NighTEA-Night Blend

Tea Blend Deep Dive

May 2024

Savannah Montgomery

Physiological Factors Can �Cause Sleep Problems

• Pain: Chronic pain, such as from arthritis or back problems
• Urination: Prostate or bladder problems can cause you to need to urinate at night
• Circadian rhythm disorders: Jet lag, delayed sleep phase syndrome, and adjustments to shift work
• Parasomnias: Uncommon sleep behaviors, such as sleepwalking, bedwetting, and night terrors, can occur before falling asleep, during sleep, or in the transition between sleep and wakefulness
• Other conditions: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), respiratory issues, immobility, separation anxiety, diabetes, and substance abuse can cause sleep problems

Non-physiological Factors Can �Cause Sleep Problems�

• Mental health: Depression, anxiety, bipolar, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
• Stress: Worries about work, family, school, health, or money can make it hard to sleep.
• Medications: Some medications can cause sleep issues.
• Lifestyle choices: Caffeine use, irregular sleep schedules, aging, alcohol, and working the night shift can contribute to sleep problems.

Herbal Actions That Can Help

• Adaptogen – Normalize and restore endocrine functions and increase the body's nonspecific resistance to stress
• Alterative – Also known as blood purifiers, improving the quality of circulating fluids through a variety of subordinate mechanisms
• Anti-Inflammatory – Reduce inflammation through a variety of mechanisms of action
• Antispasmodic – Releases muscle and tissue tensions, quells spasms
• Aromatic – Pleasant-smelling herbs which stimulate the gastro-intestinal system, encourage circulation, and often stimulate or relax the brain and mind
• Hepatic – Strengthen and tone the liver
• Hypnotic – Strong sedatives which induce sleep
• Nervine – Calm nervous tension and nourish the nerves
• Sedative – Quiet the nervous system and induce calm
• Vulnerary – Help the body to heal wounds by promoting cell growth and repair

Recipe

1 part Tulsi

1 part Marshmallow Root

1 part Chamomile

1 part Valerian Root

1 part Skullcap

1 part Passionflower

Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum, O. tenuiflorum)�warm, dry, relaxant

• Taste: aromatic, sweet, pungent, bitter
• Family: Lamiaceae
• Medicinal parts: aerial parts –leaves and flowers
• Actions: nervine, exhilarant, adaptogen, digestive, hepatic, hypoglycemic, antimicrobial, diffusive, circulatory stimulant/relaxant, diaphoretic
• Affinities: nervous, endocrine, and digestive systems
• Notable constituents: volatiles (borneol, camphor, carvacrol, caryophyllene, citral, eucalyptol, eugenol, geranial, humulene, limonene, linalool, neral, pinene), apigenin, aldehydes, ocimumosides, phenols, alkaloids, saponins, tannins

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Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum, O. tenuiflorum)�warm, dry, relaxant

• An adaptogenic nervine, tulsi helps the body to deal with stress more effectively. One of the gentler adaptogens, tulsi is appropriate for many individuals and constitutions. Everyone from the chronically stressed high achiever to the severely ill person can benefit from the relaxant, parasympathetic support of tulsi.
• Exhilarant, tulsi helps to lift the mood and relieve many types of depression, especially in cases where tension and stagnation are present.
• Aromatic and diffusive, tulsi stimulates circulation to the digestive tract. This is particularly appropriate when cold digestion and gut stagnation are causing emotional and nervous symptoms.
• A relaxant nervine, tulsi’s actions allow the heat of fever and anxiety to be released.

Marshmallow Root (Althaea officinalis)�cold, moist, relaxant

• Taste: sweet, salty, bland
• Family: Malvaceae
• Medicinal parts: leaves, roots
• Actions: demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, anti-inflammatory, nutritive, emollient, vulnerary, antimicrobial
• Affinities: mucous membranes; digestive, respiratory, and urinary systems Notable constituents: flavonoids, phenolic acids, asparagine, pectin (root 11 –35%), arabinogalactans, mucilage (root 5 –35%, leaf 6 –16%)

Marshmallow Root (Althaea officinalis)�cold, moist, relaxant

• Brings water into many types of tissue in the body –stomach, respiratory, urinary, musculoskeletal, and skin –with highest affinity for digestive system, making marshmallow excellent for GI tract inflammation.
• Stomach inflammation, upset, heartburn, GERD, digestive dryness (including constipation), celiac, allergic reaction, ulcer, diverticulitis, etc.
• Soothing demulcent qualities act on the urinary system, useful for cystitis and urinary tract infections.
• Moistening expectorant for tight, dry coughs and respiratory spasm.
• Moistening to dry skin, particularly from heat, salt, and sun damage.

