I would say that Valerian has a milder effect on me than Xanax--but for me that is good; I am more functional than if I take a Xanax. Both for me are sedating, however; but with Valerian, I can take one capsule and feel better without feeling as though I am going to fall down asleep. However from what I understand Valerian can interact with other medications, even though it is a plant: plants are made up of chemicals every bit as much as pills in a bottle. So you're going to want to talk to your doctor first. If you don't want to do that, you can ask a pharmacist to look up the interactions with any other meds you are taking.

There is quite a lot of good information about Valerian on the web.