Herbal medicine and addressing the nervous system often go hand in hand as many herbs and natural remedies have been used for centuries to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and improve overall well-being. Very often when I am treating clients for various conditions, we have to address the nervous system as one of the underlying issues that is contributing to less-than-optimal health, healing and wellbeing.
In today’s Article I want to stir up a little bit of enthusiasm for herbal teas – a great DIY strategy that is often glossed over. Let me share with you a brief summary of some common herbs that you can pretty easily find so that you can take advantage of their medicinal properties, primarily as teas – an often underrated way of gaining all the goodness from herbal medicine.
But I want to reiterate what I just said which is the importance of the nervous system and the role it plays in your over all health. Of course it is important to find ways to relax and reduce stress and tension. Stating the obvious right? Please don’t just brush this aside thinking it is only herbal tea! And tea you can buy from a health food shop or your corner store.
“Herbal Teas Can Have Profound Positive Effect On Your Health”
So if you are not as well as you’d like to be, or you want to promote your health in some way, then DIY herbal teas are one place to start – and you really can’t go wrong!
Herbal Teas For Nervous System Health
Chamomile: Best known for helping the nerves to calm and to promote a relaxing sleep, chamomile is worth having on your shelf. It has been shown to have an effect on the central nervous system (1). Personally I don’t love the taste of Chamomile – I think I overdosed on it during my college years! So I like to blend it with something else that is relaxing. And that’s a good strategy to take generally. You want your herbal r=teas to taste nice of course, but when you are taking a health-focused DIY approach, then make sure the herbs you mix have a similar medicinal effect. (Chamomile and peppermint is not good for relaxation)
Lavender: I love this herb and use a lot of it in the skin products I manufacture at the clinic. As a herbal tea, a small amount is so nourishing on the nervous system helping to provide calm and balance. In herbal medicine I often prescribe it when there has been some sort of trauma – physical or emotional as well as for clients that are suffering anxiety.
Valerian Root: One of my favourite muscle relaxants which is very handy when stress and tension are felt physically in the muscles. I love the taste of this tea – the plant is rich in essential oils, iridoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, amino acids, and lignanoids, giving it the characteristic scent and taste (2).
Passionflower: Used as a herbal tea when you want to help induce sleep. Now I tell my clients, even when I have prescribed them a potent herbal tincture of something like Passiflora, that these herbs are not like taking a strong pharmaceutical sedative that will ‘knock you out’. No. When you take these herbs with the intention of sleeping better, they will have a physiological effect that is calming and sleep-promoting, but if you are sitting up watching some thriller on TV, then I’m sure you’ll remain wide awake! These herbs facilitate calm and relaxation.
Lemon Balm: I’m including this one because it is used a lot on herbal teas. It’s a great tasting one so can blend nicely with other herbs. It’s a more gentle relaxant, still valuable for sure, and it has the added benefit of helping to ‘calm’ the digestive system.
One study (3) showed that lemon balm had a positive effect on memory, judgment, and problem-solving – all associated with nervous system functioning.
Storage:
Please keep your herbal teas in an airtight container. If left exposed to the air the essential oils will evaporate the there will be oxidation of some of the active ingredients (4).
Concentration of Tea:
The safest (and easiest) way to have herbal teas is to buy them already in tea bags or prepared and packaged as loose leaf tea and to follow the recommendations from the manufacturer.
References