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This natural sleep tincture recipe is made with some of my favorite herbs. It’s naturally relaxing, calming, and great for a better night’s sleep. We don’t need it often, but if I’ve got a sick kiddo, or we’re traveling and schedules are crazy, this is the one I reach for.
And it doesn’t just work for kids. Adults who struggle with sleepless nights and anxious feelings can also benefit from a sleep tincture.
What Is a Sleep Tincture?
A tincture simply extracts the health benefits from herbs into a concentrated liquid form. If you’ve ever tried “sleepy time tea” and felt more relaxed and had better sleep, a tincture can work even better. Tinctures rely on alcohol to extract and preserve the beneficial components of the herb.
Tinctures are powerful, long lasting, easy, and inexpensive to make. If you have an herb garden you already have a lot of the ingredients! I rely on tinctures for a wide variety of complaints, like tummy troubles, colic, teething, sore throats, or as a multivitamin. I even have one I like to use for postpartum care.
Tincture Without the Alcohol
If you want to skip the alcohol, you can make a glycerite or herbal infused vinegar instead. These don’t have as long of a shelf life, but will still last several years.
A popular strategy is to put the alcohol tincture dose in a cup of steaming hot water and allow it to evaporate some before drinking. However, this only decreases the alcohol a tiny amount and you lose the volatile oils and some other constituents in the process, according to the USDA.
Sleepy Time Herbs
Each herb in this blend has a unique role to play. Here’s what each herb does and why I chose it for my sleep tincture recipe.
Yarrow helps increase circulation in the body and has an affinity for the blood. When circulation is working optimally, the body can better deliver the nutrition it needs to different areas.
Catnip is a nervine and sedative that helps calm and relax. The active ingredient in catnip is similar to the sedatives found in valerian root. It was used as far back as medieval times as a strengthening tonic.
Chamomile is a gentle, yet powerful nervine that soothes and calms. It’s helpful for restlessness, crankiness, and anxious feelings.
Stevia is a super sweet herb, about 200 times sweeter than sugar, according to a 2019 article in the journal PNAS. We’re using it here for the flavor, though it can be omitted if desired.
Oatstraw and Milk Oat Tops
Oats help restore the nervous system, especially in times of stress, to rebuild energy and stamina. They help build resilience and induce rest, which in turn can boost libido. This relaxing herb addresses anxious feelings and sleeplessness and is a great addition to a sleep tincture.
Oats are used to reduce night sweats, hot flashes, and mood swings during menopause (which can interrupt sleep). Our family also used it to help reduce bedwetting. Both the stem and the milky, immature oat top are rich in minerals and nutrients including:
- Silica
- Magnesium
- Phosphorous
- Chromium
- Iron
- Calcium
- Alkaloids
- Vitamins A, B, C, E, and K
Peppermint
Rich in minerals and vitamins, peppermint is a delicious addition to foods, like this healthy peppermint mocha. Mint helps to stimulate digestion, improves circulation, and supports toning and cleansing the liver. It both relaxes and stimulates the nervous system to help with tension and anxious feelings. So mint can calm you down while it gives a pick-me-up feeling.
Hops
Hops were used by indigenous tribes and the Arabic world for centuries before they became a popular addition to beer brewing. They help induce sleepiness and even King George III was rumored to have slept on a hops stuffed pillow for sweet dreams. Most of the evidence on hops shows it works as part of a blend of herbs.
Are Tinctures Safe?
Tinctures have been safely used in herbal remedies since ancient times and are still widely used today.
There are as many uses for tinctures as there are herbs, but make sure to research carefully before creating a new concoction. Just because something comes from nature doesn’t mean it is safe to concentrate and ingest! Quite the opposite sometimes, actually.
This sleep tincture recipe contains a blend of herbs I’ve used successfully for years. There are a few safety considerations though.
Sleep Tincture Safety and Contraindications
Herbs are largely safe options, but not every herb works for every person. That’s one reason why I keep a variety of herbs in my DIY herb cabinet. The following information comes from The Herbal Academy, registered herbalist David Hoffman, and herbalist and Yale-trained doctor Aviva Romm, MD.
