Lavender oil (Silexan)
Silexan® standardised Lavandula angustifolia oil softgel, 80 mg/day (160 mg/day for generalised anxiety); sold as Lasea/CalmAid
Strong
Several good studies agree
Six placebo-controlled RCTs plus a network meta-analysis show a consistent, dose-ordered anxiolytic effect, but the sleep benefit is 98.4% mediated by anxiety reduction rather than direct.
In a 10-week study of 539 people, anxiety eased noticeably more than on a placebo, and more at 160 mg a day than at 80 mg.
RCT (n=539, 10 weeks): HAMA −4.0 points vs placebo at 160 mg/day (95% CI 1.9 to 6.1, d=0.50) and −2.8 at 80 mg/day (95% CI 0.9 to 4.8, d=0.37).
Silexan inhibits voltage-gated calcium channels in hippocampal and amygdalar neurons, damping glutamatergic over-excitation, and modulates serotonin 5-HT1A signalling — an anxiolytic action, not a hypnotic one.
People whose poor sleep is downstream of anxiety or restlessness — a wound-up mind at bedtime. People with primary insomnia and no anxiety are unlikely to respond.
What to buy
- ✓Silexan® standardised Lavandula angustifolia oil softgel, 80 mg/day (160 mg/day for generalised anxiety); sold as Lasea/CalmAid
- ✓80 mg/day for subthreshold anxiety and restlessness; 160 mg/day for generalised anxiety disorder
- ✓Third-party tested (USP, NSF, Informed Sport)
- ✕Proprietary blends that hide the dose per ingredient
- ✕Unstandardised extracts with no active-compound percentage
- · Eructation with a lavender aftertaste is the dominant side effect; mild and transient GI complaints follow.
- · No sedation, no dependence, no withdrawal and no sexual dysfunction across the trial programme.
- · Not studied in pregnancy or lactation; avoid.
As an Amazon Associate, Umbral earns from qualifying purchases. Product data is provided by Amazon and may change; ratings and prices shown are Amazon’s, not Umbral’s. Recommendations are based on the evidence grade and the form used in trials, never on commission.
CalmAid is Silexan® sold under a US brand — the same 80 mg standardised oil as the European trials, and by far the most-bought version of it.
Buy on Amazon
Same product, bigger bottle. Silexan needs about two weeks before the effect shows, so a short bottle runs out before the test finishes.
Buy on Amazon
WS® 1265 is the other name for the same standardised oil, in a practitioner-channel brand. Pick it if you want the extract identifier printed on the label.
Buy on AmazonPrefer to compare yourself? This opens Amazon’s full selection for this supplement, filtered to the form we recommend.
See all on AmazonEvery result, next to the line that means no effect
Each diamond is a study's best estimate. The thin line shows how sure the study was: the shorter the line, the more certain the result.
- HAMA total, 160 mg/day vs placebopoints · RCT 2014, n=539, 10 wks−4.00−6.10 … −1.90
- HAMA total, 80 mg/day vs placebopoints · RCT 2014, n=539, 10 wks−2.80−4.80 … −0.90
- PSQI global vs placebopoints · RCT 2019, n=212, 80 mg, 10 wks (p=0.002)−2.00[not given]
- Share of sleep gain explained by anxiolysis% · Mediation analysis, J Psychiatr Res 2019+98.4%[not given]
Each unit gets its own scale, so numbers are never mixed on one line. When a study gave no range, we leave it blank instead of inventing one.
5 studies over 11 years
The studies
- 1.Lavender oil preparation Silexan is effective in generalized anxiety disorder – a randomized, double-blind comparison to placebo and paroxetineInternational Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2014 · rct · n = 539
HAMA fell 14.1 points on 160 mg/day vs 9.5 on placebo (difference 4.0, 95% CI 1.9–6.1, d=0.50); paroxetine 20 mg was not significantly better than placebo in the same trial.
- 2.Efficacy and safety of lavender essential oil (Silexan) capsules among patients suffering from anxiety disorders: a network meta-analysisScientific Reports · 2019 · meta-analysis · 5 experiments · n = 645
Silexan 80 mg vs placebo WMD −3.82 (95% CI −5.26 to −2.38) on HAMA; 160 mg −2.20 (95% CI −4.64 to 0.24); 80 mg matched paroxetine. Only mild GI adverse events.
- 3.Efficacy of orally administered Silexan in patients with anxiety-related restlessness and disturbed sleep – a randomized, placebo-controlled trialEuropean Neuropsychopharmacology · 2015 · rct · n = 170
80 mg/day for 10 weeks: HAMA difference 2.7 points vs placebo (p=0.03), responders 48.8% vs 33.3% (p=0.04); the authors describe only a small treatment effect on PSQI total.
- 4.Beneficial effects of Silexan on sleep are mediated by its anxiolytic effectJournal of Psychiatric Research · 2019 · rct · n = 212
Silexan 80 mg cut PSQI total versus placebo (p=0.002), but 98.4% of that was mediated by anxiety reduction and only 1.6% was a direct sleep effect (p=0.958).
- 5.Silexan in anxiety, depression, and related disorders: pharmacological background and clinical dataEuropean Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience · 2025 · systematic review · 7 experiments
Adverse events were limited to eructation and mild transient GI complaints, with no drug interactions, sedation, sleep disturbance, dependence, sexual dysfunction, weight gain or withdrawal.
Umbral is a wellness product, not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Supplement information is educational; talk to a clinician before starting anything, especially if you are pregnant, under 18, managing a condition or taking medication.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.