Put simply, there’s not much that feels as good as an amazing night’s sleep!
If sleep doesn’t come to you as easy as it did when you were a child, or if there’s lots going on in your life that affects your sleep - such as high stress, or even stages of life like menopause, there are some amazing herbs for sleep that can help you.
Some herbs work to promote sleep, others relax your nerves, while others assist with the healthy management of stress, all leading you down the path toward a better night’s rest. Let’s look at some of our favourite herbs for sleep:
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is a well-loved herb to support healthy sleeping patterns. A traditional Ayurvedic herb, Ashwagandha has been traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years to relieve weariness and promote sleep.
California poppy
California poppy is a member of the poppy family though without the opioids like its distant cousin, the opioid poppy. This popular herb features striking, poppy-like yellow flowers and has been traditionally used in Western herbal medicine (WHM) to induce sleep and as an analgesic to relieve pain if this is one of the reasons your sleep is interrupted.
Passionflower and California poppy have also commonly been used together traditionally in WHM as calmatives for the nervous system, reducing excess nervous energy and promoting sleep quality.
Chamomile
Chamomile is a favourite herbal ingredient for use in children. Chamomile has been used traditionally in WHM as both a nervous system relaxant and to relieve restlessness in children.
Lavender
Lavender’s distinctive, relaxing scent makes it another favourite. While also a garden favourite for it’s gorgeous purple flowers, Lavender has a long history of traditional use in WHM in reducing and relieving sleeplessness.
Passionflower
Passionflower has been used traditionally in WHM to calm the mind and promote refreshing sleep. This herb is also beneficial for its traditional use in relieving symptoms of mild anxiety if you find a busy mind is keeping you awake. Passionflower is a perennial climbing vine which features striking exotic flowers with either curly purple or blue tentacle-like petals and is a favourite for sleep amongst herbalists.
Ziziphus
Ziziphus is a sleep herb commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to calm the mind, improve sleep quality and promote refreshing sleep. The fruit from the Ziziphus shrub have been used for more than two thousand years in TCM to relieve sleeplessness.
The Herbs of Gold range features a selection of these great sleep herbs in several products.
Herbs of Gold Sleep Ease features Ziziphus, traditionally used in TCM to relieve restless sleep, and Passionflower, traditionally used in WHM to promote sleep, where Herbs of Gold Magnesium Night Plus combines high-strength magnesium with Passionflower and California poppy, herbs traditionally used in WHM to improve sleep.
Herbs of Gold Mind Ease combines Ashwagandha with Lavender. Herbs of Gold Mind Ease contains KSM-66®, a clinically trialled* Ashwagandha extract to relieve symptoms of mild anxiety and support healthy sleeping patterns, while Lavender is used in traditional WHM to relieve sleeplessness.
Finally, Herbs of Gold Children’s Calm Care contains Chamomile, traditionally used in WHM as a nervous system relaxant in children.
*Chandrasekhar, K., Kapoor, J., & Anishetty, S. (2012). A prospective, randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy of a high-concentration full-spectrum extract of Ashwagandha root in reducing stress and anxiety in adults. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 34(3), 255-262.
Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
