Herbal Wisdom for Sleep, Both Ancient and Contemporary, Proven by Science and Traditional Use the World Over
16+ Sleep-Promoting and Daytime-Calming Herbs
Synergistically Combined in One Balanced Formula
Historical herbalism is abundant with resources that have been used for centuries to calm the daytime jitters and deepen quality, restful sleep at night.
Day Calm & Deep Sleep is one of our most widely appreciated formulas, simply due to its effectiveness.
What follows is a deep dive into the known and historically recognized benefits of the most prominent herbs for these purposes, how they work within the body, and how they improve your sleep, as well as focus your mind and calm your nervous system during the day.
The first four herbs on this list are well known GABA promoting herbs, with ashwagandha being the most direct in the promotion of this very important neurotransmitter for calming the mind, lifting the moods, and supporting deeper, more restful sleep.
How GABA Works
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) helps the brain slow down before sleep onset and regulates REM and non-REM cycles, especially deep slow-wave sleep, while also influencing circadian sleep-wake cycle rhythm.
GABA is a naturally occurring non-protein amino acid that serves as the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system to maintain stable neural signaling.
GABA's most documented role is calming the nervous system and improving sleep, but research also links it to a wide range of physiological processes beyond the brain, including:
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Anxiety, stress, and fear reduction — GABA naturally strengthens the mind’s stress mitigation powers
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Mood stabilization — Adequate GABA activity is associated with lower rates of depression and mood disorders
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Metabolic and immune effects — GABA contributes to appetite/weight regulation, blood glucose control, and immune modulation, including anti-inflammatory roles
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Neuroprotection and cognition — GABA is implicated in learning and memory processes and may help protect nervous tissue from degeneration
Four GABA Promoting Herbs and Twelve More That Enhance Daytime Mood and Nighttime Restfulness
(1) Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
Recognized in numerous human trials, ashwagandha is documented to lower stress, mind-racing, and anxiety related cortisol, indicating a daytime calming and anti-jitters effect — in addition to promoting a significant improvement in overall sleep quality, sleep efficiency, and total sleep time by amplifying GABA activity. [1][2]
(2) Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
As a GABA promoting herb, lemon balm is recognized traditionally as well as scientifically as a calming, heart-settling nervine, which can reduce anxiety while improving deep sleep brainwave pattern duration. [3][4]
(3) Rose Petals (Rosa damascena)
A systematic review and meta-analysis of rose petal aromatherapy and rose water extracts significantly reduced anxiety symptoms, as well as significantly increasing sleep quality and sleep duration, attributed to its geraniol and citronellol content acting on GABA and serotonin pathways. [15][16].
(4) Hops (Humulus lupulus)
Research shows hops' bitter acids (notably humulone) act as positive modulators of the GABA-A receptor, which amplifies GABA’s calming action on the nervous system, thereby shortening sleep onset time and increasing sleep duration, resulting in both an anti-jitters/anxiety-easing benefit, as well as improved overall night-time sleep quality [9][10].
(5) Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)
Herbal traditions and contemporary monographs recognize skullcap primarily as a nervine tonic and nervine relaxant that reduces nervous tension and excitability during the day, distinguishing it from harsher sedatives by its capacity to rebuild nervous system resilience, rather than merely suppress it.
Skullcap also contributes a mild sedative action that can promote both sleep onset and depth of sleep. [5].
(6) Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata)
Several human trials with passion flower found a significant improvement in subjective sleep quality by demonstrating supporting benefits for both sleep depth/duration and difficulty staying asleep. [7][8].
(7) Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Clinical trials with university students in one case and healthy adults in another, documented improved memory performance, reduced anxiety and depression, as well as increased sleep quality, while supporting a daytime calming benefit [13][14].
