Sleep better with chamomile

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

15.07.2022

If you lie awake for long nights, chamomile probably won't help you. But if you sleep reasonably well and are looking for a natural remedy that will improve the quality of your sleep, then chamomile supplementation may be an interesting option.

Sleep better with chamomile

Meta-study

Researchers from the University of Medicine of Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest city, traced 12 published trials in the scientific literature in which subjects had been given chamomile.

In most trials, subjects were given chamomile extracts orally. The doses ranged from two doses of 220 milligrams per day to three doses of 500 milligrams daily, but were also trials in which subjects were treated with topicals or inhalable volatile oil from chamomile.

The duration of the trials ranged from 2 to 26 weeks.

The Vietnamese lumped together the results and re-analyzed them.

Results
There was 1 trial with subjects who suffered from insomnia. In that trial, chamomile had no effect.

6 trials looked at the effect of chamomile on sleep quality. Those trials showed that chamomile had a positive effect.

Click on the figures below for a larger version.

In a number of trials, the researchers looked at the effect on anxiety. Nothing came out of that.

In a few studies, the researchers looked specifically at generalized anxiety disorder [GAD]. GAD involves worrying about irrational things for a long time and uncontrollably. The trials showed that chamomile could work for 2-4 weeks, but no longer.

Conclusion
The studies used were small. Their evidential value was limited. "The results are suggestive rather than conclusive and for which larger RCTs are warranted to study that in further", write the Vietnamese.

"Chamomile appears to be a relatively safe herb for the improvement of sleep quality and generalized anxiety disorder in the short term", conclude the Vietnamese.

Source:
Phytother Res. 2019 Jun;33(6):1604-15.

More:
Camomile tea may help you live longer 20.08.2015

Archives:
Sleep



Sleep problems may be the result of vitamin D deficiency Do you sleep badly? Or are you just not able to get enough sleep? You may be deficient in vitamin D.	Are you anxious, worried and not sleeping well? Maybe CBD will help A supplement containing CBD, the non-psychoactive compound in cannabis, may be an alternative to pharmacological sleep aids and anxiolytics.	Dirt-cheap magnesium supplement improves sleep The cheapest magnesium supplements contain magnesium oxide. They cost next to nothing at a drugstore, yet they can improve the quality of your sleep.