hey y'all it's Cody from sweet populists
and today we are gonna talk about some
of my favorite natural sleep aid whether
you're overusing prescription sleep
medications or simply want to snooze in
a healthier way
this is the video for you so without
further ado let's get into it before we
get into my pics let's try the bit about
why you might want to consider going
natural with your bedtime routine well
there are a lot of over-the-counter
medications designed to help folks
slumber there's some really big benefits
to go in Organic number one natural
sleep aids tend to be safer than
over-the-counter medications because
they're not made with chemicals which
means they have lower side-effects that
also means the natural sleep aids are
safer for kids so if you have a child
that you know is a restless sleeper
these persons are going to be healthier
for them than an over-the-counter
medication might be natural sleep aids
are also a lot more affordable than
over-the-counter medications all of the
pics that I'm gonna chat about today are
under ten dollars which means that
they're not only more affordable but
also more accessible to more folks and
lastly many of these sleep aids have
been around for centuries and that
staying power speaks to their
effectiveness
when slight caveat of natural sleep aids
however is that many of them have
derived from herbs which are not
regulated by the FDA so if you want to
try some of these out you know change up
your bedtime routine I highly recommend
that you consult with a medical
professional before you do so just to
make sure that you're in the clear as
far as allergies are concerned speaking
of my picks let's get into them I'm
gonna give you a brief overview of each
aid going over its history its uses and
what exactly treats let's kick things
off with lemon balm now lemon balm is a
member of the mint family and has been
used to treat anxiety improve mood and
induced slumbers since the Middle Ages
and while sleep technology has advanced
a great deal since the time of knights
and feudal overlords lemon balm remains
a popular calming agent and part of the
reason why it's still so popular is
because there's been a ton of research
done to back up the relaxing claims in
fact one recent study found that lemon
balm wasn't only good at reducing
restlessness but also excellent are
reducing anxiety now you can take a
lemon balm in a couple of different ways
as I mentioned you
can do a lotion or you can do a tea and
for me I really like to take lemon balm
in is here you can use whatever brand
you like that you find at a grocery
store or a pharmacy and I like to put in
my lemon balm throw in some hot water
and let it steep for at least five
minutes I find with herbal teas I like
to let them sit for a longer amount of
time so the water really draws out all
the benefits of the herbs and then I
enjoy it about 25 to 30 minutes before
bed I will say that lemon balm is a
really like calm subtle effect it's not
going to knock you out or you know make
you fall asleep immediately but if your
interacts in state of mind you're kind
of mellowing out it'll definitely help
you on your journey to Dreamland
chamomile is another ancient medicinal
herb that's been used for centuries a
member of the daisy family this flowery
plant is packed with flavonoids that
have been shown to relax the body and
encourage sound slumber most commonly
expressed in teas chamomile is a highly
accessible natural sleep aid and can be
found in most grocery stores pharmacies
and supermarkets and I like to take it
just kind of like how I took the lemon
balm to you I said in a tea bag pour
over some boiling water and let it sit
for about five minutes or so and as with
some balm I like to enjoy it about 28 to
30 minutes before bed of the - I find
chamomile to be a bit stronger and even
if I'm not in a very restful place I
feel like it can get me into a really
nice restful zone and usually after I
take it I fall asleep you know in about
20 to 25 minutes so if you want
something a little bit stronger than the
man balm but still want to take a tea I
think chamomile could be the one for you
in recent years Montmorency tart cherry
has gained traction as a possible
natural sleep aid and why because tart
cherries are rich natural sources of
melatonin hormone that's directly
involved in the sleep/wake cycle and
while your body produces melatonin on
its own specifically in the pineal gland
in the brain taking an outside source of
melatonin and adding it to your body's
own natural supply can sometimes help to
improve sleep especially for those who
struggle falling asleep at night and
while that sounds great there hasn't
been too much research done into tart
cherries direct impacts on sleep however
a 2010 study did find that tart cherry
juice was associated with statistically
significant improvements in
self-reported sleep among older adults
with insomnia
and if you're interested in tart cherry
and want to incorporate it into your
bedtime routine you can either drink
tart cherry juice or take a tart cherry
supplement like what I have right here
