Re: Licorice root herb alternative?

Sleep issues tend to be due to high histamine which is a stimulant, a high glutamate/GABA ratio and high cortisol which sensitizes the nervous system. That might sound counter to your experience with licorice but it is the general rule IMO. The early hours tend to be when the liver is working at a fast(er) rate which increases cortisol levels, see my 2nd point above. Anxiety is usually caused by deficient kidney energy and is often linked to Depression and stress. Tu Si Zi (Dodder seed) improves the kidney energy and helps regulate cortisol levels. I use it myself and it tends to normalize my otherwise very high cortisol levels. It can also help with anxiety disorders. It is often taken with Guo Qi Zi (Wolfberry/Goji berry) which might also be helpful to you. Gou Qi Zi can modestly help the Kidney yang and works well with Tu Si Zi, they are often used together. Lowering histamine therefore might be helpful. Vitamin C can help a little. Some anti histamines tend to cause drowsiness.

Have you ever tried Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus Senticosus)? It sensitizes the body to cortisol which means the adrenal glands can produce less cortisol for the same level of function. It also switches off the alarm reaction. If the body is under stress causing a rise in cortisol, because the body is sensitized to cortisol it has greater effect.

Taking a high amount of magnesium might be helpful at least 800mg.

You mention your stomach issues and the other symptoms would suggest that you most likely have Increased Digestive Permeability, often mistakenly called Leaky Gut, which puts the liver under a high detox load. That is what is causing your sleep problems. The solution is to destroy the infection(s) in your stomach which will restore your digestive permeability in your stomach and colon. A highly permeable colon allows LipoPolySaccharides to enter the circulatory system which promote inflammatory processes in the body and use up important Glutathione which also gets used for detox purposes.

Ginkgo Biloba is known to cause anxiety in some people therefore I would recommend that you try stopping that. I have read reports by people saying it caused them anxiety. Grape Seed extract and Hawthorn berry & extracts help the circulatory system and also lower inflammation see LPS above.

If you get along well with mushrooms then you might try Cordyceps which can lower inflammatory cytokines. It can also help with energy. You need to get a high beta glucan content version which many do not have. As much as 50 grams of the raw mushroom is recommended by Stephen H Buhner. I use most of the things that I mention. I also use Ginkgo on and off, it does not produce anxiety in me but it is stimulating to the brain which is helpful to overcome the sleepiness that certain other supplements such as Glycine produce in me. It might be worth trying a high dose of Glycine an hour or two before bed. Glycine is important to the phase 2 Liver detox and it also increases brain GABA levels which can counter anxiety and can help with sleep. 10ml of Glycine tends to make me feel sleepy so I will usually only take 5ml at a time. Glycine is the primary amino acid in amino acid conjugation and also the largest component of collagen.

Rosmarinic acid, present in rosemary, lemon balm, and other herbal agents known for their calming properties, inhibits GABA-transaminase, which slows the breakdown of GABA. Raising GABA, while lowering histamine and cortisol levels would be helpful IMO. Herbs such as Milk Thistle extract preferably complexed with lecithin as a very basic liposome should help with it's absorption. MT extract bioavailability is meant to be fairly low. It is very helpful to the liver and can help raise Glutathione levels and improve liver function.

BTW would you say that your eyes are sensitive to bright lights? It can be a sign of the liver working hard and sometimes inflamed.

I have just started taking Ashwagandha in the last few days myself, mainly for it's thyroid benefits. It is meant to be calming and sedating which is not something that I need which is why I take it with Ginkgo.
Terpene Trilactones from Ginkgo biloba Are Antagonists of Cortical Glycine and GABA A Receptors>
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