Tea has been tied with health benefits for centuries, even used as medicine for illnesses. Because my interest in this topic stems from my appreciation for tea and my major in biochemistry, I decided to conduct an experiment to test the effects of tea directly. Over the course of four days, my mom and I each drank one cup of chamomile tea before going to sleep to determine whether it improved sleep quality. Each night, we drank tea at around 11:00 PM, about 30 minutes before going to bed. Chamomile tea is commonly associated with improving sleep quality and reducing the time it takes to fall asleep.
On average, it typically takes me between 30 minutes to an hour to fall asleep on weekdays, so my hypothesis was that drinking chamomile tea would reduce this time. However, during the first two days, I noticed no significant change in how long it took me to fall asleep, although I did feel noticeably drowsier after drinking the tea. This relaxed feeling continued as I was trying to fall asleep, but I believe the lack of immediate results may be due to my usual sleep schedule, because I typically fall asleep closer to 1:00 AM. During the final two days, however, I found that I was able to fall asleep faster than usual.
My mom experienced similar results, although she reported falling asleep faster after the second day. She stated that, “I didn’t notice much change at first, but after a few nights, I started to feel calmer before bed and found myself falling asleep more quickly than I normally do.”
The results of this experiment suggest that chamomile tea may be more effective when consumed consistently over time, particularly in promoting relaxation rather than immediately inducing sleep. Additionally, the findings indicate that while chamomile may not act as a rapid sleep aid, it can contribute to improved sleep readiness by helping the body relax before bed.