St Francis Hops - Hops has been used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and restlessness for more than 1000 years, ever since the plant became a popular ingredient in beer. Hops has been valued as a healing remedy not only by the herbalists and indigenous peoples of the West but in traditional Chinese medicine. Hops has a marked relaxing effect upon the central nervous system, and is used extensively for the treatment of insomnia. It eases tension and anxiety, and is appropriate for cases in which tension leads to restlessness, headache, and indigestion. Hops also appears to relax the smooth muscle lining the digestive tract, according to French researchers. This finding supports the herb’s traditional role as an antispasmodic digestive herb.