The Herbal Tea That Works Better Than Sleeping Pills Against Insomnia With No Side Effects, Scientists Explained

By Kyle J. Norton, Master of Nutrition

Drinking chamomile tea regularly should have a strong and positive effect in prevented and treated insomnia, some scientists suggested.

Insomnia is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by difficulty of falling sleep and/or staying asleep. The condition affects most of the population of older adults due to hormones change that are associated to aging.

Most adults have experienced insomnia sometimes in their life. According to statistic, more than 30% of the population suffers from insomnia, one in three people suffer from some form of insomnia during their lifetime and women suffer from insomnia more often than men.

Some researchers suggested that psychiatric and medical conditions, unhealthy sleep habits,and in healthy diet and life style, particularly in use of substances, and/or certain biological factors are major causes of insomnia onset.

Some women in certain stages of menstrual  cycle also suffer from this type of sleep disorder, due to the body inability to cope with sudden change of hormone production. Needless to say,  insomnia that is caused by menstrual pain. According to the National Sleep Foundation poll, 33% of women said, their sleep is disturbed during their menstrual cycles.

In Australia, according to statistic produced by Virtual Medical Center, “Almost 90% of Australians suffer from a sleeping disorder, with 30% experiencing a severe sleeping disorder” and  “There are over 70 different defined sleep disorders which result in reduced sleep quantity or reduced sleep quality”(4).

Poor sleep quality in patients who suffer from insomnia may induce symptoms of fatigue, irritability, decreased memory and concentration,….. and malaise. 

These results truly have a strongly negative impact on quality of life and work life, resulting in decreasing productivity and increasing absenteeism.

Use of sleep pill to treat insomnia may be effective, however, according to the Additive Center, “The dangerous effects of sleep medications range from seizures to depressed breathing. Some people also experience allergic reactions from sleeping pills that can cause difficulty breathing, chest pain, nausea and swelling” and “Though rare, people who use sleeping pills may even develop parasomnias. Parasomnias are defined as sleep disorders that include behaviors like sleep-walking, sleep-eating, sleep-sex, sleep-driving and other potentially dangerous sleep-related activities”(5).

Chamomile is also known as camomile, common name of many species daisy-like plants in the family Asteraceae.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory constituents and to treat menstrual cramps and sleep disorders, reduce cramping and spastic pain in the bowels, relieve excessive gas,….. and bloating in the intestine.

Ingredients
Guaianolides matricarin and achillin, acetoxyachillin and leucodin (= desacetoxymatricarin), corresponding C-11 stereoisomers(a),(Z)-2-β-d-glucopyranosyloxy-4-methoxycinnamic acid (cis-GMCA), chlorogenic acid, (E)-2-β-d-glucopyranosyloxy-4-methoxycinnamic acid (trans-GMCA), quercetagetin-7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside, luteolin-7-O-β-d-glucoside, apigenin-7-O-β-d-glucoside, chamaemeloside, apigenin 7-O-(6″-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranoside), apigenin] and one polyacetylene (tonghaosu)(b).

Chamomile, is one of most popular herb used for sleep disorders in herbal medicine. 

According to the Dr. Srivastava JK and research team at the Case Western Reserve University, in the investigation of The dried flowers of chamomile containing many terpenoids and flavonoids that may contribute to its medicinal properties, found that, injection in form of herbal tea, consumed more than one million cups per day worldwide, may have a significant impact in treatment of insomnia(1).

In the concerns of chamomile’s (Matricaria recutita) efficacy and safety for treating chronic primary insomnia, scientists at the University of Michigan conducted an experiment of 34 patients aged 18-65 years with DSM-IV primary insomnia for ≥ 6-months, showed that application of 270 mg of chamomile twice daily or placebo for 28-days exerts a modest benefits of daytime functioning and mixed benefits on sleep diary(2).

Dr. Zick SM, the lead author at the end of the evaluation, said, “Chamomile did show modest advantage on daytime functioning, although these did not reach statistical significance. Effect sizes were generally small to moderate (Cohen’s d ≤ 0.20 to < 0.60) with sleep latency, night time awakenings, and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), having moderate effect sizes in favor of chamomile”(2).

  The efficacy of chamomile in treatment of insomnia may also be attributed to the anxiolytic or sedative properties in improvement of sleep, according to the study of traditionally endowed with anxiolytic or sedative properties,(3). 

However, Dr. Wheatley D suggested, ” it’s slow onset of effect (2-3 weeks) renders it unsuitable for short-term use (i.e. ‘jet-lag’), but it does have profound beneficial effects on sleep architecture (augments deep sleep) that may make it particularly suitable for long-term use and for the elderly”(3).

The findings suggested that chamomile may be used as functional food to improve insomnia due to the procession of anxiolytic or sedative properties.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrients, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it’s news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada – Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.
References
(a) Guaianolides and volatile compounds in chamomile tea by Tschiggerl C1, Bucar F.(PubMed)
(b) Quantitative determination of phenolic compounds by UHPLC-UV-MS and use of partial least-square discriminant analysis to differentiate chemo-types of Chamomile/Chrysanthemum flower heads by Avula B1, Wang YH, Wang M, Avonto C, Zhao J, Smillie TJ, Rua D, Khan IA.(PubMed)
(1a) Anxiety disorder(Canadian mental health association)
(1) Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future by Srivastava JK1, Shankar E, Gupta S.(PubMed)
(2) Preliminary examination of the efficacy and safety of a standardized chamomile extract for chronic primary insomnia: a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study by Zick SM1, Wright BD, Sen A, Arnedt JT.(PubMed)
(3) Medicinal plants for insomnia: a review of their pharmacology, efficacy and tolerability. by Wheatley D.(PubMed)
(4) Insomnia by Virtual Medical Center
(5) Signs of Sleeping Pill Abuse by the Additive Center