You might find few things more relaxing than being quiet with a steaming cup of herbal tea as you settle in for bed at night.
Although there are several herbal teas marketed for their ability to help you fall asleep and sleep better, the evidence is mixed, largely because it can be difficult to study herbal tea intake and sleep quality in a large population over a period of time. of time. It’s really hard to get a good study, but researchers have tried. You will most likely see mixed evidence; In some cases, you will get positive results and in others, you will not.
How does tea influence nighttime sleep?
That said, getting a good night’s sleep involves putting together a host of factors: Some things that can help you sleep better include going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, avoiding heavy meals before bed, and creating a restful environment. for example, keeping the room dark and quiet or doing relaxing activities before going to bed.
Herbal teas won’t be a panacea for your sleep problems, but they can add to that relaxing routine, helping you create a proper base for a good night’s rest. So it can be said that there are two parts to this: the tea and the ritual. The ritual can also have a calming effect.
Meanwhile, certain ingredients in tea can also help promote sleep. Try these best sleeping teas if you want a sweet sleep tonight.
The best teas to have a good rest
Chamomile tea
It’s probably the first tea that comes to mind when you think of “bedtime.” Chamomile has been used for years as a relaxing infusion before going to bed.
The plant itself contains apigenin , a compound that binds to the same receptors in the brain as drugs used to treat anxiety and insomnia, called benzodiazepines, and has been shown to produce a mild sedative effect.
Insomnia is more common in older adults, and chamomile is a medicinal plant that can help promote sleep. Nursing home residents who took 400 milligrams of chamomile extract a day had better sleep quality than those who took a placebo, according to a small study conducted in December 2017 and published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine.
The benefits aren’t just for older adults: When 80 postpartum people with poor quality sleep were given either chamomile tea for two weeks or received regular postpartum care, the chamomile tea group had significantly lower scores of sleep inefficiency and depression , according to a February 2016 study published in the Journal of Nursing. The effects appeared to be limited to immediate term, as the scores were similar between the groups four weeks after the test.
That said, the research is inconsistent – not all studies have been able to confirm the link between chamomile and better sleep. However, chamomile may offer other benefits that make it worth a try.
Regardless of sleep, chamomile extract has been used for its anti-inflammatory properties and may help with anxiety. Its benefits are probably due to the antioxidants in chamomile.
Lavender tea
If you’ve ever used lavender essential oil in a diffuser or sprayed lavender spray on your pillow, you know how calming it can be. Lavender’s claim to fame is that it is very relaxing. It has had some studies with mixed results, but it is a classic sleep tea that comes to mind.
Smelling and drinking lavender tea for two weeks daily has led to fewer reports of fatigue in postnatal people with disturbed sleep, which did not affect sleep quality, according to another study conducted in 2015 in Worldviews.
But the flower seems to work better when smelled : women aged 45 to 55 used lavender aromatherapy for 20 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks and saw an improvement in sleep quality and heart rate variability compared to those of a control group, according to an August 2011 study.
And the scent of lavender improved sleep quality in healthy students and patients with ischemic heart disease, according to another 2013 review based on complementary and alternative medicine.
Valerian root
You’ve likely seen the valerian root advertised on the boxes of various night teas. It has been used for several years and is marketed for insomnia, stress relief, anxiety, and sleep.
Valerian root acts on a neurotransmitter known as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which promotes sleep. Many prescription sleeping pills work with GABA.
Much of the research done on valerian root and sleeping lasts for decades, or has methods that are incompatible, but a study conducted in October 2020 and published in the Journal of Integral Medicine, attempted to update and re-evaluate the available data. . The researchers found that although the evidence is limited, valerian could be a safe and useful herb alone and also in combination to treat sleep problems, anxiety, and other associated problems.
They note that valerian may be particularly helpful in treating insomnia in people with high levels of anxiety.
Tea alone can never solve your sleep problems. What helps the most is sipping your favorite cup in the evening along with a set time for going to bed and waking up, exercising during the day, and cutting back on tech before bed.
Disadvantages of drinking tea before bed
The biggest downside to bedtime tea is caffeine. If you are really sensitive to caffeine, you probably want to avoid tea that contains even a little caffeine before you go to sleep. If you consume too much, it can affect how quickly you fall asleep and how well you rest at night.
Some people do not like tea before bed because it makes them need to get up and use the bathroom at night . If you already visit the bathroom frequently during the night, adding more fluids to your nighttime routine may not be for the best.
Lastly, adding tea to your bedtime routine depends on your personal preferences. Try a few different types of tea, such as low-caffeine and non-caffeine, and experiment with drinking tea at different times of the night (after dinner, just before bed, etc.).