Yarrow – Yarrow is not safe during pregnancy and its safety during breastfeeding is unknown.
Catnip – This herb is used to bring on menstruation. Large doses are not recommended during pregnancy.
Oatstraw – Both the stem and milky oat tops can have trace amounts of gluten due to cross-contamination. Oats themselves don’t have gluten, but they can be processed in a facility that does. People with celiac disease who are really sensitive can either grow and harvest it themselves, or find certified gluten free oatstraw.
Peppermint – Large amounts can irritate already existing acid reflux or diminish breastmilk supply. The amount used in this recipe shouldn’t have those effects unless someone is really sensitive.
Chamomile – Is not recommended for people on blood thinners. Caution should be used with those using hormonal birth control, sedative drugs, and medications that pass through the liver. Chamomile can also cause allergic reactions for those allergic to plants in the Asteraceae family.
Hops – Like red clover, hops naturally contains estrogenic compounds so it should not be used during pregnancy or for young, developing children. Some find it can worsen already existing depression or cause vivid dreams at night.
Sleep Tincture Safety Modifications
Pregnancy insomnia can be rough. While I prefer to stick to natural relaxing remedies, there are a few modifications needed. Expecting mamas should skip the hops, yarrow, and catnip. In general, it’s recommended to avoid medicinal use of herbs in the first trimester, but check with your midwife if unsure.
Breastfeeding moms may want to skip the yarrow and mint, though that’s not totally necessary. I’d also leave the hops out if breastfeeding.
Children can safely use this sleep tincture without the hops. While alcohol isn’t for kids, the amount used in a tincture is incredibly small and many consider it fine for kids. According to a 1996 article, Alcohol from Bananas, there’s actually more alcohol in a ripe banana!
If you’re concerned then an herbal glycerite or vinegar are other options.
Sleep Tincture Recipe
Equipment
- quart size canning jar with an airtight lid
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP dried yarrow flowers
- 2 TBSP dried catnip
- 2 TBSP dried oatstraw
- 2 TBSP dried chamomile flowers
- 1 TBSP dried mint leaves
- 1 TBSP dried hops flowers
- 1 TBSP dried stevia leaf
- 2 cups 80-proof or stronger vodka or rum
Instructions
- Put all the herbs in a clean glass jar, either tinted or keep away from sunlight.
- Pour the alcohol over the herbs until they're completely submerged, leaving about 1-2 inches of space a the top.
- Cap with an airtight lid and leave in a cool, dark place for at least 2 weeks and up to 8, shaking daily.
- After the desired steeping time, strain the herbs out using muslin or cheesecloth and store in small tincture bottles for use as needed. I use 2 ounce bottles and the droppers that come with them
Notes
How to Use: Normal daily dose is 2-3 droppers full for adults and 1 dropper full for kids over two. Start with a small amount and work up as needed. I’ve found it works really well, even at low doses.
Shelf Life and Storage: Alcohol tinctures will last for many years when kept in a cool place away from direct light and heat.
Some people find that over time the rubber on the dropper bottles starts to degrade. For longer term storage use a regular, screw on lid or store in a glass mason jar. It’s easy to refill the dropper bottle with more tincture as needed from a larger stash.
Where to Get Ingredients
I grow a lot of herbs in my garden and get the rest online. You may be able to find some of these herbs locally. Starwest Botanicals sells high quality organic herbs that you can get from their website or on Amazon.
If You Don’t DIY
Steeping herbs isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (pun intended), so I also keep the homeopathic sleep tablets for kids from Genexa on hand for the occasional restless or anxious night. I love that they are independently tested for safety and purity (no toxins, artificial flavors or fillers, or GMO-derived ingredients). The tablets do seem to help my kids drift off to sleep.
And if you prefer to buy a sleep tincture, Herbpharm also sells an alcohol free sleep glycerite that’s good quality.
Ever have trouble sleeping? What’s your remedy?
