Increases GABA activity in the brain - the calming neurotransmitter that tells your nervous system it's safe to stop being vigilant.

Passiflora incarnata works on GABA-A receptors to strengthen the brain's inhibitory GABAergic signaling — the system that quiets mental activity. This helps reduce subjective stress and lower nighttime arousal, supporting both falling asleep and staying asleep.

In clinical testing, daily supplementation significantly improved total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and time to fall asleep versus both baseline and placebo. Sleep efficiency rose to 86.6% by day 30, and total sleep time increased meaningfully at days 15 and 30, while the placebo group showed little change. Stress levels dropped significantly by day 30, alongside marked gains in overall psychological well-being.

Although morning cortisol didn't differ significantly between groups, the Passiflora group showed a greater reduction (17.2% vs 11.0%) — a trend toward lower nighttime stress, staying within normal physiological range. Together, these findings point to better sleep duration and quality plus meaningful stress relief, driven by GABA-A modulation and gentler nocturnal cortisol.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28407638/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11026993/#sec5

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21294203/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21089181/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333499562

Cortisol

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11026993/

GABA-A & GABA-C

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2941540/