Antidepressant Effect of St. John's Wort on Sleep

European, placebo-controlled, clinical trials have suggested that St. John's wort has antidepressant efficacy (see JW Psychiatry Nov 1998, p. 92), but few studies have examined . . .

European, placebo-controlled, clinical trials have suggested that St. John's wort has antidepressant efficacy (see JW Psychiatry Nov 1998, p. 92), but few studies have examined its mechanism of action in humans. Most antidepressants increase REM sleep latency and decrease the total duration of REM sleep. Therefore, these two placebo-controlled, crossover studies examined the effects of 0.9 mg and 1.8 mg of Hypericum perforatum (the hypothesized active ingredient in St. John's wort) on sleep architecture in two samples of 10 and 11 healthy subjects aged 27 to 44 years.

Both hypericum doses significantly increased REM latency, but there were no effects on sleep duration or other parameters of sleep architecture. The higher dose of hypericum wa…

Reviewing Author

P Roy-Byrne