Amidst the constant flood of new sleep gadgets and gizmos promising to grant us the elusive eight hours, herbal tea remains one of the original sleep aids. Sleepy teas, marketed to help us wind down and drift off, have become a staple in many evening routines. But do they actually work or are they simply a comforting placebo in a mug?
These tea blends often feature herbs like chamomile, valerian root, lemon balm and lavender, all of which have been long associated with improved sleep in traditional medicine. Chamomile, for instance, acts as a mild sedative, helping to relax the nervous system and improve overall sleep quality.
In 2013, a study involving 40 healthy adults found that those who drank a herbal sleep tea daily, containing standardised extracts of valerian root and passionflower, reported better sleep quality after one week compared to the control group. While science supports the potential effects of these herbs, part of the benefits may come from the ritual itself.
The simple act of sipping a warm drink at night, free from caffeine, away from a screen, often in a dimly lit room, can become a powerful sign to the body that it’s time to rest.
Whether it’s the subtle effect of the herbs or the quiet comfort of a night-time routine, many find that these teas genuinely help them relax.
At Doze, we decided to put one of the most popular brands leading the sleepy tea trend to the test: Twining’s. Renowned for its wide range of bedtime blends like ‘Sleep’, ‘Unwind’ and ‘Sweet Dreams’, Twining’s combine herbal ingredients with added botanicals including vitamin B12 and passion flower. We brewed up each blend and rated them based on taste, effectiveness, and ingredient quality to find out: do they really live up to the sleepy-time hype?
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