My answer to the question: If you can not sleep at night and find yourself tossing and turning - how do you finally get to sleep? would be the herb Valerian (Valeriana officinalis). I always keep a supply of tablets or capsules of this useful herbal remedy just in case I need it.

It is actually very rare that I cannot sleep but sometimes if I have an important appointment the next day because my thoughts are going over and over worrying about it, or sometimes if I am very excited about something then I cannot sleep. At such times I find that Valerian always does the trick. I also use it if I have a migraine attack or are simply stressed out about something.

Valerian is usually available from health stores and suppliers of herbal medicines or can be grown easily enough in your garden where it it will also delight you with umbels of pretty pale pink or whitish flowers on stems that reach around 3-5 ft in height. The roots are the part that is used and they are harvested in the autumn and dried out.

Valerian is also known as All-Heal and Garden Heliotrope. It's names Phew, Phu and Fu refer to the strong smell of its roots, although having said that, it has been used as an ingredient in perfumes.

Valerian grows wild in woods, hedgebanks and grassy places in Europe and other parts of the northern hemisphere but is cultivated worldwide as a medicinal herb.

Besides being used for its sedative and tranquilising properties, Valerian can be used as a treatment for headaches and migraine and to relive spasms. In the World war it was employed against shell shock.

Valerian is one of several herbs that are known as "cat-psychoactives." This is because the herb contains actinidine and other alkaloids that have a euphoriant effect on cats. The Catnip or Catmint is another herb well known for having such properties. The animals love to roll around on the plants. Kiwi fruit vines (Actinidia species) are other plants that have this starnge effect on cats.

Valerian was regarded in medieval times as a general panacea and was commonly grown in monastery gardens.

I am a great believer in alternative remedies and Valerian is my choice for insomnia and bad nerves.