and of the two I prefer the pills
because I don't really like sugary
drinks and I want something that's going
to interact with my body in a quicker
way like these do so unlike other sleep
aids tart cherry isn't gonna work
immediately like if you're feeling
sleepy one night you can't pop these
into plastic immediately because your
body has to acclimate to their effects
so you need to take them for at least
two weeks before you feel any results
kava sometimes characterized as kava
kava is the crop of the Pacific Islands
that has long been regarded as an
effective natural sleep aid though
historically popular among the native
populations of Hawaii and some parts of
Micronesia the tropical plant has only
recently started to be used as an herbal
medicine elsewhere the medicinal
benefits here are derived from the
plants bitter root which is said to have
sedating effects now there hasn't been a
lot of research done into this but early
signs points to kava kava is being
effective at managing stress and
reducing anxiety and while you can take
it in a couple of different forms the
most common type are in these soft shell
pill capsules which have the herb packed
in there and you take a couple during
the day for relaxation or at night for
better sleep and when I took these I
noticed a really subtle effect I think
it might be like the tart cherries of
lemons I talked about earlier where you
need to take it over the course of a
couple of weeks to really feel the
impact but I will say that from the
moment I took them I did feel like a
nice calming sensation all across my
body valerian root has been used as a
medicinal herb since at least the time
of ancient Greece and Rome over the
centuries it's taken on a lot of
different uses from cough reducing tea
to mood stabilizer sleep aid and even
elf repellent in medieval Sweden
apparently it was very effective but
nowadays most folks take valerian root
tea to help calm the nerves and relax
the body for sleep and there's been a
lot of research done into the routes
health benefits but there haven't been
too many studies conducted into its
direct impacts on sleep however a 2004
study did find the valerian root tea was
excellent at quieting electrical
activity in the brain which was helpful
for folks falling asleep at night and
you can take valerian root capsules or
pills but I prefer to take it as a team
and based
what you do is you take a teabag you
throw it and put on your boiling water
but as opposed to other teas that we've
spoken about in this review like the
chamomile and lemon balm you know you
need to let this one steep for at least
15 minutes that way all of the benefits
really soak into the water and it makes
it a really strong brew however I'd also
say that it makes it a very bitter brew
so if you're someone who doesn't like a
bitter earthy taste this is definitely
not the sleep aid for you but for me
it's definitely my favorite natural
sleep aid because it's the strongest of
the bunch lavender is one of the most
popular medicinal herbs around as it's
been shown to treat a myriad of
different elements from topical burns to
joint pain bug bites body tension and
yes even poor sleep in fact recent
studies have shown that the aroma of
lavender is specifically good at
interacting with the nervous system to
relax and quiet the mind and as far as
taking lavender for sleep is concerned
you can do it in a ton of different ways
you can spray your sheets with a
lavender spray you can drink lavender
tea you can rub lavender body lotion all
over your body or you can do what I like
to do and get some baking lavender like
the kind we have right here this tin is
so hard to open and you can just take
the lavender right to the face and
inhale some of its scent right before
you go to bed so if you're looking for a
sleep aid that you don't have to take or
you don't have to drink this could be
the one for you
and finally let's talk about passion
power native to Central and South
America this genus of flowering plants
has been used for centuries to treat
everything from skin boils to ear
infections restlessness and
stress-related fatigue in our modern
times it's most commonly used to treat
anxiety and insomnia and if it sounds
like something you might want to try out
you can take passion flower tea or you
can take passion flower extract and what
you do is you take a full dropper of an
extract you can use whatever brand you
like and put it into a glass of water
stir it around let it sit for a few
minutes and then drink it either during
the day for relaxation or right before
bed to help fall asleep now in my
opinion it has a really subtle sort of
mellow effect it didn't make me feel
drowsy at all but it definitely did help
calm me down and reduced some of my
anxiety
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well folks that does it for my guide to
the best natural sleep aids for more
sleep related content or educational
resources make sure to go to sleep
populace calm and subscribe to the sleep
Avila's youtube channel but until next
time happy dreaming