Sources:
- Amsterdam, JD., Li, Y., Soeller, et al. (2009). A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral Matricaria recutita (chamomile) extract therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 29 (4): 378–82.
- Berger, J. (1998). Herbal rituals. St. Martin’s Press.
- Bruton-Seal, J., Seal, M. (2009). Backyard Medicine: Harvest and Make Your Own Herbal Remedies. Skyhorse.
- Castleman, M. (2009). The new healing herbs: The essential guide to more than 125 of nature’s most potent herbal remedies. (3rd ed.). Rodale, Inc.
- Chadwick, L., Pauli, G., & Farnsworth, N. (2006). The pharmacognosy of Humulus lupulus L. (hops) with an emphasis on estrogenic properties. Phytomedicine?: International Journal of Phytotherapy and Phytopharmacology, 13(1-2), 119–131.
- Edwards, G.F. (2000). Opening our wild hearts to the healing herbs. Ash Tree Publishing.
- Foster, S., & Johnson, R. (2008). National Geographic desk reference to nature’s medicine. National Geographic Society.
- Gladstar, R. (2001). Rosemary Gladstar’s family herbal. Storey Books.
- Hammon, J., Egg, R. et al. (1996). Lignocellulose production and conversion to fuel
Alcohol from bananas. Bioresource Technology, 56(1), 125-130. - Holmes, Peter. (1997). The Energetics of Western Herbs. Snow Lotus Press, Inc.
- Koetter, U., & Biendl, M. (2010). Humulus lupulus: A review of its historic and medicinal uses. HerbalGram. 87, 44-57.
- Kupfersztain, C., Rotem, C., et al. (2003). The immediate effect of natural plant extract, Angelica sinensis and Matricaria chamomilla (Climex) for the treatment of hot flushes during menopause. A preliminary report. Clinical and experimental obstetrics & gynecology, 30(4), 203–206.
- Lee, S., Salomon, E., et al (2019). Molecular basis for branched steviol glucoside biosynthesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(26), 13131–13136.
- Mars, B. (2014). The desktop guide to herbal medicine: The ultimate multidisciplinary reference to the amazing realm of healing plants in a quick-study, one-stop guide (2nd ed.). Basic Health Publications, Inc.
- McIntyre, A. (1996). Flower power. Henry Holt and Company, Inc.
- Ritchason, J. (1995). The little herb encyclopedia: the handbook of nature’s remedies for a healthier life. (3rd ed.). Woodland Health Books.
- Romm, Aviva. (2020). Herbs in Pregnancy: What’s Safe, What’s Not?
- (dataset) Nutrient Data Lab. (2017). USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007). USDA Agricultural Research Service.
Why The New MyPlate Recommendations Won’t be on My Plate
I read (on Wikipedia to be transparent) that yarrow is a stimulant. Do you think it is a good idea to put that in a sleep tincture?
Maybe you should ask the REAL author of the recipe………..
-link removed for spam-
Yarrow is similar to chamomile and aids in restful sleep.
Wow- You just accused me of stealing my own content (from a site that actually did steal my content). I removed the link because that site is just pulling other authors work and using it for click bait to make money from ads. The date on that post was a year after this original post. This post was photographed (poorly, I might add, since I was new to blogging) on my wedding dishes so I find it really humorous that you accused me of copying the content. In reply to Marisa’s original question though- a very small number of people will react strangely to yarrow and it will keep them awake (just as a small percentage of people will not do well with magnesium or other substances), but I’ve found it helpful in this recipe.
#3. Fill the jar the rest of the way with alcohol (don’t use rubbing or grain alcohol!) Okay, most of today’s hooch is ethanol, or grain alcohol. So for clarity, are you saying not to use whiskey and isopropol alcohol?
Haha… thanks for the clarification. Yes, definitely no isopropyl alcohol and vodka is preferable to whiskey…
WARNING: Sciency answer… but may be of interest if you’re curious and frugal. Go to the bottom if you don’t care about the science/process.
