
You should try to drink it with enough time to hit the bathroom before bed to keep your sleep uninterrupted. I suggest steeping it for up to five minutes before drinking,” Martin says. “The longer you allow to steep, the stronger it is. Keep in mind that to get the most out of your tea, steep time is critical. “Drinking a sleep tea afterwards can help calm you down so that you’re better able to fall and stay asleep.” “An evening cardio session gets your heart rate up and releases endorphins, making it difficult to wind down at night, possibly derailing your sleep,” says Martin.

It can also be a great way to decompress after a nighttime workout. “For many people the ritual of drinking tea is relaxing, and it may cause sleepiness as a result,” Keri Gans, M.S., R.D.N., tells Runner’s World. And while science may back up the ingredients, it may also just be the act of tea drinking itself that induces the sleep.
#Sleepytime trial#
“Its calming effects are attributed to the antioxidant in chamomile tea called apigenin,” Charlotte Martin, M.S., R.D.N., tells Runner’s World.Īnother short-term randomized control trial of 40 healthy adults, published in 2013, found that those who drank a sleep tea daily (with standardized extracts of valerian root and passionflower) for one week reported better sleep quality than those who did not drink the tea. Other ingredients found in sleepy teas include valerian root, passionflower, lemon balm, spearmint, and lemongrass.Ĭhamomile has been studied for its sleep-inducing effect. “Lavender, which has a soothing and calming scent, is also commonly included.” They act by modifying certain neurotransmitters that are involved in sleep,” Sarah Schlichter, M.P.H., R.D.N., tells Runner's World.

“Teas, such as Sleepytime, are generally marketed as bedtime teas and are based around calming ingredients, like chamomile, which is known to calm the nervous system. But does drinking this kind of tea truly work, and how do the ingredients benefit you? We asked three nutrition experts to answer those questions and more. Many people swear by Sleepytime tea as a natural way to help you fall asleep faster. Join Runner's World+ for unlimited access to the best training tips for runners That’s when aids like Sleepytime tea can come in to play. But not getting adequate shut-eye can hurt your performance, according to research, among other negative side effects.įor some, a well-crafted nighttime routine can be an easy fix, but it isn’t always a fail-safe solution to help you get the most rest. With minds buzzing from the day, it can make zzz’s seem unreachable. Let’s be honest, for some of us, it’s not always easy to unwind and go to sleep at night.
