Calming Herbs for Anxiety, Stress, and Sleep: What the Research Shows
Certain herbs have long been used to calm the nervous system and help people relax. These herbs for anxiety and stress may help reduce nervous tension, promote sleep, and improve the body’s ability to recover from stress.
In traditional herbal medicine, many of these plants are known as nervine herbs — plants and botanicals believed to support and soothe the nervous system.
You’ve probably encountered several of these herbs already. Chamomile tea, for example, is widely used as a gentle sleep aid, and herbs such as passionflower, valerian, and hops are often included in supplements or herbal blends designed to promote relaxation.
Modern research is beginning to investigate how some of these herbs may influence brain chemistry, including the calming neurotransmitter GABA, which helps regulate anxiety and stress responses.
In this article, we’ll look at several commonly used calming herbs, what research suggests about their potential benefits, and how they are typically used to support relaxation and sleep.
What's in the Guide to Relaxing, Calming Herbal Supplements and Teas
| What are Nervine Herbs? |
| How do Calming Herbs Impact Your Brain and Nervous System? |
| Common Nervine Herbs for Anxiety, Stress, and Sleep |
| Animal and Human Research Results for Relaxing Herbs |
| How Nervine Herbs are Used: Supplements, Tinctures, and Teas |
| Cautions and Safety Concerns When Taking Medicinal Herbs |
| More Information About Food and Supplements for Mental Health |
| Calming Herbs Research References |
Note: This article should not be taken as medical advice. It is always advisable to talk to your personal medical professionals before taking natural remedies.
What are Nervine Herbs?
Nervine herbs are a group of herbs that help support your nervous system. They potentially help you relax physically and mentally and may be particularly helpful for sleep.
How do Calming Herbs Impact Your Brain and Nervous System?
Common Nervine Herbs List for Anxiety, Stress, and Sleep
Herbs usually have both a common name and a 2-part scientific name made of genus and species components.
Common herbs to help you relax include:
- Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
- Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
- Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)
- Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
- Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
- Hops (Humulus lupulus)
These herbs for anxiety are commonly used in teas, extracts, and supplements designed to promote relaxation and sleep.
Animal and Human Research Results for Relaxing Herbs
I discuss calming herbs in my book Feed Your Calm: Anti-Anxiety Anti-Stress Diet and Supplement Tips for Stress Resilience. While researching the topic, I reviewed numerous scientific studies on nutrients, herbs, and gut health that influence anxiety, stress resilience, and sleep.
Here's a sample of research results for each of the herbs listed.
Passionflower Anxiety Study
People undergoing dental extraction were given passionflower or a pill of the mild anesthetic drug midazolam thirty minutes before a local anesthetic injection and tooth removal. The passionflower worked equally well as midazolam to reduce pre-operative anxiety. [1]
Chamomile Anxiety Research
Nurses monitored stress levels in chronic heart failure patients who drank chamomile tea three times a day for a month, comparing them to a non-chamomile control group. The patients in the chamomile group showed a significant reduction in anxiety throughout the test period, while the control group showed an increase in anxiety.[2]
Lemongrass Anxiety Animal Studies
Studies on mice in Nigeria and Brazil have demonstrated lemongrass’s ability to reduce anxiety. [3]
Lemon balm (AKA Melissa) Anxiety, Depression, and Sleep Effects
A 2024 review of studies performed on lemon balm effects concluded that:
"Existing research indicates that lemon balm holds promise as a calming agent exhibiting both anxiolytic and anti-depressant properties, and can elicit cognitive and sleep-quality enhancement." [4]
Valerian for Sleep Review of the Research
Australians Shanah Salter and Sonya Brownie reviewed research articles for use of valerian to help with sleep. While they found flaws in some of the research projects, there still remained reliable evidence that valerian can potentially help you get to sleep and have improved sleep quality.[5]
Hops for Faster Sleep Onset and Better Sleep Quality
Hops is present in most commercially produced beer. In an interesting study, the relaxation effect of hops was tested in a study that gave non-alcoholic beer to highly stressed nurses. One non-alcoholic beer at dinner resulted in improved sleep. The nurses wore wristbands that recorded sleep activity, etc. The results showed that they got to sleep quicker and sleep was less restless than without the beer. [6]
How Nervine Herbs are Used: Supplements, Tinctures, and Teas
MaryRuth Organics Lemon Balm is one example of a liquid extract version.
Garden of Life Mykind Organics has an interesting tablet-form product called Sleep Well that includes several nervine herbs and L-theanine.
Many companies make teas made from individual anti-anxiety herbs. For example, Buddha Teas has an organic tea for many of the listed nervine herbs.
There is also a wide selection of teas that combine mixes of calming herbs. One example is Traditional Medicinals Organic Nighty Night Valerian Relaxation Tea that includes valerian, passionflower, and lemon balm.
Cautions and Safety Concerns When Taking Medicinal Herbs
More Information About Food and Supplements for Mental Health
I talk about nervine herbs, and so much more, in my book Feed Your Calm: Anti-Anxiety Anti-Stress Diet and Supplement Tips for Stress Resilience.
In Feed Your Calm, you'll learn:
- What's happening in your body as you try to deal with stress
- How specific vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, probiotics, and herbs help you deal with stress
- 5 types of foods that add to your stress and hurt your ability to be calm
- 12 anti-anxiety foods for stress resilience
- 10 anti-anxiety supplements for stress resilience
"Anxiety is at epidemic levels today. In Feed Your Calm, Ann Silvers gives readers an approachable antidote to this epidemic."
--Dr. Megan DeBell, MD
Calming Herbs Research References
[1]. L. P. Dantas et al., “Effects of Passiflora incarnata and Midazolam for Control of Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Dental Extraction,” Medicina Oral Patología Oral y Cirugia Bucal 22, no. 1 (2016): e95–e101, https://doi.org/10.4317/medoral.21140.
[2]. M. Rahimi et al., “The Effect of Chamomile Tea on Dyspnoea and Anxiety Among Patients with Heart Failure,” CONNECT: The World of Critical Care Nursing 10, no. 1 (2016): 5–8.
[3]. David Arome, Chinedu Enegide, and Solomon Fidelis Ameh, “Pharmacological Evaluation of Anxiolytic Property of Aqueous Root Extract of Cymbopogon citratus in Mice,” Chronicles of Young Scientists 5, no. 1 (2014): 33–38, https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-5186.129335.
M. M. Blanco et al., “Neurobehavioral Effect of Essential Oil of Cymbopogon citratus in Mice,” Phytomedicine 16, no. 2–3 (2009): 265–270, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2007.04.007.
[4] I. M. Mathews, et. al., "Clinical Efficacy and Tolerability of Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis L.) in Psychological Well-Being: A Review" Nutrients 16, no. 20: 3545 2024. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16203545
[5]. S. Salter and S. Brownie, “Treating Primary Insomnia: The Efficacy of Valerian and Hops,” Australian Family Physician 39, no. 6 (2010): 433.
[6]. L. Franco et al., “The Sedative Effect of Non-Alcoholic Beer in Healthy Female Nurses,” PLoS ONE 7, no. 7 (2012): e37290, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037290.
- Ann Silvers
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