Typically when people say “grain alcohol”, they’re referring to “pure grain alcohol” (e.g., “PGA” or brand name Everclear). For tinctures, there isn’t any difference between vodka and PGA other than the amount you use. Vodka is made by making “pure” alcohol (~95% by volume after triple distillation, limited to 95.6%ABV no matter how many times its distilled due to the chemistry of ethanol/water solution) and then diluting it back down to 40%ABV (80 proof) by adding water. PGA is just undiluted vodka with a sugar source that is from a grain (barley, wheat, rye, etc).
Whiskey/bourbon, rum, tequila are also all the same from a tincture perspective (the alcohol is the key because it draws out chemicals that water doesn’t). The flavor will be different and it doesn’t make economic sense to use something that was aged in a barrel (which you pay for) when you could use something cheaper for the same (better flavor) effect.
Some folks will shy away from “PGA” because it’s made with grains that have gluten. No worries here either. Gluten is not volatile (won’t boil) at distillation temperatures and cannot physically go up the column into the distillate. So even PGA/vodka made from superglutenized wheat with a gluten kicker in the beer/mash will have 0 gluten. Gluten issues with PGA/vodka are psychosomatic.
BOTTOM LINE: To use PGA instead of vodka, you have to do some simple math. For this recipe with 2 cups of 80 proof (40%ABV) vodka, you have 0.8 cups of actual ethanol (2 * 0.4 = 0.8 cups ethanol). If you substituted 190 proof PGA (95%ABV), you would need ~5/6 of a cup of PGA:
0.8 cups ethanol = 0.95 * x
x = 0.8/0.95 = 0.842 which is a hint more than 0.833 or 5/6 cups
In my kitchen, that’s going to be rounded to a cup and I’ll just pour a little lighter. To end with the same concentration, you make up the another cup with plain water. The MONEY SAVING point is that Everclear is almost the same price per 750ml bottle as any decent vodka (~$20 or $100/gallon). So use Everclear and dilute it down with your tap water that you pay $0.002/gallon. For this recipe, the difference is more than $50/gallon, which adds up if you make a lot of tinctures. The alcohol is what is making the tincture anyway, so you could just skip the water altogether and half the dosage (since the same amount of alcohol-soluble active chemicals will dilute into approximately half the volume of Everclear as water). Try both ways… there may be some water-soluble components to this particular recipe that are important for the effect.
Here’s the math: 2 cups * 40% alcohol (e.g. 80 proof) = 0.8 cups alcohol = 5/6 cup * 95% alcohol
For those who don’t want to use alcohol you can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (apple cider is my preference) instead of the vodka. When I give tinctures to my son I usually mix it in a little juice or in water so that it dilutes the strong taste.
I would love to try this for my 8 year old daughter who is very restless & has a lot of trouble falling asleep…but she is also very picky, so I am wondering how this would taste? Does it have an alcohol taste to it? I was also thinking of chamomile tincture.
most tinctures, after you drop them into a little water, wont really taste like anything. just be siure to put it in something or it will be rough!
Not to be cheeky but I’m suffering from insomnia now. In 2-8 I may as well be SOL. lol
We love to make loose leaf tea with camomile to help with sleep, works great and my son loves it!
Tinctures are relatively easy to make and this is a good one. Great recipe.
you would use glycerin 1 for 1 to replace vodka.
If you wanted to use vegetable glycerin to make this tincture, how would you adjust the recipe?
i don’t remember if i have asked you before, but i’m guessing that using the alcohol is a must for the tincture…. does the alcohol remain in the product or is it considered “alcoholic”? i want to try this so bad!!!
It does contain the alcohol while it is in containers, though if
alcohol is an issue, just put the amount of the tincture you are
planning to take in water and leave on the counter for an hour or
so… the alcohol will evaporate first, and it will just be a strong,
water based tincture at that point.
If I use vegetable glycerin can I use this for my one year old? Like a small dose of a few drops?
Glycerin can be used in place of alcohol in any recipe, but it will have a much shorter shelf life (Ive been told within a few months at best). Using vodka, it is said – will have an indefinite shelf life.