I believe that one area of supplementation that we tend to neglect is on the sleep side. We spend 1/3 of our life sleeping, yet we focus very little effort on increasing the quality of our sleep.

In looking at Valerian Root, the funny thing is that even though its a commonly used supplement, it has very few scientific studies behind it. There are none that discuss whether Growth Hormone is released from using it and only a couple that study the sleep quality associated with it. The ones out there claim that it doesn't do much for sleep quality which is just another reason I don't trust studies.

Effectiveness: 9/10

Simply put, this is the best sleep supplement I've ever tried. It can be taken long term unlike Melatonin. It doesn't wake me up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom like ZMA. In terms of sleep, I take 500mg of this product and I literally feel like I've slept forever. On a normal night, I need about 9 hours of sleep, when I take Valerian, I only need about 7.5-8 hours.

One of the top issues we think about is hitting that REM sleep stage-the one that is so crucial as that is where Growth Hormone is activated. 75% of Growth Hormone is released in your sleep. Growth Hormone is used for muscle repair, muscle growth, & fat reduction.

While there is nothing scientific to say that Valerian Root activates Growth Hormone, I literally dream all night long when I take this. They say that a normal adult spends only 20% of their sleep in the REM stage, I feel like I no longer spend any time in any of the other stages when I take this. The dreams are deep and vivid. Even when I wake up during the night, I go right back to sleep and it seems instantly back to the dream stage.

While I cannot say that I've experienced huge muscle growth growth because of this product, I will say that I have experienced a lot better muscle recovery. They also say that increased time in the REM cycle will result in a better mood throughout the day and I will say this is definately the case. In addition, I don't feel the need for that late afternoon nap like I would when I don't take this.

While I can't say scientifically that this supplement has increased my growth hormone levels, I can say that I think it has. I think we put associate Growth Hormone falsly with insane muscle growth when in reality the biggest benefits of it are muscle recovery and fat reduction. In this sense I would again agree that it works for this cause.

For a cost of $13, it supplys 50 capsules, you really only need one per night. If you wanna go the whole night in basically a coma, take 2 per night and you won't wake up.

To conclude, while I do like other sleep supps such as GABA & ZMA, this is my favorite and will recommend this to everyone regardless of goals as the sleep alone from this is worth it.