Please will you tell me if valerian is safe to take to assist with sleeping? the person taking this is a 64year old female. she has rheumatoid.

Very safe: Valerian has been used for over 2000 years. It clearly helps some people but not everyone- studies show variable results and the type of preparation/dosage is an important factor. People occ. Report side effects like headache, dizziness, itching ; stimulation but in studies these occurred at the same rate as placebo. See http://ods.Od.Nih.Gov/factsheets/valerian-healthprofessional/ for details.