Calm Teas

Herb record · Asteraceae (daisy family)

Chamomile tea: what the evidence says

Reviewed

The most common calming-tea ingredient. Trials of chamomile tea are few and small, the one placebo-tea trial we found showed no anxiety benefit, and the EU herbal monograph lists no calming or sleep use at all.

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).

At a glance

Latin name
Matricaria chamomilla (syn. M. recutita)
Evidence
Tested as tea At least one controlled human trial gave this herb as a tea.
EU tea amount
1.5–4 g in 150 ml boiling water, 3–4 times daily. For minor digestive complaints (no calming or sleep use is listed).
Cautions
Daisy-family allergy riskWarfarin interaction reportedPregnancy safety not established
In our index
29 teas

What did the studies actually test?

Each row says what form was given. Results from extracts or capsules don't automatically apply to a cup of tea, which usually contains a smaller and less standardized amount.

QuestionForm testedWhat was found
Sleep tea In 80 postnatal women, two weeks of chamomile tea improved physical-symptom-related sleep problems and depression scores versus usual care. The effect was gone two weeks after stopping. There was no placebo drink. (Chang & Chen, 2016)
Sleep mixed Reviews pooling tea and extract trials find better sleep-quality questionnaire scores, but no change in sleep duration or efficiency, and very inconsistent results between studies. A 2015 review of insomnia trials found no herbal product, chamomile included, beat placebo. (Kazemi et al., 2024)(Hieu et al., 2019)(Leach & Page, 2015)
Anxiety tea In 210 surgical patients, a chamomile–passionflower–anise tea did not lower anxiety scores compared with a lemon placebo tea. (Zampieri et al., 2025)
Anxiety extract Pooled trials show improvement in generalized anxiety disorder scores with chamomile supplements, but not for everyday (state) anxiety. NCCIH describes this as preliminary. (Hieu et al., 2019)(NCCIH fact sheet)

How much chamomile goes in a cup?

The European Medicines Agency's herbal committee lists 1.5–4 g of dried chamomile in 150 ml boiling water, 3–4 times daily, for minor digestive complaints (no calming or sleep use is listed). (EU herbal monograph)

These figures come from long-standing use, not from trials proving a dose works. Most tea boxes in our index don't say how much chamomile is in each bag, so you usually can't compare a bag with this amount.

Who should be careful with chamomile?

This list repeats what the cited sources say; it isn't a complete interaction check. A pharmacist can check your specific medicines.

Which calming teas contain chamomile?

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. Zampieri et al. (2025). Exploring the Effects of a Calming Herbal Tea Blend on Perioperative Anxiety: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Med Food.
    Human trial (randomized, double-blind, placebo tea) · form: tea
    210 surgical patients in Brazil drank a chamomile–passionflower–anise tea or a lemon placebo tea. Anxiety scores did not differ between groups; the herbal-tea group reported more positive feelings about the procedure.
    Limits: Single centre; anxiety measured after surgery. A rare trial with a placebo tea, and it found no anxiety difference.
    checked against the abstract, 2026-10-21 · PMID 39514279
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. Ferguson & Gordon (2025). The Efficacy and Safety of Using Chamomile Products During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. Cureus.
    Systematic review · form: mixed
    23 studies on chamomile in pregnancy and postpartum. Evidence was too weak to support clinical practice recommendations.
    Limits: Included repeated cohorts from the same research teams.
    checked against the abstract, 2026-10-21 · PMID 40314057