Our modern world is facing an epidemic of stress and anxiety.
That’s why today, I want to show you six different teas that can be extremely helpful in alleviating or lessening the effects of stress and anxiety.
Along the way, we’ll look at the specific effects of each tea so that you get a good idea of which teas are most likely to help you and your unique symptoms. This tea review is brought to you by Beyond the Bag, a YouTube channel about tea.
6 Best Teas to Reduce Stress and Anxiety
Here’s a review of six best teas that will help you alleviate stress and anxiety.
1. Peppermint Tea
The first tea we are going to look at is peppermint tea.
Peppermint is a very popular tea that can be found almost anywhere tea is sold. It can be made with either dried or fresh leaves. This fragrant herb is a favorite for its potent and refreshing flavor. Peppermint is packed with positive health effects like strong antioxidants, flavonoids, and even some anti-allergy properties.
The tea’s aroma has been shown to have psychologically calming effects while promoting mental clarity. If you are someone who finds aromatherapy or certain smells helpful in relaxing, peppermint is very likely to help you unwind from stress and find mental clarity from anxiety.
2. Valerian Root Tea
The next entry on the list is a very potent option, especially if you experience insomnia alongside anxiety. This pairing can be especially difficult because the two symptoms exacerbate one another. Thankfully, there’s a tea that targets both at the same time.
Enter valerian root tea. While not as common as peppermint, this woodsy-earthy tea has long been revered for its ability to aid in falling and staying asleep, as well as for bringing about a generalized sense of calm.
The valerenic acid found in the tea acts on receptors in a way that enhances GABA transmission, which helps to alleviate anxiety and can even out moods. This is the same system many anti-anxiety medications act on, although the tea is much gentler and doesn’t come with the nasty side effects such medication often accompanies. For dealing with a mix of anxiety and insomnia, try valerian root tea.
3. Chamomile Tea
Next, let’s look at another classic of the tea world, chamomile tea.
Chamomile’s effects are not entirely dissimilar to the previous entry on this list. With well-documented sleep-aiding and stress-reduction properties, this tea is also a great choice, especially if stress is preventing you from getting the restful sleep you need.
While often grouped together, stress and anxiety are not the same. Anxiety is more worry-based, even without the presence of a particular trigger, and stress is more characterized by irritability, anger, fatigue, and muscle pain from being overextended. However, the line between the two is far from clear. If you struggle with sleep, and your symptoms lean more towards stress, try some chamomile tea.
4. Lavender Tea
Now, if you experience a lot of physical symptoms like muscle soreness, inflammation, or digestive disturbance, this next tea might be for you.
Lavender tea is made up of small purple flowers and is a giant of the herbal world. Much like peppermint, lavender has a bold flavor and aroma. Lavender also sometimes gets credit for aiding sleep.
Although most of this can be attributed to relieving other physical symptoms of stress and anxiety. Lavender has also been demonstrated to help reduce muscle spasms, which are a very annoying side effect of stress. Give it a try.
5. Green Tea
Now, pretty much all the teas we have talked about are great for helping you unwind. But what if you need a boost of energy? For people who experience a lot of stress and anxiety, the amount of caffeine contained in things like coffee or black tea can contribute to the problem.
This is why green tea is on the list. Green tea does contain a somewhat small amount of caffeine, but it also contains L-theanine. L-theanine is a neurotropic compound that has incredible mood stabilizing effects when taken in combination with caffeine. L-theanine slows both the uptick and the falloff of the caffeine-generated boost.
This creates a very gentle lift in mental energy that is much less likely to become a trigger or exacerbate existing stress or anxiety issues. So if you want to lift your energy, green tea is likely to help without contributing to the issue.
6. Rose Hips Tea
Lastly, we are going to look at rose hips tea. Rose hips are great for just about anyone as they are packed with vitamin C and potent antioxidants. Rose hips tea has also been shown to reduce inflammation. All of these things are great for pretty much everyone, but especially for people dealing with physical symptoms of stress and anxiety.
Both stress and anxiety can cause oxidative stress, lower immune responses, and even trigger inflammatory reactions. This is why it is great to enjoy this tea regularly. Rose hips have a pleasant, bright, floral, fruity flavor. They steep to a nice, bold red color, not entirely unlike hibiscus. This makes them aesthetically pleasing as well.
In Conclusion
So there you have it. Six amazing teas for anyone who experiences stress or anxiety. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but the teas listed here are a great place to start.
No two people’s experiences are the same, so experiment around a bit and find what works best for you. Tea can’t fully deal with the underlying causes of stress or anxiety, but it can make living with them much easier. If you found this list of teas for stress and anxiety useful, subscribe to Beyond the Bag on YouTube and then revisit our article on how to practice tea meditation and how to practice chocolate meditation.
I’m a freelance writer and mindfulness advocate behind this blog. I started my meditation practice in 2014, and in 2017 I launched this website to share what I learn with others. Here are the three things you can do here:
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