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Best Kava for Insomnia ?

AZcat

Kava Drinker
Hi, New member here.
Someone suggested I try Kava for Insomnia and I have been trying it, and its been interesting but it hasn't helped my sleep problem yet. First I got some Waka grade Kava from my local health food store, and its quite strong, very bitter though, then I bought some Micronized stuff from Kalm with Kava. I have the Pouni Ono, I also bought the Borongoro - which I thought would be the best one to help me sleep. I haven't found that it helps at all.
I have had chronic Insomnia for a very long time, but its also connected with my sleep cycle. I usually only sleep 1-3 hours during the night, but can sleep in the afternoon to get the rest of it, but that ruins the day for doing anything else, so consequently I don't have much of a life. Suggestions for best Kava and dosage would be appreaciated
 

recentreturn

Kava Enthusiast
Personally, I have not had good luck with kava helping me sleep. Though a lot of other people have. Heavy kavas tend to make me more relaxed than sleepy. Oddly, I have sometimes had better luck with headier kavas like Mo'i, which many say tends to keep them awake. Maybe my ADHD is a factor in making me respond strangely? Overall, though, I haven't found any kava that works consistently for giving me a deep and unbroken night's sleep.
 

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
Hi, New member here.
Someone suggested I try Kava for Insomnia and I have been trying it, and its been interesting but it hasn't helped my sleep problem yet. First I got some Waka grade Kava from my local health food store, and its quite strong, very bitter though, then I bought some Micronized stuff from Kalm with Kava. I have the Pouni Ono, I also bought the Borongoro - which I thought would be the best one to help me sleep. I haven't found that it helps at all.
I have had chronic Insomnia for a very long time, but its also connected with my sleep cycle. I usually only sleep 1-3 hours during the night, but can sleep in the afternoon to get the rest of it, but that ruins the day for doing anything else, so consequently I don't have much of a life. Suggestions for best Kava and dosage would be appreaciated
Without a doubt the most sedative kava I have had is 11 yr waka from Bula Kava House. They're out of stock at the moment but keep an eye out for it. Other than that most people would sleep better on a heavy kava (except @recentreturn above lol). You could try Hiwa from GHK, a favourite of mine, Vula Waka or Melomelo from KWK, Stone from Nakamal at Home, Supreme from Kavafied. One that I have just tried recently and that gives me a really good sleep is the Fijian kava from realkava.com. Try to drink it a few hours before you are going to bed. Drinking and then going straight to bed won't always work although it can. Also it might not work that well for you to start with but as you get used to drinking kava you'll find a good, dark, heavy sleep that lasts all night will happen more often than not. In terms of dosage it's difficult as everyon is different but you should start off with about 4 heaped tablespoons of med grind or 2 micro to see how that works and adjust up or down from there.
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
Hi, New member here.
Someone suggested I try Kava for Insomnia and I have been trying it, and its been interesting but it hasn't helped my sleep problem yet. First I got some Waka grade Kava from my local health food store, and its quite strong, very bitter though, then I bought some Micronized stuff from Kalm with Kava. I have the Pouni Ono, I also bought the Borongoro - which I thought would be the best one to help me sleep. I haven't found that it helps at all.
I have had chronic Insomnia for a very long time, but its also connected with my sleep cycle. I usually only sleep 1-3 hours during the night, but can sleep in the afternoon to get the rest of it, but that ruins the day for doing anything else, so consequently I don't have much of a life. Suggestions for best Kava and dosage would be appreaciated
Welcome to kavaforums, some new kava drinkers may experience what's called reverse tolerance, this a period of time that your body goes through to get acclimated to kava or the kavalactones (the active ingredient in kava). For most people this will pass within a week or two of frequent use. I suspect for you this may be the case. Here is a link with a lot more information on the topic.
http://kavaforums.com/forum/brdc-document/frequently-asked-questions.1/
 

