TL;DR Passionflower may help you treat insomnia and anxiety, and brings about many other health benefits. Presently used as a sleep aid supplement, this exotic vine flower has been found by studies and researches to have calming effects, helping you sleep better and become less anxious.
---
Native throughout the southern United States and South America, Passionflower is a climbing vine that has been used for its medicinal purposes. It’s part of the Passiflora family, which – interestingly enough – is also where passion fruit comes from.
If you’re wondering where the passionflower got its name, then here’s the low-down. 16th-century Spanish explorers found out about this flower from native Peruvians. When they saw some semblance to a crucifix, they thought of the final days of Jesus’ life – including his crucifixion – called “the Passion.”
Hence, passionflower. Cool etymology, right?
Passionflower is also known as maypop, apricot vine, passion vine, and passiflore. [1]
There are approximately 500 identified species of passionflower. These various species have been used since the 16th century for several medicinal purposes, like treating boils, wounds, earaches, and liver-related problems. [2]
It’s used as a food plant, hence passion flower tea and passionflower extract, and other use of passionflowers as infusions, tinctures, liquid extracts, and teas.
Native Americans also used it as a mild sedative, with parts above the ground are made as medicine.
Of the hundreds of varieties of passionflower, Passiflora incarnata is the one that helps with sleeping better, easing anxiety and treating pain.
How this exotic vine flower works in giving you better quality sleep or stop your mind from running anxious thoughts has something to do with GABA.
GABA – or gamma-aminobutyric acid – is a brain chemical that regulates mood. As an inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA negates neurotransmitters that cause excitement. Passionflower works for insomnia and anxiety because it triggers the production of more GABA.
Long story short, passionflower calms your brain.
Studies show evidence that passionflower does, in fact, help treat insomnia. Here are just a few of them:
Beyond insomnia, passionflower also may just be as effective as other medicines in treating generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). [3]
There are several studies and researches that showed how effective passionflower in keeping your anxious thoughts run wild: [7]
Aside from treating insomnia and anxiety, passionflower also provides various health benefits:
Due to its mild sedative effects, passionflower is the perfect complement for other calming herbs. In fact, it works so well that it’s commonly combined with others like valerian root, lemon balm, chamomile, hops, kava and skullcap. [3]
According to Dr Axe, passionflower combined with valerian is a powerful combination: [12]
Passionflower, combined with valerian root, may be one of the best combinations to help with insomnia and could be ideal, if you seem to have trouble turning off the brain at night, by calming the cells within it.
Sleep Well is an herbal sleep supplement made with that contains passionflower, valerian, lemon balm, chamomile and other natural ingredients safe for everyday use. Unlike other sleeping pills & OTC medicine, Sleep Well doesn’t make you dependent for sleeping. It uses ingredients backed by nature and proven by science to help you maintain a balanced sleep cycle schedule without damaging side effects.
[1] https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-871/passionflower
[2] https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/calming-effects-of-passionflower
[3] https://www.emedicinehealth.com/passion_flower/vitamins-supplements.htm
[4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24947278
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21294203
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5542920/
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5770524/
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2941540/
[9] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ptr.5578
[10] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18499602
[11] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23179673
[12] https://draxe.com/nutrition/herbs/passion-flower/
If you want to know more about natural ways to balance your hormones, this article is for you. We cover three herbal ingredients in supplements that are believed to increase hormones and address your menopausal symptoms.
Women nearing their mid-40s are most likely aware of one imminent thing: menopause. Some have a tough time because of symptoms (read: hot flushes, heavier or lighter period, mood swings).
But while these symptoms may sound unpleasant, good news is that they’re highly treatable through medications, therapies, home remedies, and lifestyle changes.
Tina Sendin
Author