6 Bedtime Teas To Help With Sleep
Today is World Sleep Day, which is an annual campaign celebrating sleep health and sleep hygiene.
Sleep is something we all do. We have to do it to function as humans, and it is a fascinating design that happens daily. We really have no control over sleep happening, we can fight it but eventually, it always happens.
Sleep is very important for our health and wellbeing, which is why we’ve put together six of the best natural sleep teas based on ingredients and quality.
The Importance Of Sleep
We need sleep to restore our body. During sleep, blood is pumped via the heart and moved around to repair tissues and organs. Melatonin (a hormone) is released, which puts us in a deep sleep. The liver makes cholesterol at this time, and its also the best time for the liver to cleanse and filter the bodies fluid, eliminating viruses, particles, chemicals, pathogens, allergens and toxins to be secreted via the gallbladder to produce bile. Melatonin can become blocked from overexposure to screen light from TVs, phones
and fake lighting (mainly blue spectrum lights). It can also be suppressed when you’re not exposed to the sun through your eyes and on your skin throughout the day.
Sleeping regulates hormones, restores the cells, cleanses the body, eases the mind, hydrates the skin cells and rebuilds collagen, along with many other functions that happen all play a role in restoration.
Not getting enough Zzz’s a night can be associated with health conditions like weight gain, adrenal fatigue, depression and mental health conditions, heart diseases, diabetes, and even a stroke.
Tips For A Better Sleep
- Limit your exposure to computer screens, TVs and phones for two hours before sleep
- Make your room as dark as possible: no alarm clock lights, night lights, street lights or phone lights. You want it as dark as possible. Sleeping in a dark room helps you keep releasing melatonin all night and regulates your circadian rhythm
- Make sure you’re hydrated. Try to focus on your main fluid intake from rising until 4pm, then slow your fluids down after 4pm so you’re not needing to pee all night
- Clean sheets
- Reading a book before you nod off is a great way to wind down
- Optimally Eat 2-4 hours before bed
- Be exposed to sunlight soon after you wake up. This sets your circadian rhythm/body clock, which creates a hormone balance in the body that helps you fall and stay asleep at night
I mention more tips on sleep in my other blog post ’Things I Did To Beat Insomnia And Get A Deeper Sleep’.
The Benefits Of Sleep Teas
I just love sipping on a hot cup of herbal tea as part of my evening routine before bed, I find it soothing and relaxing. And they really have improved my sleep.Many types of herbal teas have been used as natural sleep remedies for centuries, as they have the ability to help fight insomnia, and reduce stress and anxiety.
The best sleep and bedtime teas usually have a blend of herbs or nervine herbs recognised for their natural sleep and sedative properties such as chamomile, valerian root, lavender, lemon balm, passion flower, rose petals and hops, which all encourage a restful sleep. All of these herbs are caffeine free, so they will ‘gently’ prod you towards the land of nod.
- Nervine herbs like Passionflower, Valerian and Skullcap help to soothe nervous tension and relieve anxious feelings, reducing the mental stress which often keeps a lot of us wide awake and restless all night
- Helps to improve sleep quality
- Helps you fall asleep
- Muscle relaxants
- Some sleep teas may improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Calms the mind
Which bedtime teas do we recommend?
1. Organic India Tulsi Sleep Tea
Organic India Tulsi Sleep Tea has a blend of Ayurvedic helps to help with a more restful sleep. Tulsi, also called Holy Basil, is one of the most sacred plants in India and is considered ‘The Queen of Herbs’ because of it’s restorative properties. Tulsi has been used for thousands of years to support a healthy response to stress, natural detoxification, and restore balance and harmony.
2. Planet Organic Lemon Balm
Planet Organic Lemon Balm is a balanced and delicious infusion made from pure and organic lemon balm. It has a refreshing flavour and offers the amazing calming properties of the lemon balm plant (Melissa officinalis), which is traditionally used to reduce stress and anxiety while helping to promote sleep.
Lemon Balm is one of my favourite herbs for sleep, and I drink it almost every night. I'll either use this brand, or harvest my own lemon balm to dry, and then brew into a tea.
3. Celestial Sleepytime Tea
Celestial Sleepytime Tea is one of the most beloved and well known, bestselling bedtime teas, created more than 40 years in 1972. It is a soothing tea with a blend of herbals including chamomile, spearmint and lemongrass that helps you wind down the day with it’s calming and soothing effect.
4. Your Tea Sleep
Your Tea Sleep Tea is a calming herbal tea blend which has been formulated using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) by qualified practitioners in Australia (why I LOVE this one). It includes a select combination of herbal ingredients, which helps to reduce anxiety and calm both body and mind to help you sleep more restfully at night.
5. Kintra Foods Sleepy Tea
Kintra Foods Sleepy Tea is a beautiful blend of Chamomile, Spearmint, Lemongrass, Linden Flowers, Passion Flower, Hops Flowers, Hawthorn and Red Rose Petal which has a soothing aroma that allows you to relax and unwind naturally. This sleep blend also comes in loose leaf if preferred.
6. Yogi Bedtime Tea
Yogi Bedtime Tea is a lovely blend of soothing Passionflower and relaxing Chamomile, as well as Licorice, Cardamom and Cinnamon which all add a delicious warming flavour that is perfect for drinking before bedtime. Relax, unwind and say goodbye to insomnia with this one!
I really love the whole ‘Yogi Tea’ range and love the story behind the brand - in 1969 Yogi Bhajan an inspirational teacher of holistic living started teaching yoga in the West of India, all while sharing his knowledge of herbs and healthy living and serving his students a spiced tea they all named ‘Yogi Tea’.
