Grow and Make Your Own Bedtime Tea

There was something about turning 40 that broke my sleep. I could still fall asleep easily, but I couldn't stay asleep. I'd wake up around 4 every morning with my mind racing and ready to go. So for the past 6 years, I've been trying every sleep "remedy" I can find, searching for something, anything, that can help me sleep better.

For me, the thing that has worked the best is to sip on a warm, soothing cup of herbal tea before bedtime. This makes sense when you consider certain teas have been used for thousands of years to promote relaxation and improve sleep quality.

If you suffer from insomnia or sleep issues, there are tons of "sleepy time" tea blends you can buy at the store. But if you have a little bit of growing space, you can also grow your own herbs and make your own delicious and organic herbal tea for basically $0.

Let’s explore the best homemade herbal teas for sleep, how to grow them yourself, and how to make them part of your bedtime routine.

The Best Herbal Teas for Sleep

Let's look at the 4 best herbs you can grow yourself and brew as tea to help you sleep. There are many other great herbal teas for sleep and relaxation (like valerian root and passionflower), but I narrowed the list down to herbs that are also really easy to grow at home.

1. Chamomile Tea: Known for its mild sedative effects, chamomile helps to relax the nervous system and improve sleep quality.
2. Lavender Tea: Promotes relaxation and may reduce anxiety and depression. Shown to improve sleep quality postpartum.
3. Lemon Balm: May help ease insomnia and support restful sleep by aiding in relaxation. May also reduce teeth grinding.
4. Sage: Reduces night sweats and feelings of fatigue. My favorite homemade sleepytime tea!

Let's look at how to grow, harvest, and brew each of these teas.

Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea is a classic sleep aid. Its mild sedative properties come from a compound called apigenin, a flavonoid that helps calm the mind and body. Studies have shown chamomile can improve sleep by reducing the number of times you wake up throughout the night. Chamomile has also been shown to reduce symptoms of mild depression, which is often linked to insomnia.

Chamomile tea tastes a bit like apples and is very soothing at the end of the day. I often feel drowsy within minutes of drinking a cup.

How to Grow Chamomile

Chamomile is in the Aster plant family (or the lettuce plant family), and it grows really easily from seed. Once it's established in your garden, it's drought tolerant and pretty much takes care of itself.

There are two different types of chamomile you can grow, but you'll want to stick with German chamomile for making your own tea (Roman chamomile is on the bitter side). German chamomile is an annual plant that grows best when it's nice and cool outside.

Chamomile grows well in containers and raised beds, or you can even plant it right in the ground. Just plant it somewhere it'll get at least 6 hours of sun a day so it'll produce lots of flowers for you. It's the flowers we want for tea.

You should have blooms about 10 weeks after sowing chamomile seeds. Harvest the flowers once they've opened and bring them inside to dry. Spread them out on parchment paper and leave them for a couple of weeks, until the petals crumble easily.

Learn more about growing chamomile from seed.

How to Make Chamomile Tea

1. Add 1 tablespoon dried chamomile blooms to an 8-ounce cup of boiling water (do 2 tablespoons if you're using fresh flowers).
2. Steep for 5 to 10 minutes, then strain.
3. Enjoy before bed. Add ice if you prefer your tea cold.

Lavender Tea

Lavender isn’t just for aromatherapy. When brewed into tea, it has the similar effect of helping you unwind at the end of the day. Lavender tea is thought to reduce anxiety and promote restful sleep. Research on the effects of lavender tea is disappointingly limited, but one study found that new mothers who drank a cup of lavender tea each night reported less fatigue and depression than the control group.

To make your cup of lavender tea count, make sure to breathe in the floral aroma before each sip. It'll help relax you and add a touch of spa-like luxury to your nighttime routine.

How to Grow Lavender

Lavender comes from the mint plant family and is not only easy to grow, it thrives on neglect. The best type to grow for soothing teas is English lavender thanks to its heavenly fragrance. English lavender is a perennial that's winter hardy down to zone 5. In warmer climates, you can enjoy your lavender plant year round.

