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10. Gentle herbs and flowers for peaceful sleep.
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In fact, even our recently discovered miracle drugs quite often contain plant or herbal ingredients which have been used for countless generations.
We get penicillin and many of the antibiotics from moulds and lichens (the Egyptians used mouldy bread as a healing agent) digitalis, a blood pressure lowering agent, from fox-glove; atapine with its anesthetic properties from belladonna and Comfrey has long been used as a healing agent for broken bones and damaged tissues.
Scientific analysis has found that it contains allatonin, a cell prolifferant, a “modern” miracle haling agent, the list goes on and on.
Herbal teas can help to tone and relax the body, and to prepare it for sleep. A cup of fragrant chamomile tea at bedtime will help you drift off to sleep.
Moderation is the rule when using herbs at home. A cup of herb tea in the morning and evening is generally sufficient.
Massive doses will not increase the potency of the herbs, but more likely cause an imbalance of the metabolism.
Restful herb tea as sleep aid:
If you often suffer from restless waking in the middle of the night, herbal remedies – taken either as a tea or tablet form, may help to quest your nerves and settle an overactive system.
This herb is one of the most powerful sedatives in the plant pharmacopoeia. A tea made from valerian root has a rapid sedative effect, and it helps to ease nervous tension.
When drunk after dinner and then directly before bed, it quickly alleviates symptoms of insomnia and facilitates sleep.
One of the best bedtime herbs for those who have difficulty getting to sleep, chamomile has a soporific effect on the nervous system.
It also gives relief to an overworked digestive tract, a common cause of insomnia.
Another relaxing plant, lime blossom helps to calm nerves and reduce tension.
Both of these herbs can be drunk as a tea: steep 5ml / 1 teaspoon dried herb in a cup of hot water.
Hops is an ingredient in beer – and the cause of the pleasant sleepiness that a big drink of beer induces – hops is used for its restful effect.
Wild lettuce also has been used to treat sleep problems, as have passionflower and lemon balm.
Natural Herbal sleep aids:
Sedative herbs are used in non-narcotic sleep tablets, which are taken once during the day and then an hour before bedtime.
Valerian is usually the main ingredient – it may be used on its own or combined with hops, wild lettuce, lemon balm or passionflower.
Dill seed acts gently to relieve colic – a common cause of wakefulness in babies and young children.
Add 5ml / 1 teaspoon lightly crushed dill seed to a cup of water and boil for 10 minutes. Strain well and allow to cool before drinking.
To help you sleep through the night you can also drink pleasant Elderflower and Lime Blossom tea with a dash or Nutmeg and a dollop of Honey.
Soothing tisanes:
Made by steeping garden-fresh flowers in boiling water, tisanes provide a real treat for the taste buds.
They can calm the nerves and send you to sleep on a proverbial carpet of blossoms.
The experience of drinking a tisane is a little like taking the garden’s earthy energy in to your system.
The wonderful fragrances of these clean and clear tonics act as moon enhancers, and they are visually cheering – as well as tasting wonderfully fresh.
Many garden blossoms can be used for making tisanes, but the best ones for promoting sound sleep include:
• Lavender
• Lime blossom
• Lemon verbena
• Dandelion
• Rosemary
• Rose petals
• Jasmine
• Peppermint
• Bergamot
• Passion flower
Passion flower tisane:
The passion flower has wonderful sedative powers that are said to relieve nervous conditions such as palpitations and shakiness, thus helping to prevent insomnia.
To make a tisane, place one passion flower blossom (or 5ml / 1 teaspoon dried passion flower) in a cup and add 250ml / 8fl oz / 1 cup boiling water.
Steep (soak) for 10 minutes, then remove the flower.
You can drink a cup of this soothing tisane 3 times a day, and continue for 2 -4 weeks.
“A Cordial to Procure Sleep and Rest:
Take a quart of the best unsophisticated Claret Wine;
Put into it a handful of Cowslip flowers; one handful to
Borage flowers and a slip or Rosemary. Set it on the fire
and when it is ready to burn, smother it in the first flame
and keep it in the pot till it is cold.
Then strain it and put thereto three ounces of clove
Gilly-flowers, well mangled together, and every night
at your going to bed, take a wineglassful of it,
You must not warm it a second time.”
- The True Preserver.
Year of this remedy recipe?... 1682!
Sleepy herbal pillow:
A small pillow filled with calming herbs and flowers can help you to get to sleep at night. You will continue to benefit from its sedative effects all night, waking refreshed from untroubled sleep.
The delightful herb pillow has been used for centuries as a type of aromatherapy.
They are usually made as a small pillow or sachet of herbs to be put in the pillowcase with the regular sleeping pillow, or placed under it.
