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Chamomile is a plant that is part of the daisy family but with smaller flowers and bigger leaves. It is most commonly known for its soothing abilities. The flowers are the parts that are used the most for making teas, washes and salves. Learn more about how to make this kind of tea and the many benefits from drinking it.
How to Make Chamomile Tea
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 Stash Tea Chamomile Herbal Tea |
Chamomile tea is so common that only a dedicated herbalist or someone who happens to have chamomile growing around them would need to make their own tea. Otherwise, you simply buy the tea, place it in boiling water and allow to steep for 10-15 minutes when it is being prepared to drink. If you’re using the teabags for something other than making a tea to drink, keep in mind that the method may be different.
To use a chamomile tea bag for external uses, such as the reduction of swelling or darkness around the eyes, place the tea bag in warm water for 5-10 minutes. Remove the tea bag and once it is cool enough for your liking, place it on your closed eyes for use as a night compress.
When making your own chamomile tea bags, know that chamomile can be made into a tea from either dried or fresh herbs. The upside is that you can make chamomile to be used immediately, or you can dry the plant for use later.
Chamomile Tea Calms Your Sympathetic Nervous System
Chamomile tea primarily targets the sympathetic nervous system. This is the part of your system that is constantly at work, but isn’t the “first responder”. This means that when you get into an argument with someone, it isn’t the system that makes you stay and argue or turn and run. It’s the system that churns on the issue. When your stomach hurts later over the argument, it’s this system that is at work and it is actually one of the most reliable systems for insights into how your body responds to the environment around you.
What actually happens is that the flight or fight response is triggered and neurotransmitters are released. Those neurotransmitters let your sympathetic nervous system know it’s time to get to work. Sometimes this system stays active and you have to let it know that it’s time to stop working. This is most common when there are regular patterns of stress.
To understand this, consider that the body has the main goal of survival. Every time your flight or fight response is triggered, your body goes into survival mode. The sympathetic nervous system is somewhat of a backup plan, staying on alert after the situation is over. For example, if you are constantly arguing with your spouse, your fight or flight response is constantly being turned off and on. Your sympathetic nervous system gets so used to getting those signals, that it simply remains active. When this happens, anxiety occurs.
Herbs like chamomile work to let your sympathetic nervous system know it’s time to stop working, so you can get some anxiety-free time. Because of its effects on this system, chamomile tea also acts as an antispasmodic and an anti-inflammatory.
Additional Health Benefits from Chamomile Tea
Since chamomile tea is so beneficial to the sympathetic nervous system, it has some indirect benefits that aren’t as well-known. No matter which issue you’re trying to target, you can at least benefit from the fact that chamomile tea reduces anxiety, which is bound to accompany almost any other health related issue.
Insomnia
The most common use for this tea is to use it to treat insomnia. It has a sedative effect, so it may help you sleep when you otherwise wouldn’t be able to. The key is to drink it about 20 minutes before going to bed rather than waiting until you can’t sleep.
Migraines
Chamomile tea is known to reduce the impact of a migraine. Like most migraine treatments, this one works best if it is drank before the migraine is in full swing. If you have any indication of a migraine, such as floaters, drink a cup or two of chamomile tea in an effort to reduce the pain before it hits with full force.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
One of the characteristics of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is the constant cramping that occurs. Since chamomile is an antispasmodic, it helps to reduce cramping. It can be beneficial to drink before or during a cramping spell. It may be easiest to drink the tea before or during a meal or snack as a preventative measure.
Menstrual Issues
Whether you suffer from PMS or severe cramps, this tea can help reduce the agony that some women experience as part of their menstrual cycle. Headaches, cramps and anxiety from PMS can all benefit from chamomile tea.
How To Grow Chamomile
Chamomile is very easy to grow in your garden. Find out how to grow it by watching this short video below.
Chamomile Tea and Children
For various reasons, herbal remedies have more of an impact on children than they do on adults. Some herbs are even dangerous for children. Chamomile tea is one of the few that is gentle enough to be safe for children to use. In some cases, because of the way that herbs impact children, chamomile tea is more beneficial to children than it is to adults
Be Cautious If You have Ragweed Allergies
Before using chamomile tea to treat any symptoms you might have, try it in small doses. This will help you to assess whether or not you have an allergy to it. If your body responds well to the tea in a small dose, increase the amount gradually to be safe. Those who are allergic to plants like ragweed are likely to experience a similar allergy to chamomile and chamomile tea.
Why do you drink chamomile tea?
Tagged With: Teas