Lavender is slow to grow from seed, so I recommend buying a plant from your local nursery. Plant it in a raised bed or large pot with good drainage. (Don't plant lavender in the ground unless you know you have well-drained soil.) Make sure lavender gets 8 hours of sunlight a day.

Here's the key to keeping your lavender plant alive: only water when the soil feels dry 2 inches down. That's it.

Just like with chamomile, it's the flower buds you'll use for tea. (The leaves are a bit too strong.) Harvest flower stems when about half of the flower buds have opened.

Learn more about growing your own lavender.

How to Make Lavender Tea

1. Use 2 teaspoons of fresh lavender or 1 teaspoon of dried per cup of hot water.
2. Steep for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add a dash of honey for sweetness, if desired. Sip your tea slowly while inhaling the fragrance.

Lemon Balm Tea

Lemon balm is one of my favorite teas to support restful sleep. It smells so good and makes the most delicious tea — think citrus with a hint of mint. My family can certainly attest that drinking a cup of lemon balm tea makes me feel nice and calm at night (it also helps with bloating).

A study found that surgery patients who drank a cup of lemon balm tea a day for one week had better sleep and lower anxiety levels. The improvement in sleep quality was pretty significant compared to the control group. Another study found that lemon balm reduced teeth grinding at night in children.

If nothing else, a cup of lemon balm tea can be a really tasty part of your nighttime routine.

How to Grow Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is cousins with lavender and mint (you'll see the similarities). This herb grows like a weed. The biggest problem you'll have is just controlling its growth year after year. Plant it in a large container or a spot in your landscape where it can spread out. It'll grow in part shade or full sun. It tolerates moderate frosts before it'll die back for winter. Even in really cold climates, it'll pop back up in the spring. In warmer climates, you'll have lemon balm all year.

You can grow lemon balm from seed or buy little plant starts. Sow seeds in your garden a couple weeks before your last frost in the spring. Space them about 18 inches apart.

We use the leaves to make lemon balm tea, so you'll be able to take your first harvest in a couple of weeks. Once my plants are established, I harvest stems from them weekly.

Learn more about growing your own lemon balm.

How to Make Lemon Balm Tea

1. Add 2 tablespoons of dried leaves (or about 5 fresh leaves, torn slightly to release the oils) per 8-ounce cup of boiling water.
2. Steep for about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Drink your tea warm or cool it down first in the fridge and serve with ice. Add sugar, honey, or lemon to taste. I love to add a squeeze from a fresh lemon.

Sage Tea

Sage tea has become my favorite tea for relaxation and sleep. I drink it every single night before I go to bed. I let it steep while I'm washing my face and doing my whole nighttime routine, and then I come back and drink a cup right before I fall asleep. Sage tea has been shown to reduce night sweats and fatigue. If you're perimenopausal or menopausal, this tea could definitely benefit you.

I love the flavor of sage tea on its own (it's slightly savory and very comforting), but lately, I've been brewing it with some calendula blooms (which you can also grow yourself) to make the tea even more soothing. It also makes the tea turn this beautiful golden color.

How to Grow Sage

Sage is a hardy perennial herb from the mint family. It's super easy to grow from seed, or you can buy a little herb from the store. Plant it in a large pot, a raised bed, or right in the ground. It'll produce leaves with anything over 4 hours of sun a day.

Harvest heavily from your sage plant during warm weather, when it's producing tons of leaves for you. Use half of your harvest fresh and dry the other half so you can stock up for winter. To dry sage, just hang the stems upside down for 2 to 3 weeks.

Learn more about growing sage.

How to Make Sage Tea

1. Mix 1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves with boiling water. Add 1 to 2 dried calendula blooms if desired. I love the strong sage flavor, so I use a bit more of the dried leaves and include the stems, as well.
2. Steep for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Strain and serve with lemon, simple syrup, or honey if you want it a bit sweeter. I've fallen so in love with the flavor that I no longer sweeten mine. You can also let this tea cool and drink it iced.

