I felt very heavy headed the first four or five times I drank kava. I slowly increased the dose each time, hoping to feel more of the "happy" effects, and it wasn't until I drank the last batch I had left that I started to "feel the kava". At first it was almost like pouring a cup of instant hangover. Perhaps that is just how my body reacted to the reverse tolerance? I have more kava coming in the mail which I am looking forward to. Keep trying... eventually your body will learn to work with the kava instead of against it.
@Deleted User01 I don't really recall it affecting my sleep too much, but I have a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, so that could be the reason I didn't have much of a sleep reaction. I also drank my kava in the late afternoon. Perhaps next time I'll try some closer to bedtime, and see what happens then.