Chamomile is one of the oldest medicinal herbs known to humanity. Chamomile is a species found throughout Europe but is widely cultivated in Eastern Europe. Its name comes from Greek and means ground apple, referring to its subtle apple aroma. The ancient Egyptians already used chamomile for its medicinal properties, dedicating this herb to the sun god. Chamomile is a species found throughout Europe but is widely cultivated in Eastern Europe.
Chamomile contains several bioactive compounds. Chamomile contains numerous antioxidants, 28 terpenoids, 36 flavonoids, and vitamins A, B, and C. It also contains metals and minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and sulfur. These extensive components contribute to its medicinal properties. Chamomile can be used for its medicinal effects against stress, insomnia, among others.
Chamomile is one of the most commonly used alternative therapies to promote sleep and treat insomnia. However, despite its reputation as a sleep-promoting herb, there is little solid research to support its effectiveness. Although Commission E, the German counterpart to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, approved the use of chamomile flower preparations for a wide range of other purposes, including gastrointestinal tract spasms and bacterial skin diseases, it is interesting that it did not approve its use as a sleep aid in 1984 due to the lack of published research in this area.
The few studies conducted on humans are small, have design flaws (for example, no control group), and show mixed results. In a 2011 study, for example, 17 people with insomnia took 270 milligrams of chamomile extract (an amount that can only be achieved in a concentrated extract, not in tea) twice a day for a month and also kept a sleep diary. When the researchers compared their diaries with those who took a placebo, they found no significant differences in how quickly the patients fell asleep or the amount of sleep they got.
On the contrary, a 2017 study of 77 elderly people in nursing homes found a significant improvement in sleep quality when participants received 400 milligram chamomile capsules twice a day for four weeks, compared to those who received no treatment. Similarly, when researchers in a 2016 study randomly assigned 40 women who had just given birth to drink a cup of chamomile tea daily for fifteen days, they obtained significantly lower scores compared to a control group that did not drink the tea regarding sleep problems and symptoms of depression. However, the improvement disappeared four weeks after the women stopped drinking the tea, suggesting that the positive effects of chamomile are limited to the short term.
Regarding how chamomile might help induce sleep, animal research suggests that chamomile has calming and anxiolytic effects. One study reported that apigenin, a component of chamomile, binds to the same receptor sites in the brain as benzodiazepines like Valium. Another study showed that chamomile extract at a dose of 300 milligrams caused a significant reduction in the time it took rats to fall asleep, while other research in mice demonstrated that chamomile can significantly increase the sleep time induced by sleep-inducing drugs such as barbiturates.
Manzanilla and Sleeping Well
