Does Chamomile Help You Sleep? – Facts You Need To Know

Struggling to fall asleep at night can be a real pain in the backside. I know this because I struggled for literally decades to fall asleep in the evenings. My husband, on the other hand, starts snoring within 3 minutes of us finishing a conversation. I’m so jealous. I don’t know how he does it. I just long to be able to close my eyes and drift off. Many nights I have laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, counting sheep and hoping that I will soon feel sleepy. But it never comes, and so with sheer desperation, I started drinking bedtime teas to see if that would help.

I’ll be honest with you, it’s been a revelation for me and I can safely say bedtime teas are the best things since sliced bread. (I will give you the link to all of my favourite bedtime teas at the bottom of this post). One thing I have noticed is that most of these teas have something in common. They contain chamomile. This made me ask myself the question “Does chamomile help you sleep?”.

I know this probably seems a little bit obvious to you. But I haven’t actually analysed the ingredients of the tea before drinking it. This is probably very daft. I tend to take it for granted that the ingredients will do what they say they will do on the front of the box. Most of them are labelled sleep or relax, so I had assumed that is what they would do.

Wrongly or rightly, I trust the manufacturers, so I did not delve into the ingredients list before sticking it in my shopping trolley. So, let’s actually analyse it and have a look at the ingredient Chamomile to see what it’s all about.

What is chamomile?

In basic terms, chamomile is a plant. It has a white and yellow flower, which looks a little bit like a Daisy. Chamomile is most commonly found in India, Asia, and Western Europe. Many people consider it to be a weed as it can grow very easily in lots of different environments and climates. In the USA it is quite common to see chamomile growing at the side of the road and in fields.

The parts of the plant that are used for tea are the flowers, although the leaves can be used in sauces to add a subtle flavour.

Does chamomile help you sleep?

If you look it up on Wikipedia, it actually states that there is not a lot of scientific evidence to back up this claim, but from personal experience I would say yes, absolutely it does. I’m sleeping better than I ever have after drinking bedtime teas. It may be a combination of the ingredients, but most of them have chamomile in them, so I’m working on the basis it must do something.

Let’s look into this research a little further.

Is chamomile scientifically proven?

Chamomile has been used over the centuries in traditional and folk medicine. It is still very popular today. But is there any scientific research to back up its use? And what is it being used for? Chamomile is considered to be a medicinal herb and is native to Southern and Eastern Europe.

Grown in Germany, Hungary, France, Russia, Yugoslavia and Brazil, Chamomile is mainly used as an anti-inflammatory or antiseptic. It is also used to settle the stomach and relieve pain associated with slow digestion, diarrhoea or nausea. Externally, you can use the drug in powdered form and apply it to wounds that are taking a while to heal. Back in the 16th and 17th century chamomile tea was used on patients who had fevers. The effects of the chamomile tea in patients were noted down as helping them fall into a deep sleep after drinking the beverage.

A systematic review study of chamomile was carried out in 2016 and published by Electron Physician. This study analysed the effectiveness of chamomile tea on boredom, insomnia and depression in women following childbirth. The results showed that chamomile could be used to reduce depression and sleep problems for these women.

So, this does seem to answer our question “Does Chamomile help you sleep?”

There is quite a lot of research around chamomile being used for various different ailments. Sleep problems just being one of them.

How long does it take for chamomile tea to make you sleep?

Personally, I have found it takes about 30 minutes before I start to feel relaxed and sleepy after drinking the tea. There are a few articles that also say the same thing. 30 to 40 minutes is the approximate amount of time it takes. However, each person is different so this time might vary.

Does chamomile tea make you groggy in the morning?

I would say no, chamomile tea does not make you groggy in the morning. I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the day. The tea has such a mild effect that it feels very natural.

Is it OK to drink chamomile tea every day?

If in doubt, I would check with your healthcare provider. There are some reasons why you probably should not drink it every day if you have certain medical conditions or are on some types of medication.

For example, chamomile could have adverse reactions with herbal products and prescription drugs that relate to allergies. It is recommended that people who are allergic to ragweed, may be allergic to chamomile and so should avoid it.

There are certain chemicals in chamomile that may also interact with anticoagulant agents and anti-inflammatory drugs.

If you’re taking aspirin on a regular basis, chamomile is not recommended as it could interact negatively with it.

I will emphasise again that if you are in any doubt, you should contact your doctor.

Thank you for reading this post and I hope you found it useful. As I suggested towards the top of the post please do check out my post on Incredible Sleep Teas and feel free to share it with your friends and family if you think it could help them too. Many thanks.

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