The 6 Best Teas For Sleep + Can Tea Help You Sleep?
Waking up feeling tired and sluggish is part of the reason why we all tend to dread the mornings. Restless nights and lethargic mornings make sleep a chore and make us feel hopeless when dreaming of a refreshed morning.
However, we shouldn’t settle for weary mornings and feeling exhausted all day long because of our irregular sleep patterns. Not only is settling for feeling worn out and sleepy a bad choice for our happiness but it’s also a terrible choice for our health.
Good sleep is essential! Poor sleep has negative effects on muscle function, hormones, the brain, mood, and many important biological functions. A good night's sleep is nearly as important as regular physical activity and a healthy diet.
Getting enough zzz's is essential to our health. Research has found that:
The cumulative long-term effects of sleep loss and sleep disorders have been associated with a wide range of deleterious health consequences including an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke. (1)
Unfortunately, due to our modern-day world full of errands, hectic work schedules, school runs, and social expectations, more people are getting less sleep and suffering from insomnia than ever before.
National Sleep Foundation, 35% of all adults in the U.S. report sleeping for less than the recommended seven hours per night, on average. 1 in 3 adults doesn't get enough sleep regularly. This crisis is also costing Americans with sleep problems being linked to $16 billion a year in medical expenses in the US.
The most common sleep disorders include sleep apnea, insomnia, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy, with the cause of chronic sleep disorders ranging from demanding lifestyles, poor lifestyle choices, to a lack of education about the dangerous impact of sleep loss.
If you’re a part of the 1 in 3 adults who are struggling with slumber, you might be considering turning to pharmaceutical prescription sleep aids. However, sleep-promoting pharmaceuticals often come with unpleasant side effects - including constipation, diarrhea, headaches, sore muscles, fatigue, trouble concentrating, and sadly, so many more.
Okay maybe you were already worried about pharmaceuticals and so instead you’ve been considering a more natural sleep aid choice like melatonin. Sadly, while melatonin has risen as the fourth most popular supplement among U.S. adults and it is a cleaner sleep-assisting option, this supplement comes with its own problems.
It may be tempting to reach for a quick fix pill every night for a couple of weeks like melatonin – but it shouldn’t be relied on over the long term and only acts as an unstable Band-Aid for chronic sleep conditions. There isn’t enough research about melatonin’s effectiveness, dosage guidelines, and effects of regular long-term use. That’s why so many experts are beginning to warn that melatonin should only be relied on occasionally or used in a smaller dosage regularly for up to two months, maximum.
Learn more about: Why You Should Stop Taking Melatonin Every Night
Good news: We have a great natural route of improving your sleep quality and helping you fall asleep faster… yep, you guessed it, TEA! Ever wondered: does green tea help you sleep? The answer is heck yes.
Tea is just the thing you need to get you on your way to finally enjoying regular high-quality sleep.
Tea Before Bed Benefits
Getting to sleep and staying asleep can be hard after a long day – tea is just the solution you need to close your eyes naturally.
Humans have been using teas as natural sleep aids for hundreds of years for valid many reasons.
Firstly, the very act of preparing and drinking tea itself assists your sleep hygiene. Experts believe that the ritual of preparing and drinking tea can help calm your mind and relax. The process of inhaling the soothing scent and the methodical practice of preparing tea can help ease our scenes and signal to our body that it is the end of a stressful or active period of time, preparing our mind and body for sound sleep.
For example, the tea herb chamomile contains a chemical compound called apigenin. When apigenin from the chamomile binds to GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptors in the brain, it has a sedative effect. GABA receptors are the very same receptors that anti-anxiety drugs are formulated to target, so, you can see how chamomile would be so effective. Learn more about chamomile here.
With that said, we recommend as bedtime approaches (about 1 to 2 hours before) you try naturally winding down and relaxing by drinking a warm cup of tea, especially tea herbs that are specifically targeted with naturally calming sedative effects.
Not sure what kind of tea helps you sleep? Don’t worry we got you covered. We’ve reviewed some of the best tea blends from ethical and quality brands that’ll serve you with the best sleep-aiding capabilities possible from tea, so, you can start enjoying a good night’s sleep every night. Here are our favorite best teas for sleep efficiency, sleep latency, sleep duration, and wake after sleep onset:
What Kind of Tea Helps You Sleep? Best Teas for Sleep
1. Orange Dreamiscle Tea
Wise Ape Tea's Orange Dreamiscle is our very own dreamy blend of chamomile flowers with subtle hints of orange and cream, combined with adaptogenic super-herbs to support your nightly zen. This herbal tea blend includes the four powerhouse tea herbs for sleep: not only organic Chamomile, but organic Valerian Root, organic Skullcap, and organic Passionflower. All four of these herbs are amazing for sleep inducement and quality rest.
Orange Dreamsicle is a relaxing elixir designed to calm the mind, reduce stress, and help you sink into a restorative night's sleep.
