Chamomile and Valerian Tea for Relaxation: What the Research Actually Shows

Walk down any supermarket tea aisle and you’ll find a wall of “sleepy time” and “calm” blends built around chamomile and valerian. They’re two of the most widely used herbal relaxants in the world, and they’ve been part of traditional medicine for centuries. But when researchers put them under controlled trial conditions, the picture is more mixed than the packaging suggests. Here’s what the evidence actually says, and how to use both realistically.

Chamomile: mild evidence, low risk

Chamomile is probably the most recognisable relaxation tea, and it contains a compound called apigenin, which binds to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain and is thought to produce a mild calming effect — a similar receptor pathway to the one targeted by prescription anti-anxiety medication, though far weaker. According to the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of the National Institutes of Health, “although chamomile has traditionally been used for insomnia, often in the form of a tea, there is no conclusive evidence from clinical trials showing whether it is helpful.” That’s a fair, cautious summary: some individual trials look promising, but they haven’t added up to consistent proof.

One of the more frequently cited trials found that postpartum women who drank chamomile tea for two weeks reported improved sleep quality and fewer depressive symptoms compared with those who didn’t, and separate research in older adults found chamomile users reported better sleep quality than a control group. NCCIH does flag one safety point worth knowing: people with allergies to ragweed or related plants (daisies, marigolds, chrysanthemums) can have allergic reactions to chamomile, so it’s not entirely risk-free.

Valerian: bigger claims, weaker proof

Valerian root has a more mixed reputation. NCCIH is blunt about the state of the science: “clinical trials of valerian have had inconsistent results, and its value for insomnia has not been demonstrated.” That’s a notably stronger statement than the one made about chamomile. In fact, the 2017 American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical guideline specifically recommended against using valerian to treat chronic insomnia, citing insufficient evidence that benefits outweigh harms.

This doesn’t mean valerian does nothing for everyone — individual trials have reported people falling asleep faster and rating their sleep quality higher after valerian extract, and its purported active compounds (valepotriates and sesquiterpenes) do have sedative properties in laboratory studies. But trial results have been inconsistent enough that no major health body currently recommends it as a proven insomnia treatment. NCCIH also notes that while short-term side effects are uncommon, valerian’s safety for long-term use is uncertain, and it should not be combined with alcohol, sedatives or sleep medication, since the sedative effects can compound.

Why the evidence is genuinely hard to pin down

Herbal tea trials face a structural problem: it’s very difficult to run a properly blinded trial when participants can taste and smell what they’re drinking, and “usual care” placebo teas rarely feel truly neutral. Doses, brewing strength and extract concentrations also vary enormously between studies, from a cup of loose-leaf tea to standardised pharmaceutical-grade extract capsules, which makes it hard to compare results directly. That’s part of why NCCIH’s language stays cautious rather than dismissive — there’s a plausible biological mechanism and some positive trials, just not the volume of consistent, well-controlled evidence needed to call either herb a proven treatment.

Other herbal options worth knowing about

Chamomile and valerian dominate the “sleepy tea” category, but they’re not the only herbs marketed this way, and it’s worth knowing the evidence for alternatives sits in a similarly mixed place. Lemon balm and passionflower are both traditionally used for relaxation and sometimes combined with chamomile or valerian in blended teas, but like valerian, the clinical trial evidence for either is limited and inconsistent rather than robustly proven. This isn’t a reason to avoid them outright, but it’s worth applying the same realistic expectations across the whole category of herbal relaxation teas, rather than assuming a different herb necessarily has stronger backing simply because it’s marketed with similar confidence.

How to use them sensibly

Given the evidence, both teas are reasonable to try as part of a wind-down routine, with realistic expectations. A cup of chamomile 30–45 minutes before bed is low-risk for most people (skip it if you have ragweed allergies) and may offer a mild calming effect even if the clinical proof isn’t conclusive. Valerian is worth approaching more cautiously: don’t rely on it as your main strategy for a diagnosed sleep disorder, avoid combining it with alcohol or sedating medication, and if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or on other medications, check with a pharmacist or doctor first, since herbal supplements can interact with prescription drugs.

Neither tea is a substitute for the basics that have much stronger evidence behind them — a consistent sleep schedule, a dark and cool bedroom, and winding down away from screens. Think of chamomile or valerian as a small, pleasant addition to that routine rather than the routine itself.

The bottom line

Chamomile has weak-to-moderate, mostly reassuring evidence and very low risk for most people. Valerian has a longer traditional reputation but weaker, more inconsistent trial evidence, and the 2017 sleep medicine guidelines explicitly advise against relying on it for chronic insomnia. Both are worth trying as a gentle bedtime ritual — just don’t expect either to replace proper sleep hygiene or treatment for a genuine sleep disorder.

Sources

• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Sleep Disorders and Complementary Health Approaches”
• Sleep Foundation, “The Best Teas for Sleep”