It can be used for medicinal purposes, or you can have it near you for its beautiful sleep inducing fragrances.
They are very handy on long car journeys, as they are soothing and freshens the air.
Any scented or aromatic plant can be used for a fragrant herb pillow, but the types chosen are usually those which are known to have a calming or sedative effect on the body and mind.
The base herb for sleeping herb pillows is Hops used for calming nerves and inducing sleep, (the key herb used in brewing Beer) the other herbs to be added, depend on whether you suffer from asthma.
The herbs that are best for asthmatics are Betony (Betona Officianalis) Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and Lemon Verbena (Verbena Officianalis),
The following herbs are suggested for a sedative effect when added to your hops; Lavender (Lavendula vera) Lemon Thyme (Thymus citrodunus) Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and Chamomile (Matricaria camomilla).
Add a few cloves, pine needles, peppermint, sage, or any herb you desire to vary the fragrance.
Simply mix the dry herbs or flowers, place into a loose woven material pillow (approximately 5” x 8”) and stitch closed.
Sleep potpourri herb pillow recipe:
All the ingredients for this are available from health food suppliers and herbalists.
115g / 4oz / 2 cups dried hop flowers
115g / 4oz / 2 cups dried rose petals
50g / 2oz / 1 cup dried chamomile flowers
25g / 1 oz / ½ cup each dried Jasmine, orange blossom & lavender,
10ml / 2 teaspoons Frankincense powder or Orris Root powder
(Used as a “fixative” for the aromas so that the scent doesn’t evaporate away in only a few days.)
5-6 drops Neroli essential oil.
Prepare the potpourri first. Mix all the ingredients together.
Place in an airtight container and leave in a warm, dry place for about ten days.
When the scents have combined and the potpourri is ready, make up a muslin / cheesecloth bag and loosely fill it with the mixture.
You can slip this bag into your ordinary pillowcase, or stitch a special small pillow and slip the herbal bag inside it.
Tuck the pillow under your neck to enjoy it’s aroma as you go to sleep
Soothing Lavender sleep aids:
The heady scent of lavender conjures up images of bountiful fields of blooms waving in the sunlight. But lavender had many uses: it’s healing and sedative qualities make it a key aid to natural sleep.
From ancient Egyptian times to the present day, lavender has been a star among medicinal plants.
The Roman Pliny the Elder claimed that is was good for everything from dropsy to menstrual problems, and Elizabeth I drank lavender tea to cure migraines.
Lavender is still used in many herbal remedies. Cushions filled with dried lavender can help induce sleep, aid depression and alleviate stress; sniffing lavender oil sprinkled on a tissue has a similar effect.
Fresh or dried flowers can be brewed into a tea that helps to cleanse the system and relieves headaches and stomach upsets.
Lavender can also be made into a compress for external use to relieve sinus congestion, headaches, hangovers, tension and exhaustion.
If you are suffering from an evening headache or cold symptoms, or are feeling generally ill at ease, one of the following methods may help soothe you to sleep.
Lavender infusion or tea:
Pour boiling water into a cup, let it cool for 30 seconds, then add a teaspoonful of fresh or dried lavender.
Cover the infusion and leave to steep (soak) for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain and drink the tea warm.
Sweeten with a little honey if desires.
Lavender compress:
Soak a clean cloth in a hot infusion of lavender.
Lie back and place the compress gently over your forehead, making sure not to get it in your eyes.
Sleep inducing violets.
Tinctures are an effective way to extract the active medicinal constituents of plants.
They keep well and may be taken when needed.
This tincture uses sweet violets, which helps to ease insomnia.
Tinctures are made by steeping (soaking) the plant material in a mixture of water and alcohol.
The alcohol draws out the active ingredients and also acts as a preservative.
A 5ml or 1 teaspoon dose of this remedy (diluted into a glass of water) may be taken 3 – 4 times a day to relieve symptoms of insomnia and promote sound sleep.
15gr / ½ oz dried violet flowers
250ml / 8 fl oz / 1 cup vodka
50ml / 2 fl oz / ¼ cup of water
Put the dried violet flowers into a glass jar, pour in the vodka and water then shake gently. The mixture will take on a violet colour immediately.
Put a lid on the jar and leave in a cool, dark place for 7 – 10 days (no longer) shake occasionally. The tincture should darken over time.
Strain off the violets through a sieve lined with kitchen paper or muslin, then pour the liquid into a sterilized glass bottle.
Seal with a tight fitting cork and store it for future use in a cool, dark place.
The tincture will keep for up to two years.
Caution: never use industrial alcohol, or methylated or white spirits to make tinctures, as all these are highly toxic to drink.
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11. Comfort Foods & Hot Drinks for Sleep
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