AZcat

Kava Drinker
Welcome to kavaforums, some new kava drinkers may experience what's called reverse tolerance, this a period of time that your body goes through to get acclimated to kava or the kavalactones (the active ingredient in kava). For most people this will pass within a week or two of frequent use. I suspect for you this may be the case. Here is a link with a lot more information on the topic.
http://kavaforums.com/forum/brdc-document/frequently-asked-questions.1/
Actually the very first time I tried it, using the stuff from a local health food store I got a very powerful effect, also when I used the Pouni Ono, but its didn't make me sleep. I don't think I do have reverse tolerance, it just isn't having the desired effect.
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
Actually the very first time I tried it, using the stuff from a local health food store I got a very powerful effect, also when I used the Pouni Ono, but its didn't make me sleep. I don't think I do have reverse tolerance, it just isn't having the desired effect.
Perhaps a more sedating kava, rather than a heavier one may be best. The 2 that come to mind are BKH Nangol Noble and Squanch Waka, both vendors are listed on this website. I wish you the best of luck on this journey.
 

HeadHodge

Bula To Eternity
Hi, New member here.
Someone suggested I try Kava for Insomnia and I have been trying it, and its been interesting but it hasn't helped my sleep problem yet. First I got some Waka grade Kava from my local health food store, and its quite strong, very bitter though, then I bought some Micronized stuff from Kalm with Kava. I have the Pouni Ono, I also bought the Borongoro - which I thought would be the best one to help me sleep. I haven't found that it helps at all.
I have had chronic Insomnia for a very long time, but its also connected with my sleep cycle. I usually only sleep 1-3 hours during the night, but can sleep in the afternoon to get the rest of it, but that ruins the day for doing anything else, so consequently I don't have much of a life. Suggestions for best Kava and dosage would be appreaciated
Take a look at The Product Reference tool.
http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/the-kava-filter.14091/
 

AZcat

Kava Drinker
Perhaps a more sedating kava, rather than a heavier one may be best. The 2 that come to mind are BKH Nangol Noble and Squanch Waka, both vendors are listed on this website. I wish you the best of luck on this journey.
I watched the kavasseur videos and he certainly seems to like the Squanch Fijian Waka, so maybe i'll try that. I think its also funny the way he talks about something then goes of into a ramble about something else then stops when he realizes what he saying !
 

evrnd

Kava Enthusiast
I also have lots of sleep issues and have found that timing is important when it comes to using kava to help. Treating it like a sleeping pill doesn't work. I'm not sure where I read it, but leaving an hour after drinking it will give the euphoria and other stuff that might keep your brain from winding down time to wear off. An important distinction for me is that kava doesn't make me sleep rather helps me sleep better. It's similar to valerian in that respect. It generally doesn't knock me out as much as it helps me fall asleep and stay asleep once I decide I'm ready. FWIW, I have better luck with the GHK Boroguru micro than the medium grind for sleep. I'm also able to drink less liquid that way which is helpful since a catch 22 about all this is that kava may help you sleep, but you may wake up needing to pee 20 times a night. Oddly enough, when I drink Pouni Ono before dinner (again, the micro in my case), in a larger amount from the start (~3-4 tbs in about 30 minutes), once the initial buzzy feelings fade, I actually feel relaxed and often really sleepy.
It's taken me a while to find the best method (type, amount, timing, etc) but I've had pretty good luck. Nothing has ever worked as well as doing a couple hours of cardio every morning (cycling is my jam) to keep a regular sleep cycle.
 

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
Standard speech: if you drink some kava every day, or at least very very often, then ALL kavas are good for insomnia, though it might take a few weeks for those effects to kick in. With regular shelling you get a systemic effect that helps with sleep in many ways: getting to sleep, staying asleep, getting back to sleep if woken, having more and better and longer dreams, getting a full 8 hours every night, waking refreshed and renewed, and unhungover, getting exercise from doing a zombie walk to go pee in the night and then going straight back to sleep.....

If, however, you are as evrnd puts it, trying to use it like a sleeping pill, know from the outset that none are terribly good, and even the few that are will be hit or miss at best, and not consistent each time. That being said, sometimes some kavas can and will work for a single episode of insomnia, so for many that makes it worth a try. The more popular ones for that are nene, supreme, anything heavy and sedating. I would add Savusavu to that. And maybe VanuWAKA.
 

