kava and Sleep-Wake-Disorders

Sleep is considered as one of the most important aspects for maintaining a healthy life. For a person to function normally, at least 6-8 hours of sleep daily is necessary. Sleep not only affects our mood, but also regulates the efficiency of work done. Many complications arise due to inadequacy of sleep. The unhealthy food and lifestyle choices have made us more prone to sleep disorders. The medications used for the treatment of sleep disorders are mainly habit forming and have tendencies of withdrawal symptoms. This inadequacy in medication has lead to search for newer, better options. The field of nutraceuticals fits apt for treating such disorders. The quality of being non-toxic, non-habit forming, and being practically more efficient has had made it an excellent option. Nutraceuticals make use of food or part of food for the treatment or to prevent any disease. Remarkable positive effects of nutraceuticals like Caffeine, Chamomile, Kava kava, Cherries and Cherry juice, L tryptophan, Valerian, Vitamin D, Marijuana, melatonin, Lemon balm had been mentioned in the treatment of sleep disorders. The present review gives a general overview of nutraceuticals and discusses their use in sleep disorders.

Topics: Caffeine; Chamomile; Dietary Supplements; Fruit and Vegetable Juices; Humans; Kava; Plant Extracts; Sleep Wake Disorders; Valerian

Topics: Anxiety; Cimicifuga; Depression; Evidence-Based Medicine; Ginkgo biloba; Herb-Drug Interactions; Humans; Hypericum; Kava; Nurse's Role; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Patient Education as Topic; Phytotherapy; Sleep Wake Disorders; Valerian

Patients over age 50 typically present with one chronic disease per decade. Each chronic disease usually requires long-term drug therapy, meaning most older patients require several drugs to control their conditions and/or maintain their health. Simultaneously, the use of complementary and alternative medications (CAM) has increased in the United States over the last 20 years, reaching 36% in 2002; herbal medicine use accounts for approximately 22% of all CAM use. Older adults often add herbal medicines to medications prescribed by their physicians, yet do not always inform the physician. The drug metabolizing enzyme systems process all compounds foreign to the body including prescription drugs and herbal medications. Therefore use of both medicinals simultaneously has a potential for interactions of an adverse nature. This review, which will discuss kava, is one in a series covering the documented interactions between herbal medicines with proven efficacy and prescription drugs.

Topics: Aged; Anxiety; Ethanol; Herb-Drug Interactions; Humans; Kava; Middle Aged; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts; Sleep Wake Disorders

The aim of the present trial was to investigate the efficacy and safety of kava special extract WS 1490 in patients with sleep disturbances associated with anxiety, tension and restlessness states of non-psychotic origin.. In a multicenter, randomized, double-blind clinical study, 61 patients received daily doses of 200 mg WS 1490 or placebo over a period of 4 weeks. Efficacy was measured by the sleep questionnaire SF-B, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), the Bf-S self-rating scale of well-being and the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale.. The confirmatory analysis of the two primary efficacy variables, the differences of sleep questionnaire SF-B sub-scores 'Quality of sleep' and 'Recuperative effect after sleep' after 4 weeks of double-blind treatment compared to baseline, demonstrated statistically significant group differences in favor of kava extract WS 1490 (P=0.007 and P=0.018, respectively). Superior effects of kava extract were also present in the HAMA psychic anxiety sub-score (P=0.002). More pronounced effects with respect to the self-rating of well-being and the global clinical evaluation also indicated superior therapeutic efficacy of kava extract. Safety and tolerability were good, with no drug-related adverse events or changes in clinical or laboratory parameters.. We conclude that sleep disturbances associated with non-psychotic anxiety disorders can be effectively and safely treated with kava extract WS 1490.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Anxiety; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Kava; Male; Middle Aged; Phytotherapy; Sleep Wake Disorders; Surveys and Questionnaires

The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of a morning/evening menopause formula (morning capsule contains panax ginseng, black cohosh, soy, and green tea extracts; evening capsule contains black cohosh, soy, kava, hops, and valerian extracts) for relieving menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and sleep disturbance.. Healthy postmenopausal women, between 45 and 65 years of age, were asked to take the menopause formula orally, one capsule of the morning formula every morning and one capsule of the evening formula every evening for 2 months. The Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to determine the efficacy.. Morning/evening menopause formula significantly reduced the number of hot flashes. The reduction in the number of hot flashes was observed as early as at the end of the second week. At the end of the second week, the number of hot flashes was reduced by 47%. The morning/evening menopause formula also significantly reduced the GCS total and subscale scores. At the end of the eighth week, the vasomotor, anxiety, and depression scores of GCS were reduced by 50%, 56%, and 32%, respectively. Furthermore, the morning/evening menopause formula significantly reduced global PSQI score and scores in five components (sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and daytime dysfunction) by 18%-46%.. This study suggests that the morning/evening menopausal formula is safe and effective for relieving menopausal symptoms including hot flashes and sleep disturbance.

Topics: Cimicifuga; Complementary Therapies; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Female; Glycine max; Hot Flashes; Humans; Humulus; Kava; Middle Aged; Panax; Phytotherapy; Pilot Projects; Plant Extracts; Postmenopause; Quality of Life; Sleep Wake Disorders; Tea; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Valerian

Phytopharmacons are widely used in Germany. Whereas St. John's wort extracts are prescribed for the treatment of mild forms of depression and kava-kava for unspecified anxiety syndromes, hop, balm, lavender, passiflora and valerian are traditionally administered against nervousness and sleep disturbances. Controlled clinical trials are only available for valerian. However, no sleep inducing potential of valerian was observed, only a certain positive effect on daytime mood. Therefore, the mentioned phytopharmacons cannot be recommended for the treatment of sleep disturbances.

Topics: Anxiety; Depression; Humans; Hypericum; Kava; Phytotherapy; Plants, Medicinal; Sleep Wake Disorders; Valerian