WILD LETTUCE: HERBAL SLEEP SOLUTION

Are you struggling to get a good night’s sleep, even after a long, hard day at work? Or, perhaps you work from home, sitting behind a desk all day, so you’re not getting much exercise. When this is the case, your body isn’t moving enough to burn energy off, resulting in extra energy at night.

If you can’t get to sleep at night, you might be suffering from insomnia, and simply need a good herbal solution to help you get those desperately needed zzzz’s you want so badly.

Wild lettuce is a natural muscle relaxer sedative, which will result in a good quality night’s sleep.

Wild lettuce contains lactucarium, which, according to Wild Plant Guides, “does not pass readily through the blood-brain barrier, and it is thought the effects may arise from peripheral and visceral actions below the neck, rather than above it.

Lactucarium has been used successfully in the treatment of morphine addiction because it has similar, if milder, anodyne-sedative effects.”

Nicknamed ‘lettuce opium,’ Wild Lettuce does not contain any opiates, which are only found in the Papaver species, from which Papaver somniferum (opium poppy) comes from.

Commonly found growing wild throughout North America, Prickly Lettuce offers pain relieving properties in addition to supporting relief from mental anxiety, while relieving tension in the musculoskeletal system.

“Calming to the nervous system, it is sometimes called Lettuce Opium for its use in helping treat people with opium addiction as it has a similar hypnotic affect but without being toxic or addiction forming. Prickly Lettuce is also used as a sleep aid,” according to Sawmill Herb Farm.

I first discovered Wild Lettuce when I was struggling to withdraw from a drug called Baclofen that I had been taking for muscle pain. It is a highly addictive drug that can be extremely painful to come off of, not unlike many prescription drugs.

My muscles ached, my mind was racing and I generally felt like I was coming unglued. I couldn’t sleep at all, and was becoming frustrated, so I began researching natural remedies for insomnia and pain.

That’s when I discovered this wonderful plant, Wild Lettuce.

Shop In Sense Botanicals fresh Wild Lettuce powder today!

When used along with Skullcap American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) a perennial herb native to North America. In bloom, the plant is covered in tiny, tubular blue flowers, although color can vary.

The leaves of American skullcap have been used in traditional herbal medicine as a sedative and to treat conditions like anxiety and convulsions. The plant was prized by Native Americans for its powerful medicinal properties.

Chinese skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) is native to several Asian countries, as well as Russia.

The dried roots of this plant have been used for centuries as a traditional Chinese medicine known as Huang Qin to treat diarrhea, insomnia, dysentery, high blood pressure, hemorrhaging, respiratory infections, and inflammation,” according to Healthline.”

Additionally, Healthline reports that “American skullcap has been shown to boost mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety.

A study in 43 people found that those who received 1,050 mg of American skullcap daily for 2 weeks reported significant enhancements in mood compared to a placebo group.

It’s thought that American skullcap positively impacts mood and reduces anxiety by stimulating gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that helps calm nerves.”

HOW TO USE WILD LETTUCE

Wild Lettuce is available as a tincture, powder and in crushed leaves that can be boiled and made into a tea.

Shop In Sense Botanicals fresh Wild Lettuce powder today!

Contains 100% Wild Lettuce 

From the Victorian period to the 19th century, Wild Lettuce Extract has been known as a sedative and as an analgesic.  In 1917, a company asserted that Wild Lettuce was “Highly esteemed to quiet coughing and help with nervous irritation, a good safe remedy to produce sleep.”

Lettuce extract has been considered to be a mild sedative that has been known to have the properties to calm the nerves, treat restlessness, anxiety, severe nervous disorders, neuroses, and, and treat insomnia and hyperactivity.

Product Name: Lettuce Extract

Botanical Name: Lactuca virosa

Part Used: Leaf or Root

Appearance:  Brown, Yellow Brown  or Light green fine powder