Expert recommends holy basil tea to improve sleep and reduce stress – backed by study
Some people find it difficult to fall asleep at night for a number of reasons. And even those who don’t usually have trouble sleeping can sometimes have difficulty. An expert spoke to Express.co.uk about how to make it easier to fall asleep.
Health coach and nutritionist Arina Kuzmina recommended drinking basil tea before bed.
Also known as tulsi or ocimum tenuiflorum, holy basil is a plant native to India.
It can be purchased as a tea, capsule supplement, and extract powder.
Ms. Kuzmina explained, “Drink basil tea before bed.
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“Holy basil, also known as tulsi, is a popular adaptogen used to reduce stress levels, improve relaxation, and improve sleep quality.
“This herb of Indian origin helps induce feelings of calmness and mild anxiety, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.
“Before bed, try drinking a cup of this tea, leaving all the worries of the day behind.”
What does the study say?
This was confirmed by a study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition in 2022.
In the study, 100 volunteers aged 18 to 65 received either 125 mg of holy basil twice daily or a placebo.
They were asked about stress levels, mood, and completed sleep questionnaires.
Sleep quality was also assessed with a wrist sleep tracker, and stress changes were studied by measuring hair cortisol levels and stress response with the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST).
Compared to placebo, those who took a holy basil supplement saw greater improvement in scores on the perceived stress scale and the Athens Insomnia Scale.
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At the eighth week, the concentration of cortisol in the hair was also lower.
The study states, “Moreover, ocimum tenuiflorum supplementation was associated with buffering of stress responses following MAST exposure, as evidenced by significantly lower salivary concentrations of cortisol, salivary amylase, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and subjective stress ratings.
“Ocimum tenuiflorum supplementation was well tolerated with no reports of serious side effects.”
He concluded: “The results of this study show that eight weeks of ocimum tenuiflorum extract can reduce objective and subjective measures of stress and improve subjective measures of sleep quality.
“However, further studies using gold standards of objective sleep measures will be required to confirm sleep-related results.”
Other ways to improve sleep
Ms Kuzmina added: “Don’t eat three to four hours before bed.
“When we sleep, our body temperature is not 36.6 Celsius, but a couple of degrees lower.
“Therefore, in order to fall asleep, our body needs to cool down. On the other hand, the process of digestion always releases energy and therefore raises our body temperature, making it difficult to cool it down.”
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