Tea: Herbs Blend to Help you Sleep

There are a variety of different herbal ingredients, including lemon balm, lavender, and chamomile, which have all been shown to be helpful in inducing calm and stimulating sleep. These teas can also help you get a more restful full night’s sleep so that you wake up feeling refreshed in the morning. But the recipe below has been my favorite for years.
Even though I use medication to “induce” sleep, I still have trouble falling asleep due to rapid thoughts, anxiety, stress, and sometimes pain (fibromyalgia). I’ve tried a lot of bedtime rituals, for example: sticking to a sleep schedule, paying attention to what I eat or drink before bedtime, including physical activity in my daily routine, limiting screen time, and a lot more. So I came up with a tea recipe that has become one of the go-to recipes that I use to assist myself to calm down and ease into “sleepy mode”. I always prepare my tea one or two hours before my bedtime.

I absolutely love the idea that tea can be formulated into sleep aids and a lot more, not to mention that everything is natural.
I am a tea lover! I’ve got so many dried herbs in my kitchen cabinets and some fresh ones as well, and I love learning how to mix them to discover the wonders that these herbs can do.

Enough talking. This tea blend that I came up with is full of soothing ingredients, like lemon balm, chamomile, lavender, and other herbs which are known to calm the nervous system by modifying certain neurotransmitters like Serotonin, together with another neurotransmitter dopamine, which plays a role in the quality of your sleep (how well and how long you sleep). Your brain also needs serotonin to make melatonin, a hormone that regulates your sleep-wake cycle.

Tea: Herbs Blend to Help you Sleep

Recipe by ScarletCuisine: Tea BlendDifficulty: Easy

Feel free to adjust the ratios proportionately so you can make as little or as much as you want ♥

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of lemon balm

• 2 tablespoons of peppermint

• 3 tablespoons of chamomile

• 1 tablespoon passionflower

• 1/2 tablespoon lavender

• 1/2 tablespoon valerian root

• 1 tablespoon catnip (cats go crazy on this but for us, humans have a calming effect)

Directions

• Use a tea kettle or a pan to heat up some water.
• In a bowl (size of your choosing) mix all the herbs.
• Place 2 tablespoons of the herb mix in a tea steeper, tea infuser, a small piece of cheesecloth, or a fine mesh strainer (aka chinois) and place it over or in a large mug or your favorite teaware.
• Pour the heated water into the mug.
• Let the tea steep for 5 minutes before removing the infuser.
• If you want, you can add honey or any healthy substitute for sugar to your tea.
• Enjoy your tea! ♥

Note: If you experience any negative side effects after consuming herbal tea, discontinue use and talk with a doctor.

Images: Unsplash