Natures Sleep Aids

Nature gives us plenty of sleep aids that will help us fall gently asleep with out having any harmful effects.
One that almost everyone knows is Valerian Root. Valerian Root is the herb that helped the pharmaceuticals develop Valium (Valium is synthetically made from Valerian Root). If you choose Valerian Root instead of Valium you do not have to worry about any side-effects or becoming dependent on it. Valerian Root helps with the entire circulatory system and has a healing effect on the nervous system which means that it can calm you down and increase the blood flow to the brain. If used during the day before a stressful meeting it can work miracles. Valerian Root will let you inter the meeting clam and relaxed with a focused mind. It comes in the form of teas, capsules, or tinctures. Never Boil Valerian Root.
The benefits of Valerian Root are more than just relaxing you. It also helps with nervousness, ulcers, headaches, colic, gas, pain, stress, anxiety, insomnia, convulsions, muscle cramps, and spasms. It helps to improves circulation and aids in reducing excess mucus from colds and flu.
If you a are using Valerian Root for a sleep aid a cup of Valerian Root tea at bed time works the best.
If you are using herbal teas for babies and toddlers brew the tea as usual and then dilute the tea 1/1 with water.

Catnip is one that always gets me a very strange look. Catnip is not just for cats, it is also very good for people. For people Catnip has the opposite effect. It will relax you and relieve stress. It is a little stronger than Valerian Root. I have known a couple of people that drink their tea as they are getting into bed because it will work that fast on them. I would recommend that for the first time you only drink one cup and do this as the last thing before climbing in to bed.
Again, as with most herbs Catnip will do more than just helping you sleep. Catnip can be used as an aid for fever, colic, colds, flu, inflammation, pain, and convulsions, digestion (gas or cramps), great for quieting the nervous system, a mucus reducer, stress reliever, and it can also be used to stimulate the appetite.
If you have a common cold or the flu it is wonderful. Catnip taken as a tea at this time will help relieve the aches and pain that you always have as well as keep a check on your fever and let you sleep deep and sound. It will help the congestion that comes with the flu as a mucus reducer.
All in all it is one of the best for these yearly pesky problems.

Chamomile, a truly pleasant cup of tea! Chamomile will let you drift off to sleep as if you had no help at all. It has a natural feeling to it, very easily tolerated. The best way to enjoy Chamomile as a sleep aid is to brew a cup after everything is done for the night and find that good book (you had to put down last week because of what ever emergency came up) you were reading,climb in bed and snuggle down. Enjoy your tea and your book as you slowly drift off for the night.
Chamomile is widely known for relief of menstrual cramps, but again that is just the beginning. It can also be used for nervous stomachs, a digestive aid, a nerve tonic, helps relieve the bladder, a cold, asthma, even helps with colitis, and deverticulosis, great for headaches, fever, and the list goes on and on.

These are three simple but effective sleep aids that have a very healing and calming effect on the entire system. All three a worth doing research on to find the best one for you and all three can be used for multiple symptoms. These can make you forget all about the over-the-counter stuff!