My Chamomile Tea and Sleep Quality Experiment

One of the most often things repeated about Chamomile Tea is that it improves sleep quality. For many people, this means being able to fall asleep faster. I wanted to test this assumption. For my experiment, I used a total Sleep Quality score. I brewed a single mug of loose leaf Chamomile between 3 and 5 minutes at a temperature of around 200F. The beverage was consumed within 60 minutes before going to sleep.

After 60 days of data, here are the numbers. The Sleep Quality number is a score between 1 and 5, with 5 being perfect sleep.

30 Nights with Chamomile Tea = 4.17 average

30 Nights without Chamomile Tea = 3.77 average

Wow! At first glance, it appears that Chamomile Tea is really helping my Sleep Quality. But this test overlapped with my Side Sleep Experiment. So I went back and just looked at the Chamomile Tea data taken after I adapted to Side Sleep.

26 Nights with Chamomile Tea + Side Sleep = 4.077 average

14 Nights without Chamomile Tea + Side Sleep = 4.071 average

I’m not a statistics guru (yet), but it now appears the sleep improvement did not come from the Chamomile Tea. It came when I switched from being a back sleeper to a side sleeper.

Chamomile

Loose leaf Chamomile by cjhuang

According to Ori Hofmekler, the author of the The Anti-Estogenic Diet and The Warrior Diet, chamomile is a “powerful estrogen inhibitor”. His book covers how estrogens are in the modern food supply and our environment. Excessive estrogens can make us sick and overweight. So I will continue to drink Chamomile Tea as cheap insurance against estrogens.

I don’t find the taste of Chamomile Tea that appealing, but I discovered that adding a pinch of red roobios tea makes it taste much better. Roobios is a South African bark tea that has no caffeine and its own health benefits.

12 Comments

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  1. You should try taking magnesium before bed and then report back. I take something called Natural Calm. I think it helps.

  2. @Roberta – Already do.

  3. Nice info, I have thought about trying this tea. Have you ever used Melatonin?

  4. @Michelle – I did 10 years ago, but got inconsistent results. I may try it again. I need to research it further. I’m most interested in something that deepens sleep around hour 4 to 6, not the early hours.

  5. While you’re drinking tea, add some Xylitol sweetener.
    It has been proven to diminish chronic ear/sinus/tooth/gum/gut infections over time.

    Might improve your nightly headaches ?

    I you really want to go hard-core (like I did)
    Rinse your nose with dissolved Xylitol :
    – intense headaches for a week
    – then clear headed, no more headaches

  6. @Ahrand – That is next on my list of ideas to try. JamesK post this comment on Xylitol.

    https://criticalmas.org/2012/03/hunting-headaches-shampoo-up-my-nose/#comment-11741

    I do want to use it in my Neti Pot. How much did you add?

  7. Aim for a 5% solution.
    You could add Lactoferrin for additional help
    Take into account some serious headaches in the first week.

  8. @Ahrand – Thanks. Tomorrow I start shopping for the gear.

  9. Be sure to get 100% pure Lactoferrin with no additives (typically they’ll throw in iron, Vit. C …)

    PS. If you want to reach your Eustachian tubes, you’ll have to do better then a Neti Pot, send me an email.

  10. @Ahrand – Will do. Thanks for your help.

  11. Shirley McKittrick

    Nov 18, 2012 — 11:38 am

    I found Chamomile Herbal Tea sometime ago and did order it by mail. In fact,
    I purchesed several boxes. Since then I hve used it up and found it at WalMart but
    they no longer carry the one I want.I purchased Chamomile Celectial Seasonings
    Herbal Tea but it isn’t what I am use to.

    Can you send me a picture of the box it comes in? This one I have does not
    have the tea bags in individual bags. I have carried them with me whenever
    I go somewhere, but don’t feel I can carry these like that.

    If you hwave the ones I want, I will spend $35 or more for them.

    Thank You

    Shirley McKittrick
    22 Walden Avenue
    New London,CT 06320

  12. @Shirley – My chamomile was loose herbs and not in a pre packaged tea box.

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