Already significant results after 4 weeks.
In France, almost 1 in 5 people suffer from insomnia, particularly women who are twice as likely to be affected as men. The most common type of insomnia is so-called falling asleep (when the person takes more than 30 minutes to fall asleep after turning off the light) often with anxious ruminations which prevent sleep. To remedy this, many natural solutions exist and certain plants can help you fall asleep more quickly.
Researchers from the Department of Biology at Taïbah University in Saudi Arabia have discovered that a well-known aromatic herb, grown mainly in summer between May and September and which proliferates easily in the garden, would be particularly effective in soothing the brain just before sleeping. and improve falling asleep. They followed 124 healthy students (average age 22 years, 87% women) divided equally and randomly into two groups. The first group had to drink an infusion of 250 mg of this plant 30 minutes before bedtime every day for a month. The second group (control group) had to drink an infusion of 250 mg of any other plant every day for the same period.
Before and at the end of the follow-up, the participants answered a questionnaire assessing their level of anxiety, stress, memory, cognitive performance, time to fall asleep and the quality of their sleep. They also had to say whether they were “good sleepers” or “poor sleepers” (they were “poor sleepers” if they checked at least 5 items among the following 7: sleep latency, short sleep duration, nocturnal disturbances, getting up at night, use of sleeping medication, attention dysfunction during the day, fatigue during the day). At the end of the study, among those in the first group who drank the famous plant:
► almost half who declared themselves “bad sleepers” at the start of the study became “good sleepers”
► 10% had less insomnia
► 20% had lower levels of stress and anxiety and 18% had better memory
In the second group, the number of “bad sleepers” increased slightly after the month of follow-up (43 “bad sleepers” at the beginning and 44 at the end), the researchers report in the journal Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmacognosy Research.
Due to its high content of bioactive compounds known for their sedative and calming effects, peppermint (the famous aromatic herb) would have positive benefits on several aspects of brain health and sleep, at a rate of 250 mg of leaves. (dried or fresh, it is easily found in bulk in stores or you can plant it in your garden) infused for 10 minutes in hot water, to drink 30 minutes before bedtime, the researchers recommend, specifying however that research on a larger sample of people is needed to confirm their results.