Natural Sleeping Aids: 7 Great Helpers
Natural sleeping aids gently help you to fall asleep and sleep through the night. These 7 helpers ensure a relaxed and restful night!
Why should I not use chemical sleeping pills permanently?
Many chemical sleeping pills are available without prescription in the pharmacy. And those who have slept badly for a long time use them much more often. The problem is that although they can help you catch up on the urgently needed sleep, they are not a permanent solution. Frequently used drugs like zopiclon and benzodiazepines should be taken without interruption for a maximum of four weeks. This is because then a habituation effect sets in: The sleeping pill is less effective and the risk of dependence increases significantly. We then need an increasingly higher dose of the sleeping pill to get some rest.
Herbal sleeping aids as an alternative
There are many natural sleeping aids that can help us to relax and get to sleep more easily. Unlike chemical agents, they are not addictive and can therefore usually be used over a longer period of time. However, this does not mean that you should simply bridge your sleep disturbances with these remedies forever – it is still important to find out the cause of the complaints and to remedy them.
For healthy sleep: 7 great plants against sleep disorders
These 7 plants have proven effective for sleep disorders:
1. Valerian
Valerian is one of the longest used natural sleeping aids of all. And not for nothing. Researchers at the University of Giessen were able to prove the effect of valerian on sleep disorders in a study: “Valerian often works well against sleep disorders just one hour after it is taken,” the scientists concluded. Experts assume, among other things, that one of the plant substances present in valerian docks to the same receptors in the brain as the active substance benzodiazepine.
The easiest way to take valerian as a sleeping aid is in the form of tea: For one cup, simply brew a teaspoon of dried valerian root (pharmacy) with 150 millilitres of water and let the mixture steep for 10 to 15 minutes. For valerian to develop its optimal effect, it should be drunk about one hour before going to bed.
2. Passion flower
Passion flower is the perfect support when stress doesn’t let us rest, because its ingredients calm tense nerves and help us find our way to sleep more easily. Again, the easiest way to prepare it is in the form of tea. Simply pour a litre of boiling water over one or two teaspoons of dried passion flower and let it steep for ten minutes. Then strain and drink a cup in small sips before going to sleep.
3. Lavender
Lavender is also a classic when it comes to calming tension and anxiety and relaxing the body. The essential oils of the plant are responsible for this. There are several ways of using lavender to reduce sleep problems. For example, you can place a bouquet of freshly picked lavender on the bedside table next to the bed or fill a small cloth bag with the leaves and place it under the pillow.
4. Hops
Similar to valerian, hops have a calming effect on our nerves due to its natural bitter substances – in many herbal preparations for sleep disorders, both plants are therefore used together. But hops can also act as a sleeping aid on their own: experts suspect that the plant has a similar effect in the body as the sleep hormone melatonin. For a soothing tea made from hops, pour about 150 millilitres of boiling water over one or two teaspoons of crushed hop cones (pharmacy) and let it steep for about ten minutes, then strain and drink slowly.
5. Jasmine flower oil
With the help of a study, researchers at the University of Düsseldorf found out that the scent of jasmine flowers has a similar effect to that of Valium. In fact, the mere scent can have a similar effect to chemical sleeping pills, but unlike them it is not addictive. So if you want to find a relaxed way to sleep, you should put a few drops of jasmine oil (pharmacy) either on your pillow or in a fragrance lamp.
6. Milk with honey
The classic from our childhood still has its justification when we cannot sleep. Milk contains the amino acid tryptophan, which is converted in the brain into the sleep hormone melatonin. And honey contains fructose, which can accelerate this process.
However, a glass of milk actually contains far too little tryptophane to really do anything as a sleeping aids. So why does the classic help anyway? Prof. Dr. med. Ingo Fietze, head of the Interdisciplinary Sleep Medicine Center at the Charité, assumes that warm milk is more likely to help because it keeps the stomach busy: “If you wanted to consume quantities of milk that promote sleep, you would have to drink quite a few liters! But something warm to help you fall asleep is already a good idea. The stomach works and draws blood from the brain. It makes you sleepy – think of the low after lunch.”
7. Grapes
Grapes promote the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Already about 300 grams of grapes in the evening can help you to sleep. But be careful: Even if you could think that instead of grapes you could also bet on red wine – that would be a mistake. Although alcohol consumption often makes it easier to fall asleep, sleep is often restless. You wake up more often at night and tend to sweat more.
Note: In general, it is true for tea drinkers that herbal remedies do not take effect overnight. For two to three weeks you should drink one to two cups of the respective tea daily so that the natural sleeping aids can also help.
Stiftung Warentest also noted in a study in 2018 that the study situation regarding natural sleep aids such as valerian, passion flower and etc. is quite manageable and the results are not always clear. Of course, everyone can try to treat their own sleep disorders with the aforementioned remedies. However, if they do not work after two months at the latest, it makes sense to test another sleeping aid and to look for the reasons for the complaints with the doctor beforehand.