Hi, everyone! This is my entry for The Herbal Hive challenge posted yesterday about REST. I like today’s theme as, indeed, January 2022 was shaping to be a season for rest. Be it getting infected by the highly-contagious new COVID variant or the chilly weather leading to coughs and colds, I keep hearing stories of people who got sick this month. I guess most of us spent a lot of time in bed this month to recuperate. And what better way to rest than to sleep?
These past two years, I have discovered herbs that can help me sleep or that can give me better sleep quality. When my daughter was born, I had trouble having sufficient sleep, especially when there was no one to help me look after her. During the day, I won’t get to sleep when she naps because of the housework. At night, she’d wake up every two to four hours just like any infant. In the morning, I had to get up earlier than her so I could get everything ready before my little mistress woke up. In short, there were days I got only 4 to 6 hours of sleep.
And as she grew up and slept longer, my poor sleeping habits stuck around, leaving me groggy and feeling perpetually tired. Thus, I looked for ways to improve it. In my search, I found a handful of herbal products that helped me regain quality sleep. Let me share with you what has been most effective for me
HERBAL INFUSIONS
Clipper Snore and Peace
My aunt, who was having sleep problems, once asked me to buy this for her in a grocery near us as they don’t sell this in their area. As I was also having trouble sleeping, I also bought a box for myself.
According to its ingredient list, it contains chamomile, lemon balm, lemongrass, lavender, fennel seed, rose hip, spear mint, and natural flavoring. It doesn’t contain any tea leaves, so there’s no caffeine. Chamomile and lavender, of course, are known stress-relievers and relaxants. Both were also used to treat insomnia since ancient times. After researching, the other ingredients were also used to improve sleep aside from lemongrass and rose hip. Rose hip according to tea conglomerate Dilmah, rosehip can actually cause sleeping troubles. Odd that Clipper added it to this product that boasts about improving sleep.
Anyway, I like the smell of this herbal infusion. It is very calming. The taste is a little citral and herby. You may want to add some honey or brown sugar to improve the taste.
To be honest, it doesn’t really make me sleepy right away. When I fall asleep, though, I sleep longer. I usually sleep for more than 7 hours when I drink this before bed. The downside, however, is that when I drink it, the little one wakes up earlier than me. And when she wakes me up, it feels like the bed is hugging me. I’d be groggy for the first 30 minutes I’m awake, wishing I could still sleep. Warning: don’t drink this if you have to wake up early.
Sage Tea
Another herbal tea I discovered that was very relaxing was sage. When I was trying to wean my little one, I read that sage tea can help reduce breastmilk production. Luckily, my sister had left some dried sage leaves when she stayed over last year in our house. I steeped the leaves in my favorite teapot for 2 to 3 minutes. Then, I drank it every other day.
Its smell was both refreshing and relaxing. Soon, I discovered that it makes me sleepy too when I drink it. That’s why I no longer drink it during the day and only drink it at night. However, I made the silly decision of making one this morning to share with you a photo of it.
And silly me, drank the sage tea. Now, I’m starting to yawn. See how effective this tea is.
Sage is one of the herbs I want to one day grow in my garden, dry on my own, and steep into tea. Hopefully, one day I’d get to do that.
ESSENTIAL OILS
Aside from herbal teas, essential oils are also effective in providing restful sleep. For essential oils, we never ingest them or apply them topically. Typically, I just place a few drops in the diffuser. As I usually share the room with the little one, we only use a maximum of two drops to prevent allergic reactions.
Lavender is, of course, the most popular essential oil for improved sleep, but I’ve also discovered a blend from Young Living that never fails to make me snore within an hour, Gentle Baby.
Gentle Baby, according to Young Living, contains Coriander, Geranium, Palmarosa, Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Roman Chamomile, and other sweet-smelling essential oils. Geranium and coriander are known to improve skin conditions. Palmarosa and Ylang-ylang balance oil production in the skin . Ylang-ylang has a very pleasant floral scent. Because of this, it is actually used in some of the world’s most expensive perfumes including Chanel No. 5. Roman Chamomile, on the other hand, is known for its relaxing scent.
Young Living claims that Gentle Baby can improve the skin and can promote a tranquil environment. Among my essential oils, this is the most fragrant and for me, it has the most relaxing scent.
We bought Gentle Baby for the little one to sleep earlier. When we placed it on the diffuser, my husband and I felt sleepy in less than 30 minutes. But the little one? Well, she’s still alive, alert, awake, and enthusiastic. The same thing happens with lavender. Essential oils do not affect her. I wonder why?
I haven’t been using essential oils to get us to sleep for months since they don’t work on the little one. Instead, she just gets more active. And I end up feeling way too groggy at night to take care of her.
Alright, so that’s mostly what I use if I want a night of restful sleep. Hope that if ever you get to try them, they’d work on you too. Don’t forget to share yours too. I’d like to know more ways to get to sleep.
Tagging @marcusen. Hope you join this contest too if you have the time :)