Calming Bedtime Tea Recipes For Sleep
Herbal sleep teas are a natural way to reduce stress before bedtime and so you can fall asleep.
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It’s so easy these days to get wrapped up in a busy lifestyle. This is simply part of the world we live in. However, living a high-paced lifestyle can often cause us to have troubles winding down in the evenings and enjoying a restful sleep.
While some people turn to medicinal options to get a more restful sleep, I like to use herbal teas and other natural sleep remedies like essential oils for sleep to help me relax.
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I have always struggled with sleep and it’s a struggle for me to get my mind to shut off. I also tend to wake up half way through the night and my mind starts racing again.
Having a cup of tea before bed helps me relax and get my mind to stop racing with all of the things from the day and the days to come.
You’ll notice that most herbal teas don’t have caffeine in them and are full of rich nutrients that are helpful for health and sleep.
Each of the herbal teas I’m featuring today will help you relax deeper and fall asleep faster.
Herbal Teas To Help You Have A Restful Sleep
Disclaimer: It’s important to note that, while these herbal teas do help you have a restful sleep, some may interact with prescription drugs or other things in your life. It’s best to first consult with a doctor before using any of the suggested herbal teas to help with sleep.
Many herbs are well known for their ability to calm and relax stress so we can have a more restful sleep. Following are some of the best teas for sleep. I recommend experimenting with each until you find what drink works best to help you fall asleep quickly.
🌙 Chamomile Tea Based Blends for Sleep
Chamomile herbal tea is one of the most popular bedtime teas to help you sleep. Chamomile tea helps reduce anxiety and mental stress, which in turn helps you get a more restful sleep.
Chamomile has been used for centuries to help relax the mind and body and is easily combined with other herbs for a relaxing bedtime tea.
I recently started growing Chamomile in my backyard so that I can have it readily available. I like to combine it with some fresh picked Lavender and will also frequently add Lemon Balm to the mix.
Chamomile Blends
Here are a few Chamomile Tea blends you may enjoy:
- Chamomile + Lavender
- Chamomile + Lemon Balm
- Chamomile + Rose Petals
- Chamomile + Vanilla Bean
🍃 Lemon Balm Bedtime Tea Blends
Lemon Balm is another powerful herb known to help reduce stress and calm a racing mind which will help you sleep. It’s great alone, but especially wonderful when combined with other herbs such as chamomile.
The citrusy taste of lemon balm is relaxing simply by smelling it.
As I did with chamomile mentioned previously, I recently started growing lemon balm in my yard and I absolutely love having this herb readily available. I’ve been drying it and saving it in mason jars. And I love to go out and pick some in the evening to add to my nightly tea. It is so calming and has a way of relaxing my spinning mind like no other herb does.
Lemon Balm can be combined with almost any other herb for a relaxing bedtime tea. I’ll usually combine it with some fresh picked lavender sprigs and chamomile flowers.
Lemon Balm Blends
Here are a few Lemon Balm Tea blends you may enjoy:
🌸 Lavender and Floral Sleepy Tea Blends
Lavender Tea
Lavender is my all time favorite herb to include in my bedtime tea. Due to it’s relaxing properties, lavender is one of the most popular and frequently used herbs for tea around the world.
Lavender is so easy to grow and I highly recommend it if you can. It’s easy to grow in pots on the patio and you can snip a few buds in the evening for a wonderful herbal relaxing tea.
I personally love to combine it with Chamomile flowers and before bed.
Lavender Blends
Here are a few Lavender Tea blends you may enjoy:
Passion Flower Tea
If you’re experiencing insomnia from stress or anxiety then a cup of passion flower tea about half an hour before bed will calm your nerves.
Passion fruit is often used as a mild sedative.
Passion fruit tea will help ease the burden of stress using it’s mild sedative properties to relax your mind and body.
Calming Rose Bud Tea
Benefits of Rose Tea
Enjoy this nutrient-rich, anti-aging tea and soak up the calm.
- 2 tsp organic pink rose buds
- 16 oz filtered water
- Boil water and let cool for 30 seconds. Pour over rosebuds in your favorite cup.
- Let steep 4 minutes. Strain.
🌿 Valerian Root & Spice Sleep Blends
Valerian root tea is another fantastic option for a sleep tea. It has a slightly earthy flavor that blends well with other night time relaxing teas.
Valerian Root is a great sedative.
Just a cup of this calming brew can help ease your mind and prepare you for a restful night, especially when paired with other calming herbs like lavender or passionflower.
Valerian Blends To Try
Here are a few Lavender Tea blends you may enjoy:
🍎 Comforting Dessert-Style Blends
Honeybush + Chamomile
Soft, rounded sweetness with mellow floral notes.
Chamomile + Apple Pieces + Cinnamon
Naturally sweet and cozy.
Rooibos + Vanilla + Lavender
Smooth, creamy, caffeine-free alternative.
You May Also Like – Blue Moon Milk with Butterfly Pea Flower and Ashwagandha
This Blue Moon Milk is a delicious night time drink to help you sleep. This recipe include ashwagandha for the ultimate in relaxation.
Tools For Making an Herbal Sleep Tea
If you choose to use loose leaf herbs for your sleep tea, (which I highly recommend), at a minimum, you’ll need is a small in-cup tea infuser.
