Drinking tea at bedtime
There is something about a nice soothing cup of tea at night. Maybe its the aroma, the warmth, or just a pleasant way to hydrate the body? Whatever the reason, tea is a fantastic addition to your bedtime routine. But, there are a few rules for nocturnal tea consumption.
At night it is best to drink caffeine-free herbal teas, also called tisanes. Caffeine is a stimulant that will keep you awake at night. Most sleep tea blends are caffeine-free, and all of the blends listed below are free from caffeine.
Most sleep tea blends are not suited to having with milk. However, lemon and honey can be tasty additions. Some teas will have serving suggestions on the packet, which will give you an idea of what you can add. Avoid adding sugar to your sleep tea because it will give you a hit of short-lived energy that does not help with getting to sleep.
Lastly, don’t drink too much just before bed or you will wake in the night to go to the bathroom! Try one or two cups in the couple of hours before bed, while you are doing something relaxing like watching TV or reading.
Sleep tea ingredients
Sleep tea blends go by many names (sleepy tea, bedtime tea) and they are not all made up of the same ingredients. However, there are a few key plants that are known to aid sleep and are common in sleep tea blends. So that you know what you are drinking and why, here are a list of the main sleep tea ingredients and their properties.
Passionflower – calming and relaxing for the nervous system, passionflower can assist sleep and aid indigestion.
Lavender (buds) – there is some evidence that it is the smell of the lavender, rather than ingesting it that help you relax and de-stress.
Chamomile (flower) – famous for being a sleep aid, chamomile relaxes the nerves and muscles.
Lemon balm (leaves) – known for reducing stress and being easy on the stomach, lemon balm is actually a member of the mint family.
Valerian (root) – a natural sedative, valerian is proven to help insomnia. This one can interfere with medications so check with your doctor first.
Skullcap (leaves) – another member of the mint family, skullcap has been used for centuries to treat anxiety and even numb pain.
How to choose the best sleep tea blend
There are a few things you want to take into consideration when choosing a sleep tea blend for you.
- Most importantly, if you have a medical condition, are on medication or are pregnant / breastfeeding please consult your doctor to find out what ingredients you need to avoid.
- Next think about allergies, and taste preferences. For instance if you can’t stand liquorice, then don’t choose the sleep blends with liquorice in them.
- Do you want tea bags or loose leaf? This is really a personal choice. Tea bags can be convenient but loose leaf in a teapot is great to share. If you are traveling and don’t know if you’ll have anything to strain your tea then you might choose bags.
- Most of the herbal teas listed below are organic. If that’s something that’s important to you follow the link to their website to find out more.
- In the table below, we have put the amount of servings that each company has informed us are in each packet. If they gave a range this has been averaged. Tea servings are always approximate, especially with loose leaf tea, because it depends on how strong you like the taste and how may times you steep the same serving of tea leaves.
- All the teas below are available in Australia and we tried to focus especially on Australian made and owned teas. If origin is something that matters to you, take a closer look at the tea manufacturers website.
- You might need to try a few different sleep teas before you find the right one for you.
