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Chamomile tea for sleep: what the studies show

Published · By Calm Teas (how we work)

Chamomile flowers with white petals and yellow domed centres
Photo: Kızıl, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 3:2, resized and converted to WebP (adaptation shared under the same license).

Key takeaways

  • The main tea trial found modest, short-lived improvement in postnatal women, with no placebo drink.
  • Reviews that pool tea and extract studies show better sleep-questionnaire scores but no longer or more efficient sleep.
  • The EU herbal monograph lists chamomile tea for digestive and cold symptoms, not for sleep.
  • People allergic to ragweed or daisies are more likely to react to chamomile.

Does chamomile tea actually make you sleepy?

The evidence is thinner than chamomile’s reputation. Here is what we found when we separated studies of the tea from studies of extracts and capsules.

Tested as tea. In Taiwan, 80 postnatal women with poor sleep either drank chamomile tea for two weeks or received usual care. The tea group scored better on physical-symptom-related sleep problems and on depression. Two weeks after stopping, the groups were the same (Chang & Chen, 2016). Because the comparison group drank nothing, some of the benefit could be the ritual or expectation.

Tea and extracts pooled. A 2024 review of 10 trials (772 adults) found lower scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a standard sleep questionnaire, and fewer night-time awakenings in two of three studies. There was no improvement in how long people slept, sleep efficiency or daytime functioning, and results varied a lot between studies (Kazemi et al., 2024). An earlier review reached a similar picture for sleep quality (Hieu et al., 2019).

Insomnia. A review of trials in people with insomnia found no herbal product, chamomile included, differed from placebo (Leach & Page, 2015). NCCIH says there’s very little information on chamomile for insomnia (NCCIH fact sheet).

What does the EU herbal monograph say about chamomile?

It doesn’t list sleep. The European Medicines Agency’s herbal committee recognizes chamomile flower tea, by long-standing use, for minor digestive complaints, cold symptoms, mouth and throat irritation and some skin uses. For digestive complaints it describes 1.5–4 g in 150 ml of boiling water, three to four times a day (EU herbal monograph).

How should I make chamomile tea for bedtime?

There’s no tested “sleep dose” for chamomile tea. The trial above didn’t define a gram amount in its abstract. If you want to brew a stronger cup than one tea bag, the EU amount above is a reasonable reference point for how much dried flower is traditionally used. It is not evidence that more helps you sleep.

Who shouldn’t drink chamomile tea?

  • Ragweed or daisy allergy. Allergic reactions, rarely anaphylaxis, are more likely if you’re allergic to related plants (NCCIH fact sheet). A 2025 review of adverse events found trial side effects were mild, mostly digestive upset and drowsiness, but case reports include allergic reactions (Ostovar et al., 2025).
  • Warfarin. Chamomile tea is among items reported to raise bleeding risk with warfarin (Tan & Lee, 2021).
  • Pregnancy and breastfeeding. Little is known about safety (NCCIH fact sheet). Ask your midwife or doctor.

Bottom line

Chamomile tea is a pleasant, generally mild wind-down drink with weak evidence for sleep. If you want an herb with a placebo-controlled tea trial, look at passionflower. If you have ongoing insomnia, talk to a clinician.

See every chamomile tea in our index on the chamomile record.

Sources

  1. Chang & Chen (2016). Effects of an intervention with drinking chamomile tea on sleep quality and depression in sleep disturbed postnatal women: a randomized controlled trial. J Adv Nurs.
    Human trial (randomized, no placebo) · form: tea
    80 postnatal women in Taiwan with poor sleep drank chamomile tea for 2 weeks or received usual care. The tea group had lower scores for physical-symptom-related sleep inefficiency and depression at 2 weeks; the difference was gone at 4 weeks.
    Limits: Control group got no placebo drink, so expectation effects can't be separated out. Short follow-up. One specific population.
    checked against the abstract, 2026-10-21 · PMID 26483209
  2. Kazemi et al. (2024). Effects of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Complement Ther Med.
    Systematic review + meta-analysis · form: mixed
    10 clinical trials (772 adults). Chamomile lowered PSQI sleep-quality scores on average (5 studies pooled) and improved night-time awakenings in 2 of 3 studies, but did not change sleep duration, sleep efficiency or daytime functioning.
    Limits: Very high heterogeneity in the pooled PSQI result (I² 88%). Trials mixed tea and extract preparations. Only one trial checked blinding or product potency.
    checked against the abstract, 2026-10-21 · PMID 39106912
  3. Hieu et al. (2019). Therapeutic efficacy and safety of chamomile for state anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, and sleep quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials and quasi-randomized trials. Phytother Res.
    Systematic review + meta-analysis · form: mixed
    12 randomized trials. No difference for state anxiety (3 trials pooled); improved anxiety scores in generalized anxiety disorder at 2 and 4 weeks; improved sleep quality; one insomnia trial found no change.
    Limits: Small number of trials per outcome; preparations varied; authors call for larger trials.
    checked against the abstract, 2026-10-21 · PMID 31006899
  4. Leach & Page (2015). Herbal medicine for insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev.
    Systematic review + meta-analysis · form: mixed
    14 randomized trials (1,602 people with insomnia) of valerian, chamomile, kava and wuling. No herbal medicine differed from placebo on any of 13 efficacy measures. Valerian had more adverse events per person than placebo.
    Limits: Published 2015; preparations were mostly not teas.
    checked against the abstract, 2026-10-21 · PMID 25644982
  5. NCCIH (NIH). Chamomile, updated November 2024.
    Government fact sheet
    Preliminary studies suggest a chamomile supplement might help generalized anxiety disorder. Very little information on insomnia. Allergic reactions more likely in people allergic to ragweed or daisies, including rare anaphylaxis. Interactions with warfarin and some liver-metabolized drugs have been reported. Little is known about pregnancy and breastfeeding.
    checked against the official page, 2026-10-21
  6. European Medicines Agency, HMPC. European Union herbal monograph on Matricaria recutita L., flos (EMA/HMPC/55843/2011).
    Regulatory monograph
    Traditional-use indications: minor digestive complaints, common cold, mouth and throat, skin. No calming or sleep indication. Tea for digestive complaints: 1.5–4 g in 150 ml boiling water, 3–4 times daily (adults).
    checked against the official document, 2026-10-21
  7. Ostovar et al. (2025). Chamomile: A systematic review of adverse events. Complement Ther Med.
    Systematic review (adverse events) · form: mixed
    72 trials (2,896 people given chamomile) and 11 case reports. Trial adverse events were mostly mild digestive upset and drowsiness. Six case reports described allergic reactions, including three anaphylactic reactions.
    Limits: Many trials did not report adverse events at all; insufficient pregnancy and lactation data.
    checked against the abstract, 2026-10-21 · PMID 40374153
  8. Tan & Lee (2021). Warfarin and food, herbal or dietary supplement interactions: A systematic review. Br J Clin Pharmacol.
    Systematic review (interactions) · form: mixed
    78 foods, herbs and supplements reported to interact with warfarin. Chamomile tea and green tea are among those the authors list as raising bleeding risk.
    Limits: Much of the underlying evidence is case reports.
    checked against the abstract, 2026-10-21 · PMID 32478963

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