The Benefits of Bedtime Teas

Herbal teas are more than just a tasty treat before bed. Here are some benefits you can enjoy:

• Relaxation: Many herbal teas contain compounds that reduce stress and anxiety, helping you wind down.
• Improved Sleep Quality: Herbs like chamomile have sedative effects that promote deeper, more restful sleep.
• A Healthy Routine: We've all heard how following a nighttime routine is key to good sleep hygiene, right? Drinking tea can be a way to signal to your brain that it’s time to prepare for rest.
• Caffeine-Free Comfort: These teas are naturally free of caffeine, unlike black or green teas. The four options I discussed above are technically not teas at all because they don't come from the tea plant family (Theaceae family). They're tisanes, or herbal infusions, which are naturally caffeine-free.
• Antioxidants: Chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, and sage are all jam-packed with antioxidants that can fight oxidative stress and disease. Drinking these teas comes with a number of other health benefits — everything from soothing sore throats to healing cold sores.
• Organic Options: If you grow your own herbal tea for sleep, you know exactly what that plant has (and has not) been exposed to. If you drink a nightly cup, you'll save a ton of money on organic teas from the store.

How to Incorporate Bedtime Teas

Making bedtime teas a healthy part of your nightly routine is easy:

• Pick a Time: Aim to have your tea 1 to 2 hours before bed.
• Create a Ritual: Pair your tea with other calming activities like reading, journaling, or meditating. It probably goes without saying, but avoid looking at a screen during this time.
• Experiment with Flavors: Try different herbs and blends (like sage and calendula) to find what works best for your taste and sleep needs.
• Stay Consistent: Drinking tea regularly helps signal to your body that it’s time to wind down. Most of the studies done on sleep quality had participants drink tea nightly for at least 1 week before measuring results.

Considerations and Precautions

While herbal teas are generally considered safe, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Talk to your doctor before drinking herb teas if you're pregnant or breastfeeding. It's most likely fine to consume them in small quantities (which would be anything under 3 or 4 cups a day); the issue is just that there's a lack of extensive research on their effects while pregnant.
• It's also a good idea to consult with your doctor if you're taking any medications.
• People with allergies to plants like ragweed or daisies should avoid chamomile tea.
• Drink your tea at least an hour before bedtime if you're worried about having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
• Herb teas may not address severe insomnia or sleep disorders like sleep apnea.

When to Seek Help

Herbal teas can be a great addition to your sleep routine, but they’re not a cure-all. If you’re dealing with persistent insomnia or other sleep issues, it’s important to consult a healthcare provider. Chronic sleep problems can signal underlying health concerns that need professional attention.

FAQs about Herb Teas for Sleep

1. How long before bed should I drink herbal tea?

Drink your tea about 1 to 2 hours before bedtime to relax and avoid waking up at 2 a.m. to use the bathroom.

2. Can I drink herbal tea while pregnant? 

You should check with your doctor before starting a new herbal tea routine if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, just out of an abundance of caution. These teas are generally considered safe (and many pregnant people enjoy them regularly), but there aren't robust research studies on their effects in this population. We would need much more evidence before giving them the green light.

3. Can bedtime tea help with anxiety?

Yes! Teas like lavender, chamomile, and lemon balm are known for their calming effects and can help ease anxiety.

4. How often should I drink herbal tea?

Start with 1 cup per evening. If you enjoy it, you can increase to 2 to 3 cups throughout the day, but avoid drinking too much fluid close to bedtime.

5. What if bedtime tea doesn’t help my sleep?

If herbal teas don’t improve your sleep after a few weeks, it’s a good idea to consult a doctor to explore other solutions.

Time to Grow Your Own Organic Herbal Tea for Better Sleep

There you have it — that's how you grow your own tea and set yourself up for a cozy nighttime ritual. There's nothing easier to grow in the garden than herbs, and you'll be able to harvest so much tea from each of these plants.

I hope this guide helps you make a huge difference in your nightly routine — and feel a huge difference in the morning!

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Sources

Cleveland Clinic

Healthline

National Library of Medicine, "Effects of Lavender Tea on Fatigue, Depression, and Maternal-Infant Attachment in Sleep-Disturbed Postnatal Women"

Science Direct, "Effects of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials"

Science Direct, "Effects of Melissa officinalis on anxiety and sleep quality in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery"

Science Direct, "Homeopathic medicine of Melissa officinalis combined or not with Phytolacca decandra in the treatment of possible sleep bruxism in children"