(8) Damiana (Turnera diffusa)
Among the Mayan, Mexican, and Guaycura (Baja California) traditions, and later adopted into Caribbean "bush tea" blends, damiana has been used as a mild relaxant and nervous-system tonic for anxiety and nervous debility. [26]
(9) Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
European folk medicine and 19th-century North American Eclectic Herbalism traditionally used catnip as a mild sedative, anxiety calming, and sleep promoting tea, particularly for children's sleeplessness. [6][18]
(10) Poppy Leaf (Papaver somniferum, leaf/aerial parts, distinct from opium latex)
Originally documented in Cretan (Greek) folk medicine, and historically used to sedate infants, poppy leaf has been used since antiquity as a sedative and pain-reliever. [27]
(11) Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)
Contemporary herbalists commonly recommend mugwort to help clients who "wake in the middle of the night and have difficulty falling back to sleep." In the 10th-century European Anglo-Saxon Lacnunga texts, as well as the Chinese, and Native Californian (Chumash) traditions, the root of mugwort has been traditionally used for depression, irritability, restlessness, insomnia, and anxiety, while the leaf/flower is more associated with dream enhancement and recall than direct sedation. [19][20].
(12) Wild Lettuce (Lactuca virosa)
European folk medicine from the 18th century onward, and 19th-century American Eclectic medicine used a dried version of the milky latex from the wild lettuce stems, called “lactucarium”, to promote sleep and ease nervous irritability and restlessness. The United States Pharmacopoeia listed dried latex preparations for this purpose into the early 20th century. [21]
(13) Wood Betony (Stachys officinalis)
European tradition dates the use of wood betony back to at least 23 B.C. (Antonius Musa, physician to Emperor Augustus). Wood betony is classically described by herbalist Maude Grieve as "the sovereign remedy for all maladies of the head."
Wood betony is used universally as a nervine tonic for tension headaches, nervous exhaustion, and mental agitation associated with anxious rumination. [22]
(14) Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)
European and Traditional Chinese Medicine use of agrimony is described by herbalist Matthew Wood as "the indispensable relaxant" for physical and emotional tension.
Dr. Edward Bach selected agrimony as one of his 38 flower remedies for people who mask inner distress behind a cheerful exterior. [23]
(15) Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)
Native American ethnobotanical tradition (with documented use among the Iroquois, Cherokee, Dakota, Omaha, Teton Sioux, Menominee, and Ojibwe), and Eclectic physician tradition, as well as contemporary herbalists (including David Winston) classify blue vervain as a nervine tonic specifically suited to the tense, driven "type-A" personality who cannot relax.
This extensive history behind blue vervain use also employs the herb for nervous exhaustion and tension held in the neck and shoulders. [24]
(16) Bugleweed (Lycopus virginicus)
19th-century American Eclectic medicine describes Bugleweed in King's American Dispensatory as being historically used for a state of heightened wakefulness or persistent alertness that prevents a person from falling or staying asleep, typically driven by a “racing, tumultuous heartbeat that lacks true cardiac power” keeping the person awake despite physical exhaustion, therefore distinguishing it from insomnia caused by anxious thoughts or environmental disturbance. [25]
The Advantage of Balanced Synergy and Small Quantities of Each Herb
Day Calm & Deep Sleep supports a broad range of balancing effects to facilitate a deeper, more long lasting, and restful sleep, while offering the option to safely adjust one’s dose based on unique system requirements.
The above 16 herbs, in combination with several other herbs and mineral sources that act in a supportive manner to facilitate harmony, nighttime rejuvenation, and nutrient distribution, mean that very little of each herb is in each capsule, providing the option for sensitive people to take less, while less sensitive people can take as much as is needed to obtain the desired results.
Therefore, if a small amount fails to work, simply scale up to an amount that meets your body’s unique requirements.
This formula is non-habit forming, and generally safe for most any age. No clinical trials have been performed on this unique combination, since we are relying on time-tested herbal wisdom and experience. Your own intuition is your best guide for what is best in your unique situation.
16+ Sleep-Promoting and Daytime-Calming Herbs
Synergistically Combined in One Balanced Formula
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