Herbal Teas and Supplements to Beat Stress

Your breathing gets shallow and rapid. Your heart starts to pound in your chest. Your mind is racing. We’re all familiar with the symptoms of stress and anxiety. Stress can be very damaging to our health; there’s a reason why I call it the Invisible Killer.

We can’t always change the difficult situations we’re in, but we can control how we deal with our stress. One easy way to take control of your stress naturally is by drinking herbal teas and supplements. Below are my top picks:

Chamomile Tea

Chamomile has been used for centuries to ease the mind and calm the nerves. According to a study from the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, patients who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) that took chamomile supplements for eight weeks had a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms, compared with a group receiving placebo.

Chamomile is mildly sedating which helps when you struggle to sleep due to stress. Chamomile oil is also a calming scent that decreases irritability, anxiety, worry, and overthinking. Drink one cup of chamomile tea three times a day, or take it in supplement form.

Hops

Hops are well-known for making beer, but I don’t suggest you drink beer to bring down your stress! Instead, the hops flower is dried and used to make natural medicines to treat anxiety, tension, insomnia, restlessness, ADHD, irritability, and nervousness.

Hops come as a tea – sometimes combined with chamomile and mint – but since it’s quite bitter, hops herbal tea is not very popular. This sedative can also be taken as tablets, capsules, and tinctures, or in creams and lotions.

Valerian

Valerian works well to treat insomnia caused by stress as it makes you sleepy. Valerian smells quite unpleasant, although it doesn’t taste too bad, so it’s not popular as a herbal tea but is typically taken in the form of a capsule, tincture, fluid extract, or essential oil.

The valerian root has been used since the second century AD to treat anxiety. It also promotes sleeping, controls panic attacks, relaxes the body, eases cramps, and decreases blood pressure.

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm has been popular since the Middle Ages to help with sleep and reduce stress and anxiety. One study found that people who took lemon balm extract were more calm but still alert than those who took a placebo.

Taking too much lemon balm can increase anxiety, so follow the directions and start with a small dose. Lemon balm is a sedative and comes as a herbal tea, capsules, and tinctures.

Passionflower

This beautiful flower will not make you fall madly in love, but it can do wonders for people with high levels of stress to sleep better. Some studies found that this sedative works as well as prescription drugs to reduce anxiety.

Passionflower has muscle spasm relieving effects and is used to treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), gastrointestinal upset related to anxiety, relieving symptoms related to narcotic drug withdrawal, hysteria, seizures, ADHD, nervousness, palpitations, high blood pressure, excitability, and insomnia.

Passionflower comes as a herbal tea, capsule, tablet, tincture, and liquid extract.

Lavender

The aroma of lavender is known for its ability to put agitated babies to sleep. Lavender oil is the most common essential oil and inhaling this oil has a calming and relaxing effect. According to a Florida study, students who inhaled lavender oil before an exam had less stress anxiety than those who didn’t inhale the scent.

Another study in Greece found that when dental practices scented their waiting rooms with lavender their patients were less anxious during treatment. The scent of lavender restores the nervous system and help with inner peace, sleeplessness, restlessness, irritability, panic attacks, nervous stomach, and nervous tension.

Kava

Also known as Kava Kava, this Polynesian root is a popular herbal tea that helps to calm stress and anxiety and encourage a good night’s sleep. Kava is also an excellent muscle relaxant.

Kava is sedative, but it does not interrupt cognition, making it a great herbal remedy to calm you down when you still need to focus, such as before a big meeting.

Omega-3

Although omega-3 is not an herb, it’s worth including as it is very effective to treat stress. One study found that students who received a supplement of 2.5 milligrams mixed omega-3 fatty acids per day for 12 weeks had less anxiety before an exam than those who took a placebo.

Try to get your omega-3 from food, if possible. It can be found in oily cold-water fish, such as salmon, anchovies, sardines, and mussels. Flax seeds are also an abundant source of omega-3’s. Alternatively, you can take omega-3 supplements.

In general I recommend to people that have a lot of stress or any kind of mood disorder to eat more high-quality unrefined fats. This also goes for people that have emotional food cravings when stressed. Fat has been vilified in the past, but it is an essential ingredient in healthy nervous system function. I especially like coconut oil for this. I personally mainly use coconut oil, olive oil, and ghee in my kitchen. Get fresh, unrefined oils. Avocado is also an excellent plant source of high quality fat.

Herbal Teas and Supplements to Beat Stress

Whenever you decide to take herbal supplements, make sure you discuss it with your Chinese Medicine practitioner or doctor, especially if taken for more than three months. Don’t take more than one sedative herb at a time and don’t combine with sedative prescription drugs. Also, avoid alcohol with a sedative herbal remedy.

Contact me if you want to know more about herbal teas and supplements to treat stress and anxiety, or if you want a personalized treatment plan and lifestyle adjustments for better stress management.