8 Teas To Sip At Bedtime To Help You Sleep Through The Entire Night
While nightcaps like alcoholic beverages or a warm glass of milk have some sleep-promoting properties, sleep teas tend to be better for your overall sleep quality.
Here are the best kinds of teas for lulling you into a dream state.
How sleep teas work.
Herbal teas contain micronutrients like magnesium and potassium, as well as a host of ingredients that encourage calmness and enhance feelings of sleepiness, certified sleep consultant and founder of Live Love Sleep Kaley Medina notes.
They can not only help lull you to sleep, but they will also help you stay asleep, unlike something like brandy or whiskey that can disrupt your sleep by increasing neural excitement once the alcohol wears off, Medina tells mbg.
You want to stick with herbal brews that are void of caffeine (which would support the opposite effect than you're after) and that ideally contain herbs in their whole (not powdered) form.
This will ensure its ingredients and nutrients can perform optimally.
To sip your way to snoozeville, Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., aka The Sleep Doctor, reminds mbg that you also need to maintain proper sleep hygiene and a consistent sleep schedule.
Sipping your sleep tea at a specific time can also help ensure the best results:
One cup about 60 to 90 minutes before bed, Breus says, is ideal.
It's important to remember that in the same way that swapping out your usual comforter for a weighted blanket or switching on a sound machine to drown out any unwanted bedroom noise won't necessarily solve your sleep woes, drinking a cup of tea can't guarantee a good night's sleep either.
Your cuppa should be paired with other healthy nighttime habits.
8 best teas for sleep:
Getting from point A to point Zzz requires a specific kind of sleep tea. Here are the herbal blends that experts recommend sipping on nightly:
1. Chamomile
Among the most popular sleep tea ingredients is chamomile—you know, the pretty white petaled flower that resembles a daisy.
But according to sleep expert Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., you're better off skipping tea bags that list "chamomile tea dust" as the main ingredient. Chamomile buds, he says, are what deliver results.
"For sleep, the key active component of chamomile is the flavonoid apigenin," Teitelbaum tells mbg.
This binds to GABA receptors in the brain and has a calming impact on the body—helping to reduce nerves and promote rest.
2. Lavender
As far as this writer's concerned, lavender is as good as a synonym for calm.
While the purple flower is often used to scent pillow mists or aromatherapy creams, Medina lists the plant as a relaxing sip for those grappling with anxiousness before bed.
"Lavender flowers and leaves can deeply relax you and make you feel calm,"* Medina tells mbg.
This is because the plant's active components have been shown to stimulate the GABA system, adds Teitelbaum.
The result is a soothing cup to sip, but you may also reap calming benefits from simply inhaling the sweet aroma.
3. Peppermint or mint
Peppermint sleep teas are also a popular choice (the Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Mint is a personal favourite of mine), though Teitelbaum says the ingredient's sleep-promoting effects have not been well demonstrated..
Read full article https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/sleep-tea
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