I suffered terribly from pregnancy insomnia when I was pregnant with my first child, and given how restrictive sleep medication is at this time of life, I drank chamomile tea by the bucket load. However, it wasn’t enough to help me nod off.
I’d worked as a tea blender for over 10 years at this point, and had studied for a degree in Tea Science in Fujian, China, so I decided to put that knowledge to good use to ease my sleep deprived pain.
Firstly, I was careful not to include certain herbal ingredients that can be dangerous in pregnancy – especially liquorice, which is used to sweeten many ‘sleepy’ teas on the market. Liquorice raises your blood pressure, which is extremely dangerous if you have preeclampsia, and is why it is not in our Night Owl blend.
Instead, I used a base of whole chamomile flowers, which are natural muscle relaxants, and added some rooibos and limeflowers for sweetness. Like chamomile, lime flowers are also a relaxant whilst rooibos is simply useful for caffeine free flavour.
To this base, whole lavender is added for it’s calming aromatic qualities. The essential oils in lavender have been linked to sleep for millenia, and are extremely calming. Alongside this, the final sleep ingredient is a small amount of valerian root. Valerian is a plant with an unusual, almost mettalic flavour, but strong relaxing properties, so in a small amount it is extremely useful.
In combination, the blend became sweetly floral, and extremely calming and relaxing. It takes 1-3 hours to take effect, due to the absorption systems of your body. So it’s best to have a cup after dinner.
As we pack the blend into whole leaf biodegradable tea bags, you can steep the tea at least twice. Don’t throw your bag in the compost immediately, keep it by your kettle and brew two times.
And the even better news – if you are breastfeeding, if you drink this tea an hour before the night time feed, it’s sleep enducing properties will transfer into your breast milk and can help you baby fall asleep more easily, and stay asleep for longer. The timing is important here, as after 2-3 hours the properties will not be in your milk, but it’s worth getting right.
The Second Trimester Baboo Box has been created to help aid sleep and relaxation in the second trimester of pregnancy. Night Owl Tea is one of the products featured in this box. Click the link above to order yours today.