About Lemon Balm
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a traditional herb with mild anxiolytic and sedative properties. A few small RCTs suggest it may improve sleep quality, primarily via anxiolysis and GABA-transaminase inhibition. Often combined with valerian in commercial products. Evidence is limited and effect sizes are small. No established RDA/UL.
What Lemon Balm supports
- May reduce anxiety and promote relaxation
- Limited evidence for mild sleep quality improvement
How much Lemon Balm to take
The RDA prevents deficiency. The effective range is what clinical trials used to actually move the outcome.
Effective
300–600
mg
Standardized extract; most sleep studies used 300-600 mg.
Clinical evidence
Limited clinical evidence. A few small clinical trials suggest mild anxiolytic and sleep benefits; effect sizes are small
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