Hops for Better Sleep and Less Stress
​
A good night of sleep is so critical for us to keep our mental sharpness and overall health, however, many of us who are under constant stress in our modern busy lives seem to have challenges to have it regularly. I was not surprised to be asked by friends again to help find more strategies to reduce insomnia.
How about hops (Humulus lupulus L)? Hops are the common name of the strobiles (cones) of the female inflorescences of the Humulus lupulus L. plant and are widely used as a bittering agent in the beer brewing industry, as well as a herbal medicinal product mostly for sleep disturbances in Europe.
The sedative activity of hops lies mainly in its bitter acids, and in particular in their oxidative degradation products such as that resulting from the a-acid content: 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol. The main mechanism of action of hops is to raise the levels of the neurotransmitter c-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Hops are not only traditionally used to help with sleep and to relieve anxiety and restlessness, but also known for other benefits such as the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anticancer activities (1).
Franco et al. (1) examined the sedative effect of hops as a component of non-alcoholic beer on the sleep/wake rhythm in a work-stressed population, healthy female nurses (n = 17) working rotating and/or night shifts. Overnight sleep and chronobiological parameters were assessed by actigraphy (ActiwatchH) after moderate ingestion of non-alcoholic beer containing hops (333 ml with 0,0% alcohol) with supper for 14 days (treatment). Data were obtained in comparison with her own control group without the consumption of beer during supper. The results demonstrated improvement of night sleep quality as regards the most important parameters: Sleep Latency, the time that takes for someone to fall asleep, is significantly reduced (p<0.05) in the Treatment group (12.01±1.19 min) when compared to the Control group (20.50±4.21 min), as also did Total Activity (p<0.05; Treatment group = 5284.78±836.99 activity pulses vs Control= 7258.78±898.89 activity pulses). In addition, anxiety, as indexed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), decreased in the Treatment group (State Anxiety 18.09±3.8 vs Control 20.69±2.14). This study showed that the moderate consumption of non-alcoholic beer favored night-time rest, due in particular to its hops components.
Franco et al. (2) later studied whether the same non-alcoholic beer consumption with dinner could improve subjective sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in 30 university students. The study took place during a period of 3 weeks, the first 7 days were used for the control, and during the following 14 days, the students ingested the non-alcoholic beer while having dinner. The results revealed that Subjective Sleep Quality improved in the case of those students who drank one beer during dinner compared to the control, and Sleep Latency decreased (p < 0.05) compared to their control. The overall rating Global Score of Quality of Sleep also improved significantly (p < 0.05). These results confirmed that the consumption of non-alcoholic beer at dinner time helped to improve the quality of sleep at night.
Kyrou et al. (3) conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover design with two 4-week intervention periods separated by a 2-week wash-out period in a college study population with self-reported depression, anxiety, and stress. Study participants were allocated to start the intervention with either placebo or hops dry extract capsules (two 0.2 g capsules once daily in the evening). All participants were asked to abstain from hops-containing products (e.g. beer) and other supplements/vitamins (e.g. valerian or St. John’s wort). In addition, all study subjects were asked to refrain from significant changes to their dietary habits and maintain their usual activity levels throughout the study duration. The results showed that daily hops extract supplementation for 4 weeks in healthy young adults with mild self-reported depression, anxiety and stress symptoms could significantly reduce the levels of all these symptoms.
Zanoli et al. (4) tested the effect of hops extract in rats for sleep and anxiety. They reported that in behavior despair test, doses of 5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg resulted in a significant reduction of immobility time observed during forced swimming test suggesting that hops extract could reduce anxiety. Hops extracts concentrations of 10 and 20 mg/kg increased sleep time and reduced motility compared to control animals. Hops extracts could prolong sleep time in a dose-dependent manner.
These are a few papers on hops and sleep for you to decide whether you would like to give it a try. Wish you have a good night’s sleep!
References
1. Franco, L. Sánchez, C. Bravo, R. Rodríguez, A. B. Barriga, C. Romero, E. Cubero, J. The Sedative Effect of Non-Alcoholic Beer in Healthy Female Nurses. PLoS One. 2012. 7(7): e37290.
2. Franco, L. Bravo, R. Galán, C. Rodríguez, A.B. Barriga, C. Cubero, J. Effect of non-alcoholic beer on Subjective Sleep Quality in a university stressed population. Acta Physiol Hung. 2014. 101(3):353-61.
3. Kyrou, I. Christou, A. Panagiotakos, D. Stefanaki, C. Skenderi, K. Katsana, K. Tsigos, C. Effects of a hops (Humulus lupulus L.) dry extract supplement on self-reported depression, anxiety and stress levels in apparently healthy young adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover pilot study. Hormones (Athens). 2017. 16(2):171-180.
4. Zanoli, M. Rivasi, M. Zavatti, F. Brusiani, M. Baraldi. New insight in the neuropharmacological activity of Humulus lupulus L. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2005. 102 (2005) 102–106.