Sleepy-Time Herb

Traditionally prescribed for insomnia, valerian may even have been the pied piper’s secret weapon against rats

- Jennifer Stackhouse

A herb that links the Pied Piper, both world wars and a good night’s sleep has to be a clever crop. A medicinal herb with at least a 1000-year history of human use, valerian does all that and more.

The tale of the Pied Piper, who purged the town of Hamelin of a rat plague, is cited as an early case of the use of valerian root. Its dank smell, sometimes compared to aged leather, is highly appealing to rats. The Piper may have carried the root to entice the rats from the town.

Cats also like the smell of valerian, which is sometimes called cat’s valerian, though there’s no mention in the tale of felines quitting town alongside the rats. (The Piper later enticed away Hamelin’s children, but that’s another story.)

While it’s hard to be sure about the Piper’s rodent-wrangling skills, there are records that the herb, native to Western Europe, was used during both world wars to treat shell shock and nerves.

Its traditional use is as a mild tranquiliser and it is also commonly found in herbal sleep remedies. It can be taken as a tea, tincture or extract, or added to the bath for external application.