AZcat

Kava Drinker
I've been using Kava for a while now ( usually alternate days ) and I am finding that they ALL help with sleep, if you use it frequently. Because of our eating and sleeping schedule, I find the best time to take it is late afternoon. I am just getting to the point where I am getting 8 hours sleep per night, which is outstanding since I haven't been able to do that for about 3 years !
Mostly I have been using KWK Instant Borongoru, but I have just got myself some Squanch Fijian Waka, and an Aluball.
 

Intrepidus_dux

Kava O.G.
I personally wouldn’t use a Fijian waka to knock myself out after a bout of insomnia.
Kava supreme was the way to go for me. Like everyone else said, drink it an hour or two before bed. Good luck!
 

recentreturn

Kava Enthusiast
I personally wouldn’t use a Fijian waka to knock myself out after a bout of insomnia.
Kava supreme was the way to go for me. Like everyone else said, drink it an hour or two before bed. Good luck!
(IDK: I think Kava Time's Kadavu (waka) can give Supreme a run for its money; unfortunately its out of stock more often than not; Supreme actually keys me up for some weird reason. Turns me into a super lazy and relaxed zombie; but one that still can't fall asleep; maybe I was drinking it too close to bed. Though I personally thought Squanch was kinda heady when I tried it.)
 

Kava4All

Kava Curious
Hi, New member here.
Someone suggested I try Kava for Insomnia and I have been trying it, and its been interesting but it hasn't helped my sleep problem yet. First I got some Waka grade Kava from my local health food store, and its quite strong, very bitter though, then I bought some Micronized stuff from Kalm with Kava. I have the Pouni Ono, I also bought the Borongoro - which I thought would be the best one to help me sleep. I haven't found that it helps at all.
I have had chronic Insomnia for a very long time, but its also connected with my sleep cycle. I usually only sleep 1-3 hours during the night, but can sleep in the afternoon to get the rest of it, but that ruins the day for doing anything else, so consequently I don't have much of a life. Suggestions for best Kava and dosage would be appreaciated
Alright well if your looking for a sleep aid. I know just the stuff that if any kava works it would be borogu from kwk. Always knocks me out and gives me vivid dreams.
 

AZcat

Kava Drinker
I'm trying the Squanch Fijian Waka right now. Seemed weak at first, so I had 3 shells. Now I am totally spaced out. Its almost like being stoned. Not sedative at all.
 

Happy G

Kava Curious
I'm trying the Squanch Fijian Waka right now. Seemed weak at first, so I had 3 shells. Now I am totally spaced out. Its almost like being stoned. Not sedative at all.
Yaaaaaa I love the squanch Fijian Waka I drink it almost everyday but it’s definatly not sedative I find that after the initial effects wear off I’m left with a slight sedation so for me I have to drink it at least 4 hours before bedtime I use squanch Waka for social gatherings or watching a movie with the kids I find it very stress relieving and calms me down after a work day but it doesn’t make me sleepy makes me wanna do stuff and talk a great kava . I had a big problem falling asleep after kava for the longest time I found out it was caffeine that was effecting it even if I would drink caffeine in the morning around 7 and drink kava at around 6 it wouldn’t allow me to fall asleep forever kava slows down the breakdown of caffeine so I completely avoid caffeine now and I have no problem falling asleep after kava as long as I drink it at least 3 hours before bedtime. You might also want to try a heavier kava , stone from nakamal at home and
Ikaika Kava From GHK was more sedating for me
 

recentreturn

Kava Enthusiast
I'm trying the Squanch Fijian Waka right now. Seemed weak at first, so I had 3 shells. Now I am totally spaced out. Its almost like being stoned. Not sedative at all.
Yeah; I tried one bag of Squanch and personally found it to be pretty heady. I ended up mostly drinking it during the day. I'll have to try it again some time. The effects were good, but it didn't seem as ...tasty... as some other kavas.
 
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