Three calming bottles, one honest bundle.
The three products your grandmother would recognise on sight — paired with the research that finally explains why she was right. Valerian root, magnesium glycinate, and lavender oil. That's it.
- Valeriana Root Extract, Tablets 150 mg
- Magnesium Glycinate Max+, Vegan Capsules 500 mg
- Lavender Oil, Capsules 80 mg
Save £3.38 each month
The kitchen cupboard was the original pharmacy.
Most of our mothers and grandmothers grew up somewhere with cold winters, small kitchens, and long, practical memory. In Lviv, in Warsaw, in Riga, in Bucharest, there was a shelf with a few small bottles on it. One of them — almost certainly — was valerian.
You might not have liked the smell. You probably got given a few drops of something bitter the night before an exam, or after a fright, or when your grandmother simply decided "you need to calm down." It worked. It's been working for about 2,000 years.
What's changed isn't the plants. What's changed is that we can now measure what they do. Valerian has been studied in dozens of randomised trials. Lavender oil has been tested head-to-head against prescription anxiety medication. Magnesium glycinate is one of the few supplement claims that EFSA actually authorises.
We put the three together because that's how stress actually lives in the body — across several systems at once. And we priced the bundle so it costs less than buying them one at a time.
Three bottles. No fillers, no drama.
Each one is here for a specific reason. Each one is made in the UK. Each one is already in our catalogue at £5.76 retail — buy them together and you pay less.
Valeriana Root
The herb most grandmothers reached for first. Europe's classical calming plant for two millennia. Works through adenosine and GABA receptors — not unlike your morning coffee, in reverse.
Magnesium Glycinate
The one form of magnesium that reaches the nervous system without upsetting the gut. EFSA has authorised specific claims: contributes to normal nervous-system function and reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
Lavender Oil
Not the bath oil — the capsule. Oral lavender oil at 80 mg has been tested head-to-head against paroxetine and lorazepam in anxiety trials. It performed comparably, without the dependency profile.
What the studies actually show.
We build claims on peer-reviewed human trials — not folklore, not influencer anecdote. Here are three headlines from the literature.
Effective as a sleep aid and for associated anxiety, with no severe adverse events across ages 7–80.
Whole-root extracts produced more reliable effects than isolated compounds. Shinjyo, Waddell & Green, J. Evid. Based Integr. Med.
PMID: 3308687780 mg lavender oil daily reduced Hamilton Anxiety scores comparably to 20 mg paroxetine, over 10 weeks.
Both active arms significantly outperformed placebo. Kasper et al., Int. J. Neuropsychopharmacology.
PMID: 24456909Contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system and to reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
Two of the very few supplement claims with official EU/UK regulatory approval (Regulation EC No 1924/2006).
EFSA Journal 2010; 8(10):1807What people actually say.
The valerian smells like my grandmother's cupboard in Lviv. Meant as a compliment. By week two I was falling asleep without replaying conversations in my head.
I came for the magnesium, stayed for the lavender. Not an anxious person by default, but a deadline person — this takes the edge off 4pm tension without making me useless.
Three bottles at £13.90 that actually tell you why each one is in there. Cheaper than buying separately from the same shop, which is how it should be.
Begin with one month.
The Calm Stack — Vol. I
- Valeriana Root Extract 150 mg · 30 tablets
- Magnesium Glycinate 500 mg Max+ · 30 vegan capsules
- Lavender Oil 80 mg · 30 capsules
- Daily Ritual card — when & how to take each
- Free UK delivery, letterbox-friendly
- Pause or cancel in your account anytime
Questions, answered plainly.
How long until I notice something?
Magnesium glycinate often feels supportive within the first week. Valerian's sleep effects usually show in 2–4 weeks of consistent use. Lavender oil's anxiety effects in the clinical trials typically emerged by week 2 and strengthened through week 10.
If you expect a sleeping-pill knockout, this is not that. If you expect the ambient volume of your stress to come down gradually, that's what the evidence supports.
How should I take the three?
One magnesium capsule in the evening with food. One valerian tablet 30–60 minutes before bed (some people need 2 — start with 1, adjust if needed). One lavender oil capsule any time, with a meal. The ritual card in your first box walks through it.
Is this safe with medication?
For most people, yes. But speak to your GP or pharmacist if you take: sedatives, antidepressants, blood-pressure medications, blood thinners, or any medication with a narrow therapeutic window. Valerian can amplify other sedatives. Magnesium can affect absorption of some antibiotics and osteoporosis drugs (usually solved by spacing doses four hours apart).
These three don't have the drug-interaction profile of St John's Wort. But "supplement" doesn't mean "no interactions" — it means "check."
Who shouldn't take this?
Not during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Not for children under 18. Not in the 24 hours before surgery (valerian can interact with anaesthesia). If you have liver or kidney disease, consult your doctor first.
Does it make me drowsy the next day?
Not typically. Valerian's half-life is short and it works on the adenosine/GABA system rather than the benzodiazepine site. Most people report waking clearer, not duller. If you do feel sluggish, reduce the valerian first — it's the most noticeable of the three.
Why is the bundle cheaper than buying separately?
Because asking you to pay more for a bundle than for three individual bottles would be insulting. Separately: £5.76 × 3 = £17.28. Bundle subscription: £13.90. You're saving the equivalent of one bottle's worth every four months, and we're saving on packing and shipping three separate orders to the same address.
Can I build up tolerance?
Unlike benzodiazepines or Z-drugs, there's no meaningful tolerance pattern documented for any of these three. You can take them consistently for months without dosage creep. People often use for 3–6 months then take a break — that's a cultural habit, not a pharmacological requirement.
Why the Eastern European framing?
Because we're Manchester-based, a lot of our early customers came from the Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian and Baltic diaspora looking for herbs they grew up with but couldn't easily find on a UK shelf. We kept the heritage language because it's honest — these are the plants our grandmothers used. The formula, the dosing, and the research apply equally well regardless of which kitchen cupboard you grew up with.
