA activity in the brain. By slowing the breakdown of GABA, rosmarinic acid supports relaxation and may improve sleep quality. A clinical trial using a standardised lemon balm extract found significant improvements in sleep, mental wellbeing, and reduced stress after 3 weeks of daily use.
🔍 2. Calming the nervous system with natural essential oils
✔ Backed by studies
The plant’s essential oils — including citral, citronellal, and linalool — show gentle sedative-like effects. These compounds interact with neurotransmitter systems linked to mood and rest, helping the body naturally shift into a calmer state before sleep.
🔍 3. Supporting mood and reducing stress-related tension
✔ Backed by studies
Beyond sleep, lemon balm contains flavonoids and triterpenes (ursolic & oleanolic acid) with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Research shows these may support the stress response system (the HPA axis), which is often overactive in people struggling with rest. By helping ease tension, lemon balm supports both emotional balance and physical relaxation.
🔍 4. Traditionally combined for digestive comfort that aids sleep
✔ Backed by tradition & research
Some studies explored lemon balm in blends with valerian, fennel, or lavender, showing benefits for sleep and relaxation. This reflects its long traditional use in calming teas — where easing digestion and soothing the nervous system go hand in hand with better rest.
✨ The takeaway:
Lemon balm contains a synergy of rosmarinic acid, calming essential oils, flavonoids, and triterpenes that together support relaxation, ease stress, and encourage healthy sleep patterns. While results vary depending on dose and preparation, modern science confirms why this herb continues to be a trusted ingredient in natural insomnia-relief blends.
🔗 Read the studies → https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11510126/