Herbal Sleep Aids

Do you have problems sleeping?

I know lots of people do, that's why I thought this would be such a great blog post today. Every morning I wake up and check out what's going on in the world of news, weather, and facebook. There are lots of facebook posts that go like this: "WHYYYYYY am I still awake???", "I am soooooo tired but I can't sleep!", "I'm awake and I'm bored!".

Not me, though. I sleep like a baby....usually. Lately I haven't been sleeping so great. But, that's because I have an 18 year old son that thinks he's a man. "I am a MAN!!! I don't need a curfew anymore!".... *sigh* you can imagine......

Sleep aids won't help THAT!!

But, if YOU have a sleep issue that doesn't involve a teenager, I think I have some help for you!

I blogged awhile back about honey and how it can help you fall asleep. You can read about that here, Insomnia Help

But, I've been reading herb journals and here's something I came across. Its about valerian. I've used valerian in the past and it really works!! I didn't use it for a sleep aid initially. I used because I had strained my neck really badly lifting weights and my chiropractor gave me some. That's when I noticed its sleep inducing benefits along with its relaxing properties.

The thing about valerian and most other herbs is that they don't have any side effects! In studies, valerian worked just as well as valium without the grogginess. However, if you take more that 600mg in a capsule form you might be groggy when you wake up. The best way to take it is in a tea form. In a tea form, you don't have ANY grogginess. It's especially good if you take the valerian tea with chamomile. The chamomile helps you fall asleep while the valerian helps you stay asleep. A lot of people like to add hops to it as well.

I do, on occasion, have some chamomile tea. I don't particularly like the flavor. I like Bigelow's Chamomile Mango tea, but oddly, I can hardly ever find it anymore. Sad........

It really does work, I must say. Sometimes, when I've been working really hard I find it hard to relax and that just hits the spot! I've not tried the valerian for a sleep aid, though. I'm going to give it a whirl when I get my hands on some tea.
So, if you fall into the can't sleep or can't STAY asleep camp, try making a tea of chamomile, valerian, (hops if you want an extra boost!), and a touch of honey. See what it does for you. I have a feeling you'll be sleeping like a baby!

Not a baby with a poopy diaper!! (hopefully! Yikes! If that's your problem then the valerian wouldn't really be a good idea!! :)