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita, M. chamomilla)�warm, neutral, relaxant

• Taste: bitter, aromatic, sweet
• Family: Compositae (Asteraceae)
• Medicinal part: flowers
• Actions: stomachic, carminative, soothing nervine, sedative, antispasmodic, vulnerary
• Affinities: digestive, nervous, and reproductive systems
• Notable constituents: volatiles (proazulenes, faresine, alpha-bisabolol, spiroether), flavonoids (anthemidin, luteolin, rutin), bitter glycosides (anthemic acid), coumarins, tannins

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Chamomile (Matricaria recutita, M. chamomilla)�warm, neutral, relaxant

• Stimulates digestive fluid secretions, improving assimilation. Especially appropriate for tense or nervous stomach upset.
• Helps to expel gas and ease bloating and digestive discomfort, due to spasms of the smooth muscle of the digestive tract.
• Releases tension and is soothing to anxiety and agitation. Suited to agitation that has its origins in digestive upset or is downward moving.
• Helps already-tired individuals to fall asleep more easily at bedtime.
• Relaxing to the musculature, helpful for digestive and muscle tension –particularly when there is also anxiety –and for menstrual cramping.

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Valerian Root (Valeriana officinalis)�warm, dry, relaxant

• Taste: earthy, bitter, slightly sweet
• Family: Caprifoliacea
• Medicinal parts: root, rhizome
• Actions: hypnotic, sedative, nervine, anodyne, anxiolytic, carminative, hypotensive, and skeletal and smooth muscle relaxant
• Affinities: nervous, digestive, and reproductive systems
• Notable constituents: volatile oil (including valeric acid), iridoids (valepotriates), alkaloids, furanofuran lignans, and free amino acids such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), tyrosine, arginine, and glutamine

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Valerian Root (Valeriana officinalis)�warm, dry, relaxant

• Hypnotic actions from volatile oils and valepotriates make for an excellent sleep aid.
• Trials have shown significant decreased sleep latency and increased sleep quality in those who experience poor and irregular sleep.
• Aromatic roots also used as a gentle sedative, pain reliever, and muscle relaxer for anxiety, tension headaches, injury, menstrual cramps, and tight muscles.

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Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)�cool, dry, relaxant

• Taste: bitter, aromatic
• Family: Lamiaceae
• Medicinal parts: aerial parts –leaves and flowers
• Actions: nervine, sedative, antispasmodic, cerebral vasodilator, relaxing diaphoretic, mild carminative, hepatic
• Affinities: nervous system
• Notable constituents: alkanes, humulene, lignin, catalpol, flavones (apigenin, baicalin, scutelaterins, scutellarein), tannins

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Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)�cool, dry, relaxant

• Cooling and relaxing, skullcap is particularly appropriate for stress-induced muscle tension, and the pain and anxiety that can result from excessive tension in the body.
• Antispasmodic with affinity for the back of the head, neck, and shoulders, making this herb particularly helpful for tension in those areas.
• Tension headaches, tight jaw muscles, TMJ, neck, and shoulder pains are squarely within skullcap’s range of effectiveness. Hunched shoulders, clenched jaws, and hyper extended necks are very visible indications for skullcap. Scutellaria is a supportive herb for those who spend a lot of their day at a computer or driving for hours at a time.
• The sedative action of Scutellaria is particularly effective for the over-stressed, under-slept person who has difficulty falling asleep. While not a hypnotic herb, skullcap quiets racing and circular thoughts that keep people awake.
• A relaxing diaphoretic, skullcap’s actions allow the heat of fever and anxiety to be released.

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)�cool, dry, relaxant

• Taste: sour, sweet, mildly acrid
• Family: Passifloraceae
• Medicinal parts: flowers, fruits
• Actions: nervine, sedative, antispasmodic, anodyne, diaphoretic
• Affinities: nervous system
• Notable constituents: apigenin, flavonoids, coumarins (scopoletin, umbelliferone), harmala alkaloids (harmaline, harmine, harmane, harmalol, harmol), passiflorine, luteolin, orientin, passicol, gynocardin

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)�cool, dry, relaxant

• Suited to physical tension that coincides with emotional tension. An antispasmodic herb that is especially effective at quieting repetitive thoughts, obsessive thinking, and over-active minds.
• A nervine for individuals prone to anxiety, nervousness, obsessive and compulsive disorders.
• For the under-slept, passionflower will have a more noticeable hypnotic effect when taken at bedtime.
• The relaxing action of passionflower is especially effective at calming anxious and revolving thoughts that lead nowhere, but which cause agitation and keep people awake at night. When combined with skullcap, this effect is increased.
• A relaxing diaphoretic, passionflower allows the heat of fever and anxiety to be released.