Furthermore, the ingredients are all Non-GMO, organic, all-natural, whole leaf, vegan, kosher, paleo, and keto-friendly. This tea blend also has the feel-good factor of 10% of its profits being donated to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. By choosing this tea for your sleep, you're not just helping improve your wellness and sleep hygiene but also helping the world.
Click here to shop for Orange Dreamsicle: Sleepwise Tea Blend here at our Wise Ape Tea store
With its incredible combination of proven sleep herbs and adaptogens, its creamy calming flavor of chamomile with a hint of vanilla cream paired with a mellow orange zest, its soothing aroma for sleep inducement, and sustainable and organic ingredients, Orange Dreamsicle is truly the BEST night time tea to be incorporating into your sleep routine.
However, if for some reason you're looking to try some other night time teas, let's check out a few other decent options as teas for sleep:
2. Rebecca’s Herbal Apothecary Bedtime Tea Blend
Made with organic ingredients and produced using sustainable methods, Rebecca’s Herbal Apothecary loose-leaf Bedtime Tea Blend is a formulated sleep-aiding blend to help you find your calm and create relaxed energy forming a solid and sound sleep. This blend is a combination of muscle-relaxing catnip and soothing herbs lemon balm, oat straw, skullcap, and lavender.
Click here to shop for Rebecca’s Herbal Apothecary Bedtime Tea Blend at Rebecca’s Herbs store
3. Bare Blends Sleepy Tea Cinnamon Spice
ACO-certified organic, vegan, and NON-GMO, this Sleepy Tea Cinnamon Spice blend is a high-quality tea containing ingredients known to induce sleep and relaxation including chamomile, lemon balm, skullcap, and valerian, flavored with cinnamon, rooibos, and lemon balm, creating a mildly spicy and fragrant aroma. Kept fresh by a 100% biodegradable plant plastic pouch.
Click here to shop for Bare Blends Sleepy Tea Cinnamon Spice at the Bare Blends store
4. Steven Smith Teamaker Lullaby Tea Blend
Made with high-grade ingredients this tea from Steven Smith Teamaker is jam-packed with sleep-inducing ingredients and tastes divine with an essence of lemon curd, apple sauce, and sage. In addition to chamomile, this tea blend also includes warming lemongrass and lavender and includes ashwagandha, a powerhouse ingredient known for reducing anxiety.
Click here to shop for Steven Smith Teamaker Lullaby Tea Blend on Amazon
5. Tulsi Cinnamon Tea
This USDA-certified organic Cinnamon Tea blend is designed for better sleep and more energized days. For those of you who aren’t fans of more nuanced and flowery sleep teas like chamomile this tea blend is the perfect solution. This tea is spiced with a deep warming flavor and contains 11 key ingredients and adaptogens to support restful sleep, energized days, stress and anxiety relief, and improved mood.
Click here to shop for Agni Tulsi Cinnamon Tea at the Agni store
6. Pukka Night Time Tea
Ease into sleep with Pukka Night Time tea. Pukka is a certified B corporation, USDA organic, and a member of 1% for the planet. This blend is full of relaxing and subtle flavor from oat flowers, with hints of the dreamy herbs chamomile and lavender, helping you drift off into a peaceful rest. Each tea bag is compostable and full of essential oils and the highest quality herbs, specifically sourced for their soothing properties.
Click here to shop for Pukka Herbs Night Time Tea at the Pukka store
Or check their tea out on Amazon
Herbal Tea For Sleep
These are six of our favorite tea blends to sip before bed. They taste amazing and are loaded with ingredients that have been used throughout history to aid in sleep and give us a calming sedative effect before bed.
Each product we’ve chosen we selected based on its evidence-based ingredients, quality, and business practices. So, you can rest assured that we were not just concerned about the sleep effect but the health effect on both your body and the planet.
There is no magic time frame for sleep-inducing tea drinking, though we recommend consuming a cup of it an hour or so before bedtime if possible, to get the best effects. We also suggest creating an evening ritual of tea drinking, to lull you to dreamland. Tea is comforting, it’s peak hygge — so drinking it before bed is as much about drinking those wonderful sleep-inducing compounds as it is about also consciously signaling to your mind and body that bedtime is nearing.
Enjoy the process of steeping the tea, savor every sip, and slip into sleep mode.
(Please note: if you have a medical condition or take medications, it’s always best to consult with your doctor before adding anything new like herbs to your diet.)What is your favorite tea for sleep?
Let us know your thoughts on Instagram at @WiseApeCo and/or use the hashtag #WiseApeTribe and we’ll share it!
This informative article is written, by Sophia McKenzie. Sophia is head content creator and writer, for several premium websites, where her expertise lies in health, nutrition, and wellness. Her content focuses on providing and sharing doable solutions to help people truly thrive and live their happiest, healthiest, fulfilled lives.
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