We have all experienced the nights of endless insomnia like symptoms. You know the nights where you are lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling and wishing for sleep to come. You find yourself counting sheep, only for the sheep to be playing trumpets in your head preventing you from that much-needed rest after a long day. Because of this common issue, many products have been developed to help aid those who have issues falling asleep or staying asleep. Some of the products, however, leave us wondering if we’d even wake up after using them. Other products leave us sore, or recovering from restless sleep and nightmares. Sleepytime tea doesn’t carry those side effects, leaving us to wonder, does sleepytime tea really work?
There are many different teas for many different situations, some cultures believe in the healing powers of tea for both physical and spiritual illnesses. Others find tea to represent culture and class. Though Americans usually don’t focus on the many different types of tea, other countries tend to expand their tea palate with different flavors and types for different occasions. So, the idea of sleepytime tea isn’t a surprise, but does it work? If so, how does it compare to other over the counter methods that are available to your average insomniac?
The Makeup
While many people worldwide rely on tea to help them wake up in the morning, it would only make sense that people rely on tea to fall asleep at night. That being said, we are left with the question of what the makeup of sleepytime tea details. The ingredients and flavors play a big part in the tea and its effects. While there are several brands of sleepytime tea the flavors only vary so much between them. Some tasting with a hint of peppermint, others of clove or licorice.
While these teas taste of a vast field of morning dew and wild flowers, their ingredients are the true makeup of their impact on your sleepytime endeavor. Chamomile being one of the more common ingredients of the sleepytime teas on the market, holds a variety of different aspects for the human body. Offering stress relief, anxiety and depression aid, and other health benefits, chamomile is known for the aid it provides to those trying to fall asleep at night. It naturally relaxes the individual who drinks it.
The other common ingredient in the sleepytime teas is valerian root shares many similarities to chamomile. Sleep aid, anxiety preventative, and helps with decreasing the feelings of stress and menstrual cramps. Both of these ingredients are common in the sleepytime teas which only helps enforce their prime objective of helping an individual fall asleep. Other herbs and spices like passionflower are common compositions for these sleepytime teas. In combination with each other, they are supportive of both reducing stress and promoting sleep.
Passionflower
Passionflower is said to be the most effective ingredient in the makeup of these sleepytime teas. Convincing data in a 2011 study reports that a low dose of passionflower consumption, like tea, will hold subjective benefits to sleep in healthy adults. The same study shown that the effectiveness of the passionflower yielded greater results than the placebo for sleep aid. Showing more promise than chamomile, Valerian root and passionflower are the more suitable ingredients for sleepytime teas. Now to answer the question…
Does It Work?
Though they do not instantly make you fall asleep like the side effect heavy pharmaceuticals, they do help relax the body to a state of peace that welcomes sleep a lot easier. Trying several different teas throughout the course of a week, you are able to find one that helps you reach your sleepytime dreams quicker than others. They do work, just not to the extent of instant sleep, however, the sleep is fuller and more relaxing than inducing your sleep with medications and other over the counter products.
These sleepytime teas also offer no negative side effects, while doing its job of sleep promotion. The active ingredients of chamomile, Valerian root, and passionflower all support sleep promotion and they are effective to different extents. If you are tired of waking up groggy, sore, or suffering from restless sleep from other medications, sleepytime tea may be for you. It is a safe alternative with no downside to at least giving the different types a try.
Do you drink Sleepytime tea, or an alternative? If so, what’s your favorite?
