It may also relax blood vessel spasms, which could make it helpful for migraines. Dr. Weil states that passionflower is calming without being sedating and is a useful adjunct to programs of stress reduction, much safer than pharmaceutical tranquilizers. Passionflower has been used in nervous problems with children such as muscle twitching and irritability and is also helpful with problems of concentration in school children. Each capsule contains 360 mg passion flower. Studies in rats show passionflower significantly prolongs sleep time.
Passionflower is given to relieve hyperactivity in children.
Michael Tierra states this herb is used for insomnia and with various neurological disorders including Parkinson's Disease, epilepsy, shingles, anxiety, and hypertension. An impressive body of research show this herb is extremely effective in relieving mild to moderate levels of depression and other nervous system related disorders and with a very low incidence of side effects. In an article published in the British Medical Journal, researchers reported their analysis of 23 studies comparing the use of St. John's Wort, standard antidepressants and a placebo on 1,757 people with mild to moderate depression. When the results were analyzed, extracts of the herb performed significantly better than the placebo and as well as standard antidepressants after an average of six weeks of treatment. St. John's Wort seems to increase dopamine production in the brain.