Three Herbal Over the Counter Sleep Aids

If you want over the counter sleep aids, but aren't into sleeping pills, there are several herbs with a range of effects from gently lulling you to sleep to almost as effective as the prescription pills. I use a variety of herbal sleep aids because the diphenhydramine used in OTC sleeping aids leaves me groggy for about 12 hours. Which herb or blend I use depends on whether I want to relax and perhaps doze off or if I need to get comatose for several hours.

Mild: Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Herbal Tea, in the "box with the bear" on it, can be found in the tea section of most supermarkets. It's a mild, soothing, faintly minty blend of various herbs. The known sleep-inducers in the mix are the chamomile and tilia (linden) flowers. The others are for flavor.

This is a great tea to serve off-schedule children, or the bedtime protestors. You know, the ones who would go to sleep if you could only get them to slow down and stop ricocheting off the walls for a few minutes. Sit them down for a snack of animal crackers and sleepytime tea, and it's lights out.

Stronger: Linden Flowers make a tea with a strong grassy flavor - it's like chewing wheat straw - so it's usually sold blended with a bit of mint to hide the flavor. Linden tea is commonly used in Europe to sooth cranky babies, or the mothers of cranky babies. If you have a difficult time finding it, look in the markets in Hispanic areas. It's sold as "Tila".

Linden is an amazing de-stresser, but it has one drawback to regular use: it's the opposite of a laxative. If you use it too often you will become constipated.

Strong: Valerian Root (Valerian officinalis) Valerian is my herb of choice when aching muscles are keeping me awake. It has a long history of use as an anti-spasmodic (muscle relaxant) and sedative. You will seldom find this in a tea, because it stinks. It reeks like a teenager's sneakers! It's usually sold as capsules of the ground root.

Rumor is wrong: Valerian has nothing to do with the prescription drug Valium (except the v,a, and i), although they are both muscle relaxers.

Valerian Safety: I found one reported suicide attempt with valerian root. The woman swallowed 40-50 capsules, and she recovered in 24 hours. A common response to too much valerian root is vomiting, which makes the whole idea of an overdose useless.

REFERENCES:

A Manual of Materia Medica and Pharmacology, by David M.R. Culbreth, Ph.G., M.D. (7th edition, 1927)

Nicholas Culpeper, The Complete Herbal (1653)