Whats your favourite tea that helps you fall asleep/relax when you have an anxiety?
I’ve had trouble sleeping recently, I went off my Prozac recently and for the past week, the moment I lie down in bed, begin to feel anxious and can’t sleep AT ALL due to anxious feelings.
What are your favourite teas that you’ve noticed help with anxiety along with helping fall asleep?
I am very fortunate to be able to fall asleep very easily but one of my friends experienced extreme anxiety for a few years, which got much better when we finally convinced him he had to ditch caffeine. Entirely. After months with no caffeine he was able to carefully reintroduce it to his system, but I suggest talking with your doctor about the caffeine aspect and avoiding any ‘true’ tea at all. If you’re not interested in going that far, keep the caffeine to the morning.
For non-caffeinated options, chamomile is often recommended as a sleepy tea. Anything floral (if you like floral) is soothing and calming, like lavender, jasmine, etc. Really, if you like it, that’s the way to go. There are some teas that have valerian root which are also meant to be calming but if you are on any medications, you have to make sure there are no possible mix-ups. St Johns wort is another that is occasionally found in tea and is soothing but not to be mixed with other meds (even birth control).
This is a ridiculous thing, but if I need to get to sleep and find my mind racing, I sing (in my head) The Ants Go Marching or any other childhood rhyme/lullabye. I haven’t made it past 15 ants yet before I drift into sleep/pre-dreams rather than racing thoughts.
PS – Good luck!
Thank you for the reply!
It’s been one of my worst weeks to date with anxiety. It’s never been this bad so this is something that’s freaking me out a lot.
I haven’t had straight coffee for 5 days now. I’ve had black tea in the morning and every few days I’ll have a Starbucks latte.
What exactly do you mean when you say ‘true tea’? As in caffeinated tea? Thank you! I’m going to try some of these options!
Yes, I mean anything with camelia sinensis. Even decaffeinated tea has some caffeine, though of course it is a small amount. Also, there is a myth that goes around frequently that black tea has the most caffeine, but it’s not always the case. Basically, without testing each tea as you make it, you can’t be sure how much caffeine is in it. That is why I suggest going with no tea at all. Which sucks! Other “herbals” which you should avoid are mate and guayusa as they are both plants which contain caffeine. People react to them differently, but if the concern is anxiety rather than sleeplessness in general I suggest avoid it all. And don’t forget about things like soda and chocolate and energy drinks that sneak caffeine in. But I’m not a doctor! So talk to yours and see what she or he says. :)
I am familiar with the way that being anxious can make you anxious. It’s terrible. I can’t really offer much other than to say that I and many others understand you and that with some time and effort, you will be able to get more control over it. If you’re not taking medication for one reason or another (or even if you are) looking at what you eat and drink can be really helpful. Surrounding yourself with things that you enjoy and make you feel better is also great – as much as it’s possible.
If you want to go without caffeine, in addition to obvious herbals (pure mint, lemon balm, mixes of herbs and flowers, etc) there are non-caffeinated tisanes with red or green rooibos that you might like. There is also tulsi or holy basil. You can find blends with these pretty much anywhere. There are lots of fruit based tisanes that can be really flavourful as well. If you let us know what companies you shop from or are convenient to you, we can probably all make suggestions that you can get.
My friend who has frequent trouble with insomnia likes anything with chamomile, and has a particular fondness for the Yogi Tea Restful Sleep. The same company has a Calming tea that I think is supposed to be less sleepy-making and more anxiety-reducing.
I take white tea (silver needle) it helps to calm my senses. I don’t drink coffee or alcohol.
when i can’t sleep due to anxiety, I take a hot milk with anise. it works better than any tea.
I find caramel and vanilla flavors very comforting for some reason. To me they’re the comfort food of the tea world, so I like to unwind with some flavored tea.
I don’t usually have a problem with getting to sleep or caffeine, so I can drink caffeinated black tea before bed without many problems, but maybe you could try a flavored rooibos or I think Harney has a decaffeinated vanilla tea.
A nice soothing cup of Ativan.
But seriously, I actually find a matcha latte to be extremely calming, which I never would have expected given that it’s powdered tea leaf and probably quite high in caffeine. I’m guessing it also contains lots of l-theanine, too?
DAVIDsTEA Jessie’s Tea is also nice and soothing for me – rooibos, lavender, coconut.
And have you talked to your doctor about managing your anxiety? Going off anti-depressants is hard, but you shouldn’t have to suffer through it. (Something for you to think about – I don’t mean to be nosey about your personal medical stuff in a public forum.)
its probably the hot milk that helps, supposed to be a timeless night cap for kids :)
Tulsi, passionflower and chamomile are a few of my favorites for anxiety.
I had extreme anxiety when I went off Effexor. Try to hang in there – it’ll eventually get better.
I drink herbal blends like Traditional Medicinals “Nighty Night,” which contains Lemon Balm, Passionflower and Valerian. I also keep a box of Yogi’s Soothing Caramel Bedtime (which has the amino acid L-Theanine) around. Ultimately, it seems like more of a placebo effect than anything else with me – it’s just comforting to hold a hot mug of tea and sip from it.
Rose, jasmine, and floral oolongs are my go-to teas for anxiety. I also find sencha and chamomile soothing too.
I have 3 options I take to help me sleep better.
1) Chamomille tea. I’m not sure if it actually helps with sleep, but it’s relaxing.
2) Lavender extract. I put a couple of drops on my pillow and the fragrance is like a lullaby.
3) Melatonin. This is the most potent option. Melatonin is produced naturally in the body and if my sleep cycle is way off I’ll take one of these (the kind that goes under your tongue). Usually makes you sleepy in about 20 minutes. I don’t take them every day, just when necessary.
I will choose a lavender based tea, or chamomile. If things are REALLY bad (I have anxiety struggles as well), like they have been occasionally the past six months with student teaching and now frantic job hunting, I drink a tea from Yogi brand with kava in it. It tastes gross, but it works. I’ve read a lot about kava, so I limit it to a couple of cups per week just in case, and reserve it for when nothing else is working. I also have valerian tea for when I am having trouble sleeping but not feeling a lot of anxiety.
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