How Does Passion Flower Help Me Relax?

There are many species of passion flower, though it is the Passiflora incarnata that was used by Native Americans to treat insomnia, anxiety and any other condition requiring a calming influence. Although it is used today for the same purpose, its mechanism is not yet fully understood. There are many theories, however, one being that levels of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain are increased. It is known that GABA depresses brain activity and generally relaxes you. It is believed that passion flower helps convert glutamate into GABA, making you feel more relaxed.

Although Maypop, as P. incarnate is commonly known, can be used to control hyperactivity, its use with hyperactive children should be carried out only under a professional physician because test results on children are scant. What works with an adult should not be considered suitable for children, or even pregnant women, unless under strict medical supervision.

If you are easily excitable, find it difficult to sleep, tend to feel anxious, particularly when under stress, or are even prone to seizures, then passion flower extract should help to calm you down and relax. It is easy to take, and can help relieve pain by using the natural activity of neurotransmitters in your brain.

The Calming Influence of Passion Flower

If you feel overexcited, over-anxious or in need of a calming influence, passion flower extract will do the trick. The best known effect of passion flower is as a relaxant that calms down the stressed and anxious, and helps insomniacs enjoy a good night sleep. Although it will help the hyperactive to calm down, its use with children is not recommended unless under the direction of a doctor who is monitoring its use. Few tests have been carried out on children, and the way that passion flower relaxes you is not totally understood.

However, researchers have a good idea, and believe that substances in passion flower promote the biochemical pathway that converts glutamate to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). This substance is known as an 'inhibitory neurotransmitter' that exerts a calming effect on the brain. This is also believed to be associated with a reduction in 'excitatory neurotransmitters' that increases brain activity. The result is a lowering in brain activity, leading to a feeling of calmness and relaxation.

So if you feel that you need to relax more and maybe overcome your sleep problems, give passion flower a try.

Some Effects of Passion Flower on Your Health.

Although it is best known as a relaxant that can help you overcome hyperactivity, anxiety and sleeplessness, passion flower can offer many more benefits such as using its anti-inflammatory properties for arthritis. This is an inflammatory condition brought about by irritation and damage to the joints in the case of osteoarthritis, or your immune system attacking your joint tissues in the case of rheumatoid arthritis.

Passion flower offers anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce the inflammation in your joints that makes it so painful, and also helps to reduce pain in other ways. Passiflorine is a harmala alkaloid with similar properties to morphine, and there are indications that this is the major active principle in respect of pain reduction and promoting sleepiness and calm. However, it is not believed to be the whole story and as yet that has still to be established.

Nevertheless, all that apart, it works, and if you are overexcitable, subject to anxiety attacks or hyperactive then passion flower extract will help you to relax and remain calm, and it will also help to alleviate any pain that you feel.

Passion Flower Helps You Sleep

If you check out most commercial sleeping preparations you will find two components that figure regularly: valerian and passion flower, with hops also appearing in many preparations. The problem with commercial sleeping aids is that they can be expensive, and, while their science is sound, it is still an expensive way to get to sleep. Why not stick to the powerful passion flower that offers a natural means of calming the activity of your brain, and reducing any hyperactive or anxiety tendencies you may have.

The way passion flower works is vague, although it appears to affect the activity of the neurotransmitters within your brain. There is a substance that your body synthesizes known as gamma -aminobutyric acid that acts as what is referred to as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, so called because it inhibits or clams down the extremes of your brain's activity. So if you are subject to being hyperactive at times, GABA will stop this by depressing the activity of your brain that causes it.

The same with anxiety - excessive anxiety is reduced, and if you cannot sleep at night, then you can also get anxious, and passion flower can be used to reduce that tendency and help you to sleep. Try it out if you feel always on edge, a bit manic at times or cannot sleep well at night. Passion flower extract will help you with many forms of tension and overactivity.

Passionflower Extract
Category: Capsules: Standardized 
extracts

Vegetarian Capsule 
Serving size: 2 capsules, 1x 
daily 
Each Serving Contains: Standardized Passionflower 
extract (3.5%-4% flavonoids as isovitexin) 500 mg 
Standardized 
Extract 

Promotes Tranquility

  Kosher

UPC Code MSRP 
Size 
0-83000-16421-7 $10.99 60 Capsules