There are many causes or poor sleep, but one of the most common ones is anxiety and wakefulness. Sometimes we just can’t turn our brains off! Thankfully, there are so many wonderful herbs and practical things you can do to calm your mind and ease anxiety.
In this posts I will tell you all about the best herbs for anxiety and insomnia and show you how to make a powerful Anxiety Sleep Tincture, Sleep Tea Blend and how to best use them together!
Table of Contents
Herbs for Anxiety, Wakefulness and Insomnia
This list of herbs is packed full of constituents that will quiet your mind, ease your worries and help you peacefully drift off to sleep.
First up we have,
ST. Johns Wort
St. Johns Wort Has been used for centuries as a sleep aid and a mood booster. Modern science has shown that St. Johns Wort actually stimulates GABA receptors and increases serotonin reuptake. These two actions help combat insomnia and depression.
Hops
Hops is a fascinating flower with so many incredible health benefits. It has many amazing, high quality scientific studies to support what herbalists have been observing in patients for thousands of years! In this study, a combination of Hops, Passion flower and Valerian were compared to the prescription sleep medication, Ambien. The researchers found the herbal treatment to be just as effective as the prescription medication but without the harmful side effects!
Hops have also been used to treat anxiety and depression and its effects on mood disorders have been heavily studied today. In this study, daily supplementation with Hops was found to greatly reduce feelings of stress, anxiety and depression as well as lower Cortisol levels.
Lemon Balm
Lemon Balm is a sweet and slightly minty smelling herb that has been used throughout history as a sleep aid and to calm the nerves. Today, many studies have shown that Lemon Balm, especially in combination with Valerian, decreases stress, eases anxiety and promotes better sleep. Lemon balm is considered a nervine and an adaptogen and helps bring balance to your body and brain.
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is a wonderful adaptogenic herb that is loaded with Triethylene Glycol, a compound that promotes sleep and calms the body. Some very interesting studies have been done showing that taking Ashwagandha daily can shorten the time it takes you to fall asleep as well as increase your time in deeper restorative sleep. Taking 120 mg of Ashwagandha a day has also been shown to decrease cortisol levels by up to 30%!
Valerian
Valerian has been appropriately referred to as ‘natures Valium’ and is one of the most potent sedaters in herbal medicine. This is why I use Valerian in all three of our sleep tinctures! One of the ways Valerian works is by prolonging the life of GABA which helps calm the nervous system and brain. It also contains chemicals that have been shown to slow activity in the part of our brains responsible for stress, fear and intense emotions. There have also been some studies done on the use of Valerian for treating OCD where the subjects taking the herb showed significant improvement without the nasty side effects of the synthetic drug alternatives.
Chamomile
There is a reason why Chamomile has been so popular from ancient Egyptian times to today. Chamomile is so many herbalists favorite remedy for anxiety because it is very effective but also a very gentle nervine that can be given to children. There are tons of amazing studies on how Chamomile can ease anxiety and sedate the body. Because it is a flower, I like to use it in our Sleep Tea Blend.
Lavender
For thousands of years, lavender has been used to treat depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. In this study, lavender was compared to Lorazepam (prescription anti anxiety and insomnia drug) and proved to be just as effective without the feeling of drowsiness the next morning! You can diffuse lavender oil, incorporate the flowers into baking or drink it as a tea. I use it in my Sleep Tea Blend.
Passion Flower
Passion flower is a beautiful flower from the Passion fruit tree that, among many other things, can increase GABA in your brain! It has been used as a sedative, an anxiolytic, a pain killer and a hormone balancer. This flower really is a powerful herb for all three causes of poor sleep. In this study, participants were given passion flower tea every day for seven days and showed significant increase in their sleep quality compared to the control group!
How to Make the Anxiety Sleep Tincture
Supplies
80 proof alcohol
Large bowl
Instructions
1. Set a large jar on your food scale and tare so that the weight goes to zero
2. In the jar, combine equal parts ST. Johns Wort, Hops, Lemon Balm, Ashwagandha, and Valerian
3. To every ounce of dried plant material by weight, you will add four ounces of alcohol, pour alcohol over herbs (Example, 4 ounces of herbs would require 16 ounces of alcohol)
4. Seal jar, label and shake well
5. Let your tincture brew in a dark place for four to six weeks and shake it up every few days
6. Strain your tincture into a large bowl lined with muslin cloth and squeeze as much of the tincture out as you can
7. Funnel your tincture into an amber jar
8. Label your Anxiety Sleep tincture!
For an in-depth guide on how to make tinctures, read my How To Make A Tincture post.
How To Make the Sleep Tea Blend
Supplies
Instructions
Making tea blends is probably the easiest way to get herbs into your diet!
- Combine equal parts dried Chamomile, Lavender and Passion flower in a jar or bowl
- Pour herbs into a glass jar or muslin bag for storage. (If it is a large quantity, I would recommend the jar!
How to Take the Tincture and Tea
- Scoop a tablespoon of tea into a teapot (one tablespoon = one cup)
- Drop two dropper fulls of tincture onto the dried herbs and let activate while you boil your water
- Boil water
- Let the boiled water cool down for a minute or two before pouring it over your herbs
- Put an additional two dropper fulls of your tincture into the tea (the hot water will evaporate most of the alcohol) If you are over 150lb or have a high tolerance for alcohol and medications, use three dropper fulls
- Let your tea steep for eight to ten minutes
- Pour your tea through a strainer into your tea cup and enjoy!
Conclusion
If you suffer from poor sleep due to anxiety or not being able to clear your mind, this tincture and tea will help tremendously.
If you think your insomnia is cause by a hormone imbalance or chronic pain, here is my How to Make a Tincture and Tea Blend for Hormone Imbalance Insomnia and How to Make a Tincture and Tea Blend for Chronic Pain Insomnia.
