Several factors can lead to poor sleep including menopausal night sweats, body pain, shift work, anxiety, jet lag or excessive caffeine. Many people feel too wired in the evening to fall asleep due to stress-related elevated cortisol levels creating a state of hyperarousal. This may result in a vicious cycle where stress impairs sleep quality, and poor sleep reduces resilience to mental, emotional, and physical stressors.

A dark, quiet bedroom promotes relaxation and reduces sleep disruptions. To optimize your sleep environment, consider using blackout curtains, an eye mask, or earplugs to block out any light or noise. A cooler bedroom temperature is often helpful as the body’s core temperature needs to drop slightly to initiate sleep.

Establishing a regular sleep schedule is vital for improving the quality of your sleep. Here are some ways to improve your sleeping habits:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends.
• Develop a relaxing bedtime routine to signal to your body that it's time to sleep. This can include activities like reading or taking a warm bath.
• Utilise relaxation techniques or mindfulness tools to help manage stress, especially before bedtime, this might include a mindfulness body scan.
• Limit your screen time before bed, as the blue light emitted from screens can suppress melatonin production.
• Reduce stimulants such as caffeine (found in coffee, tea and chocolate) after midday. Some individuals are more sensitive to caffeine, which can take up to seven hours for 50% to leave the body.
• Avoid consuming heavy meals close to bedtime. But don’t skip your evening meal altogether as eating too little may cause you to wake up at night due to low blood sugar.
• To help your body synthesise melatonin, spend at least 15-20 minutes outdoors early in the day to expose yourself to natural daylight.
• Regular exercise can improve sleep quality but avoid vigorous exercise within a few hours of bedtime. Stretching and gentle yoga may be more suitable after dark.

For centuries, herbs have been used to help manage stress, promote relaxation, and enhance sleep quality.

Valerian: Records have been found dated back to the Middle Ages on the use of valerian for sleep disorders. (1) Classified by Western Herbalists as a “sedative”, valerian root contains constituents that are thought to help promote calmness by interacting with neurotransmitters involved in mood and sleep.
Passionflower Herb is an indigenous American flowering plant, otherwise known as Passiflora, traditionally used to support sleep and anxiety.

Passionflower herb contains active compounds thought to be associated with the modulation of GABA. (2) GABA is a neurotransmitter involved in reducing activity in the central nervous system, resulting in enhanced mood, relaxation and healthy sleep.

Chamomile is a wildflower that has long been used as a natural calming aid. Traditionally, it has been valued for its role in supporting both the mind and body, promoting overall relaxation. Research suggests that chamomile flowers may enhance sleep quality, particularly in helping individuals stay asleep. (3)

Nature’s Answer Liquid Herbal Extracts are super-concentrated (stronger than regular tinctures) and alcohol-free. Being in a liquid format they are fast and effectively absorbed, so ideal when taken before bedtime.

• Grown organically or wild-harvested, with the wellbeing of nature and the planet always kept in mind, Nature’s Answer herbal extracts are produced using a Cold Bio-Chelated® proprietary extraction process, which allows the plant to retain its natural active components.
• With a 50-year tradition of superior quality, Nature’s Answer is a brand you can trust.
• Their unique Advanced Botanical Fingerprint® Technology ensures superior quality control and enables them to provide a Holistically Balanced® extract that contains the same synergistic ratios as in the original plant- just as mother nature intended!

For information purposes only. Any claims in this article are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any diseases. A food supplement is not a substitute for a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle.

1. Shinjyo, N., Waddell, G., & Green, J. (2020).
Valerian Root in Treating Sleep Problems and Associated Disorders-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of evidence-based integrative medicine, 25, 2515690X20967323. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515690X20967323

2.Elsas S. M., et al. (2010). Passiflora incarnata L. (Passionflower) extracts elicit GABA currents in hippocampal neurons in vitro, and show anxiogenic and anticonvulsant effects in vivo, varying with extraction method. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 17(12), 940–949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2010.03.002

3. Kazemi, A., et al. (2024). Effects of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Complementary therapies in medicine, 84, 103071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2024.103071