Passionflower is a soft natural sedative and a best friend to quality sleep. Its balanced healing powers come from alkaloids and bioflavonoids of the plant, the only compounds that have a positive interaction with the organism’s own method for maintenance of mental, physical health and balance.
It can be used for treatment of:
- Insomnia
The most common medical use of passion flower is regarding insomnia, which is a constant disability to fall asleep or to stay asleep during the whole night. Specifically, recently researchers have discovered that their findings relate to small dosage of passion flower which helps for calm, quality sleep in adults, without a feeling of drowsiness during the day.
- Anxiety, Depression, Stress
Nervousness, anxiety and everyday stress and pressure, provoked by the modern fast lifestyle will be drastically decreased thanks to the regular use of passion flower. Additionally, passion flower does not cause sleepiness or inability to perform at work next day, which is the biggest disadvantage of the sedatives.
- Menopause symptoms
It makes this period of change at women’s body much easier. It also works as antidepressant which eliminates the “warm waves” and the unpleasant periods typical for the menopause. When a research was done, the consumers that took passionflower supplements had noticed a change after only three weeks. Researches claim that passion flower can be a substitute for a hormonal therapy.
- Cramps and pain in the stomach
Because of the antispasmodic and sedative effects, physical pain also decreases with the consumption of passionflower. It is the best choice for premenstrual cramps and for relief from migraines. It can also help with a strong teeth pain. Passion flower relaxes cramps and muscles tension without affecting the breathing or the psychological function compared to the sedatives, which do affect the aforementioned. This makes the plant easy and pleasant to use.
- Parkinson’s disease
- Tachycardia
- Concentration
Passiflora was first discovered by the Spanish conquistadores in Peru, in 1569, and has a long history in treatment of many conditions like: insomnia, anxiety, epilepsy, high blood pressure, digestion problems etc.
The best part is that is quite easy to make a tincture of passionflower at home.
Recipe:
You can use the leaves, the flower buds and the vines. It is best to harvest it at the early flowering stage. If you use it fresh make sure the ratio is one part of the plant material to two parts of alcohol (75% grain alcohol and 25% distilled water).
Step 1: Roughly cut the plant and weigh it. 2oz of plant goes with 3oz alcohol and 1oz water. Put it all in a blender.
Step 2: Pour it in a glass container, cover it and make sure you label it. Store it in a cool and dark place.
Step 3: Shake daily for fourteen days.
Step 4: Strain it and squeeze out as much as possible.
Step 5: Leave it overnight. If there is a clear liquid on top, pour it away. Now once more, store in a dark and cool place.
For adults – you can use 1-2 drops per day for a few times (three – five), in a little bit water. For seniors – the dosage should be slightly less.
If you store it as told, this tincture can last for a really long time.
If this recipe is too hard and detailed for you, then just cover the chopped plant with vodka (80 proof), leave it for a while, strain it and store it in a dark room.
