The evening herbs: tart cherry, chamomile, lemon balm and passionflower
Four plants turn up again and again in evening traditions: sour cherry, chamomile, lemon balm and passionflower. Here is the research on each, with its size and its caveats.
Tart cherry
All the human sleep trials used juice or concentrate, in adults. Twenty healthy adults drinking tart cherry concentrate for 7 days increased time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency (Howatson et al., European Journal of Nutrition, 2012, PMID 22038497). Eight adults over 50 with insomnia drinking 240 mL of juice twice a day for two weeks slept 84 minutes longer on polysomnography (p = 0.0182), and the study measured a rise in tryptophan availability in their blood (Losso et al., American Journal of Therapeutics, 2018, PMID 28901958). Fifteen older adults with insomnia spent less time awake after falling asleep, with other measures unchanged and modest effects overall (Pigeon et al., Journal of Medicinal Food, 2010, PMID 20438325). A review of 29 human cherry studies found improved sleep in all four that measured it (Kelley et al., Nutrients, 2018, PMID 29562604). No studies in children.
Chamomile
In 57 adults with mild to moderate generalised anxiety disorder, chamomile extract for 8 weeks lowered anxiety scores more than placebo (p = 0.047) (Amsterdam et al., Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2009, PMID 19593179). A longer study kept symptoms lower over 26 weeks without significantly reducing relapse (Mao et al., Phytomedicine, 2016, PMID 27912875). For sleep the picture is mixed: 60 nursing-home residents had better sleep quality on 200 mg twice a day for 28 days (Adib-Hajbaghery and Mousavi, Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2017, PMID 29154054), while 34 adults with long-term insomnia showed no difference on sleep diaries (Zick et al., BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2011, PMID 21939549). No sleep or mood studies in children.
Lemon balm
In healthy adults, single doses of a standardised extract raised self-rated calmness and, at 600 mg, reduced the negative mood effects of a laboratory stress test (Kennedy et al., Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 2002, PMID 12062586; Psychosomatic Medicine, 2004, PMID 15272110). Two German studies looked at children, both with a lemon balm and valerian blend and neither with a placebo group: 918 children under 12 with restlessness and trouble settling, where sleep trouble improved in 80.9% and restlessness in 70.4% (Müller and Klement, Phytomedicine, 2006, PMID 16487692), and 169 primary school children with concentration difficulties who did not meet ADHD criteria, where strong difficulty focusing fell from 75% to 14% over seven weeks (Gromball et al., Phytomedicine, 2014, PMID 24837472). Both were run by the manufacturer. They show tolerability and parent-rated change, not proof.
Passionflower
Forty-one adults aged 18 to 35 drank a cup of passionflower tea each evening for a week, then placebo tea, in a crossover design; sleep quality ratings were significantly better on passionflower (p < 0.01) (Ngan and Conduit, Phytotherapy Research, 2011, PMID 21294203). A four-week pilot in 36 adults with generalised anxiety compared passionflower extract with a benzodiazepine and found similar effect with fewer problems at work (Akhondzadeh et al., Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 2001, PMID 11679026). Adults only.
This article reports published research for parents and adults who want to read it for themselves. It is not medical advice, it does not describe or recommend any product, and it never replaces a conversation with your GP or your child's clinicians.