A comparison of Sleep Tea Blends
| Name | Image | Use | Servings | Price | Key ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OrganiTea - My Sleeping Tea |  | Loose | 30 | $14.00 | Passionflower, Lemon balm, Skullcap, Vervain, Lavender, Chamomile, Rose |
| Mudbrick Cottage - Sleep Time Tea |  | Loose | 50 | $14.95 | Chamomile, Catnip, Lemon balm, Passionflower, Skullcap |
| Bigelow Benefits - Sleep |  | Tea bags | 18 | $3.96 | Chamomile, Wild orange leaves, Passionflower, Lavender, Poppy flowers, Natural lavender and rose flavours |
| Pukka - Night Time |  | Sachets | 20 | $7.95 | Oat flower, Liquorice root, Chamomile flower, Lavender flower, Lime flower, Valerian root, Tulsi leaf |
| WelleCo - Sleep Welle |  | Tea bags | 50 | $37 | Lemon balm, Hops, Valerian root, Passionflower, Skullcap, Natural mango flavour, Natural lemon flavour |
| Yogi - Bedtime |  | Tea bags | 16 | $5.32 | Valerian, Passionflower, Liquorice, Spearmint, Chamomile, Skullcap, Cardamom, Cinnamon, St. John's Wort, Rosehip, Raspberry leaf, Lavender, Stevia leaf, |
| Bondi Beach Tea Co. - Bondi Snooze |  | Loose | 45 | $18.50 | Chamomile flowers, Lemon balm leaf, Passionflower, Lavender flowers, Scullcap leaf |
| Inspired Health by Dee - Sleeping Beauty |  | Loose | 20 | $17.00 | Chamomile flowers, Passionflower, Lemon balm, Lavender, Valerian |
| Puraty - Sleep Well |  | Loose or Tea bags | 50 | $27.93 | Chamomile flowers, Hops flowers, Lemon balm, Liquorice root, Passionflower, Valerian root |
| Mama Body Tea - Sleepy |  | Loose | 35 | $17.95 | Chamomile, Skullcap, Passion flower, Schisandra, Valerian, Lemon verbena, Lavender |
| Edible Beauty - Sleeping Beauty |  | Loose | 60-65 | $25.00 | Passionflower, Chamomile, Skullcap, Lemon balm, Tilia, Lemon Verbena, Oats, Lavender, Hops |
| T2 - Sleep Tight |  | Loose or Tea bags | 60 | $40 | Lemon balm, Lavender, Jasmine blossoms, Rose petals |
| The Tea Crowd - Sleep Slumber |  | Loose | 30-40 | $15.50 | Chamomile, Lavender flowers, Rose petals, Peppermint leaf |
| Tea Life - Goodnight Sleeping Tea |  | Loose | 14-21 | $9.95 | Chamomile, Peppermint, Lemon balm, Passionflower, Blue Cornflower petals |
| Traditional Medicinals - Nighty Night |  | Tea bags | 16 | $6.37 | Passionflower, Chamomile flower, Linden flower, Catnip, Hop strobile, Spearmint leaf, Lemon Verbena leaf, Lemon peel, Lemongrass leaf |
| Mayde Tea - Serenity |  | Loose | 40 | $19.00 | Chamomile, Rose, Lavender, Passionflower |
| Celestial Seasonings - Sleepytime |  | Tea bags | 40 | $6.55 | Chamomile, Spearmint, West Indian lemongrass, Tilia flowers, Blackberry leaves, Orange blossoms, Hawthorn, Rosebuds |
| Herbal Teas Australia - Sleep |  | Loose | 100 | $15.00 | Skullcap, Lemon balm, Chamomile, Passionflower |
| Twinings - Sleep |  | Tea bags | 18 | $4.00 | Linden, Orange leaves, Chamomile, Orange flowers, Cinnamon bark, Orange blossom flavouring, Honey flavouring and pieces |
| Planet Organic - Bedtime |  | Tea bags | 25 | $5.95 | Lemongrass, Valerian, Hops |
| Raw Essentials Tea - Sleep |  | Loose | 25 | $12.75 | Chamomile, Passionflower, Lemongrass, Rose petals, Lavender buds |
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Scullcap tea
Does that help you sleep at night, Leigh?
Detailed post. Chamomile tea is very soothing. Loved it at first try
Yes i love chamomile too.
I drink green tea but not because of the taste of aroma but because of its health benefits found from most of the articles.
Maybe you will find some of these blends more palatable. thanks for reading.
My favorite is the Yogi Bedtime Tea. Tastes really good, and it’s very relaxing. Zzzzzz 🙂
Thanks for reading Julia. Good recommendation. The Yogi tea is great.
Awesome!! I love lavender and chamomile tea and lavender in my diffuser too. Tell me about skullcap – I’ve never heard of it!
Thanks for reading Susan. Skullcap is so called because of the shape of its flowers. It’s a member of the mint family and has been used for centuries in herbal remedies due to its healing properties. Skullcap can be used for insomnia, anxiety, fever, high cholesterol, rabies, epilepsy, nervous tension, allergies, skin infections, inflammation, and spasms.