What are lemon balm’s main benefits?

Lemon balm’s main benefits are the reduction of anxiety and depression;^[1] it can also benefit sleep, especially in the context of anxiety, depression and stress,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} and may help with PMS symptoms.^{[8][9][10][11]} Lemon balm can also reduce total cholesterol, especially in people with cardiometabolic conditions, and may also improve levels of other blood lipids and reduce systolic blood pressure.^[12][13] Lemon balm cream is moderately effective for oral herpes lesions (cold sores) when applied at the first sign of a sore but is probably not as effective as oral antivirals.^[14][15][16] Lemon balm has shown some promise for other skin conditions,^[17][18][19] for agitation in people with dementia,^[20][21][22] and for heart palpitations,^[5] but more research is needed. Lemon balm has also been studied for memory,^[23][24] dementia,^[20][25][26] and sleep bruxism,^[27] but the limited amount of human research does not show promise. Finally, lemon balm has traditionally been used to help digestion, but there is not much human research in this area to date.^[28][29][30]