Also handy is a stainless steel electric kettle or a borosilicate glass stove top kettle to heat your water. DO NOT USE A KETTLE WITH PLASTIC. I cannot stress that enough. Plastic and hot water are a very unhealthy combination. If you have a kettle that has any plastic that touches the hot water, I recommend switching to all glass, or all stainless steel. I have a couple recommendations below.
I also recommend using a GLASS MUG. Many glazed ceramic mugs have been known to leach lead that is in the glaze. Glass is a clean option that doesn’t leach any dangerous chemicals into your tea.
Here are some of my favorite tools:
How to Make An Herbal Tea for Sleep
Making a sleep tea is simple!
Add about 1 – 2 teaspoons of tea to a tea infuser, pour hot water over it and let it steep for about 5 minutes.
My favorite brands of herbal teas are Numi and Traditional Medicinals. These brands come in tea bags for convenience and the tea bags from these brands have been tested to be free from PFAS and other harmful ingredients.
These brands also have loose leaf varieties which you can use to create your own blends.
Remove the infuser or strain your tea leaves from the water and enjoy.
Follow with any add-ins you like. See below for add-in options.
Simple DIY Sleep Tea Blend Recipe
If you like crafting your own teas, here’s a rough recipe you can use a guide or starting point. Feel free to experiment with quantities and ratios until you find a blend you like.
- Base (50–60%) → Chamomile or lemon balm
- Support (20–30%) → Lavender, linden, or passionflower
- Accent (10–20%) → Rose, mint, vanilla, or cinnamon
Additions for Enhanced Relaxation: Honey, Lemon, or Milk
If you like, you can add some honey, lemon, essential oil, or milk to your tea.
If you decide to add honey, try to use a high quality raw honey because it’s packed with benefits. I try to buy mine from a local source at my farmer’s market. If I’m unable to get to the farmer’s market, I buy or this one.
Raw honey is a great add-in to your sleep tea. It can sweeten any tea that may have a strong flavor (such as Valerian) and has an added bonus of lots of health benefits.
Be sure to use a high quality raw honey and not the “teddy bear honey” that has had all of the beneficial properties strained out. I like to buy my honey at my local farmers market. If you are unable to make it to your farmers market, this is a really high quality raw honey that I recommend and have bought many times myself.
This really raw honey is another high quality natural honey that is hard to beat.
Lemon Slices or a squeeze of lemon juice are also popular as an add in to teas.
Another add-in is milk of your choice. Start with a small splash and add more a little at a time until you are happy with the flavor.
Essential Oils are another option for your tea. Be sure to use an essential oil that is safe to consume and not a fragrance oil. It will have a nutrition facts chart on the label if it is safe to consume. It it says “fragrance oil” anywhere on the label, do not consume it.
Some calming essential oil choices for sleep tea include:
- Roman Chamomile
- Lavender
- Bergamot
- Wild Orange
- Lemon
My all time favorite Quick and Easy Sleep Tea Bags
These tea bags are one of my quick and easy go-to’s if I’m too tired to make my own herbal tea blend. They contain my favorite combination of Valerian, Lavender, and Chamomile. I add some raw honey and drink it about an hour before I want to go to sleep.
Want to try it out? You can grab a box here:
When to Drink Your Nighttime Tea
You’ll want to drink your night time tea about 30 minutes – 1 hour before you want to fall asleep. This gives the tea time to take effect.
Pairing with Relaxation Techniques
For the ultimate bedtime routine, combine your herbal tea with some relaxing techniques.
Try deep breathing exercises or a few gentle stretches as you sip your tea to unwind.
Listening to soothing music or nature sounds can also help set a calming atmosphere.
Consider journaling your thoughts for the day to clear your mind before drifting off to sleep.
Reading is a great way to help relax your mind and turn off the stress of the day. I love to read before bed. Here are some of my favorite books if you need a recommendation on what to read.
And most importantly, shut off your phone for at least an hour before you want to go to sleep. No scrolling! It has the opposite effect of relaxing and will not help you relax or sleep. I also recommend putting your phone in airplane mode while you sleep to limit the EMF effects on your body.
Calming Herbal Sleep Tea for Bed Time Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tsp dried chamomile flowers
- 1/4 tsp dried lemon balm
- 1/2 tsp dried lavender
- Optional: small pinch of rose petals
- 1 cup hot water filtered
Instructions
- Add herbs to a tea infuser or teapot.
- Pour hot (not boiling) water over herbs.
- Cover and steep 5–7 minutes.
- Strain and enjoy warm before bed.
- Optional: sweeten with raw honey.
Notes
- Adjust strength by increasing or decreasing steep time.
- You can add more dried tea if you feel the tea isn’t strong enough or you would like a specific flavor to be stronger, add more of that tea.
- Store dried herbs in airtight containers away from light and heat.
Here is where I buy all of the dried herbs that I mentioned in this post:
Try these herbal tea blends to help you get to sleep and to wrap up your day on a peaceful note.
Adding a calming herbal teas into your evening routine can create a serene atmosphere that prepares you for restful sleep. Experimenting with different combinations can give you the ultimate in a calming nighttime routine to help you relax your mind and body for a great night’s sleep.
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Dawn Goehring
Hi! I’m Dawn, the founder of Desert Naturals. My family , including my 2 teen boys, husband and myself, live in the southern California desert, I’m passionate about natural living and a life free of synthetics, dye’s, artificial fragrances, and other harmful ingredients. I love to use essential oils and natural ingredients for pretty much everything from natural remedies for my family, to non toxic cleaning for my home, to making my own DIY Beauty products, self care products, and more.
