I was going to post this in ask the professor, but since we have no postings yet here, I thought I'd begin one. Has anyone seen a paradoxical reaction to any of the following plants, i.e., they are supposed to help calm a person but instead produce wakefulness and agitation? For the person at hand, she finds that this makes her feel awake, even at drop dose levels. She reports being kept awake 'all night.' I anticipate she has a trauma response that keeps her mind preventing her from calming at all/losing control, and we are working on that with other therapy. However, I thought I'd ask. She is an 83yo female with good vitality but struggles with sleep. We have her on a daytime formula that is addressing the hot flashes she was having, and she can tolerate the dosing at normal levels, including adaptogen support without agitation. With sleep medications she can fall asleep but still wakes up. Given her constitution and other factors, here is the list of herbs used for a nighttime formula to help her relax/sleep: Leonorus cardiaca Ligustrum lucidum Passifloria incarnata Scutellaria lateriflora Actaea racemosa Zizyphus spinosa (seed)