The effectiveness of Valeriana officinalis on sleep disturbance in patients with chronic heart failure

Background: Sleep disturbances are common problems in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and are a significant contributing factor to fatigue and poor quality of life. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Valeriana officinalis on sleep disturbance in patients with CHF. Materials and Methods: A randomized, controlled trial design was used for this study. Eighty patients with CHF experiencing insomnia were designated to intervention and control groups. The patients in the intervention group went through conventional treatment while taking 12cc V. officinalis syrup, 1 h before sleeping every night for 4 weeks. The control group received routine medication such as alprazolam. A demographic data form and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to collect data. Questionnaires were completed by all participants before and after the intervention. Results: The results indicated that regarding the duration of waiting for falling into sleep, there was a significant difference after intervention so that it was less in intervention groups compared to that of the control group (P = 0.001). In view of the hours during which the participants were fully asleep, there was a significant difference after the intervention between control and intervention groups, considerably higher among three intervention groups compared to that in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: V. officinalis improves the quality of sleep in patients with CHF who experience insomnia. The findings from this study support the reported effectiveness of V. officinalis in the clinical management of insomnia.