Can You Cure Insomnia with Green Tea

Do you need a cure for insomnia? Well, add "insomnia cure" to green tea's ever growing list of health benefits. I know, the conventional wisdom is that since green tea contains caffeine then it should be avoided if you have insomnia.

The good news is that if you drink a few cups of regular green tea throughout the day and decaffeinated green tea at night, this can have a significant impact on whether or not you fall asleep at night.

Insomnia is a sleeping disorder where a person finds it hard to fall asleep, staying asleep, or both. As a result, an insomniac (person with insomnia) will get too little and poor-quality. Insomnia can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and lack of energy in performing tasks. There are several factors that can cause insomnia, and one of which is consuming too much green tea, more than 10 cups to be exact, in a day.

Antioxidants & Ingredients of Green Tea

Green tea comes from a hardy shrub called the Camellia sinensis that belongs to the Theaceae plant family and is a very common beverage consumed by almost all countries in Asia and millions of other people from all parts of the world to gain numerous of its health benefits, as well as to satisfy one’s thirst. Green tea is very well known to have numerous health benefits including, from treating headaches to lowering bad cholesterol level (LDL) and many more. The Chinese have known about green tea’s health benefits since ancient times and they have been using green tea as medical treatments for the past 4,000 years.

Though it contain caffeine, our body can prevent being wide awake even after drinking tea. Our body has its natural immune system that adds up tolerance to the things we usually intake. That’s why some people can even drink up to ten cups of coffee a day. Their common reason… is to keep them awake, but before the hour is through, they found themselves having trouble staying awake… again. Meanwhile, Antioxidants in green tea can at least prevent some sleeping disorder like sleep apnea and who would have guessed?

Polyphenols are antioxidant compounds that are found to be an abundant component of green tea. It is believed that polyphenols are mostly responsible for the most health benefits green tea can bring to people. Aside from antioxidant compounds found in green tea, it also contains flavonoids, vitamins, volatile oils, minerals, and caffeine, which also have their own fair share of health benefits.

Cure Insomnia with Green Tea

Since green tea contains caffeine, consuming too much green tea, especially at night time can cause insomnia. Approximately, 1 cup of green tea contains 30 to 60 mgs caffeine. Caffeine in green tea acts as a stimulant to the central nervous system (CNS), which can interfere with the body’s circardian rhythm (body clock), which can cause insomnia. The stimulating effect of caffeine to the central nervous system does not only affect the circardian rhythm, it may also cause an increase in blood pressure and/or palpitations.

In order to prevent insomnia caused by consuming green tea, it is best to drink green tea during daytime and not during night time. And it is also very important not to consume more than the desired amount of green tea per day, which is 10 cups. People who are sensitive to caffeine may need to consume green tea in moderation, for it not to cause any side effects, especially insomnia.

Point to Remember

This is also an amino acid and is naturally found in green tea. Studies have shown that green tea contains about 1 to 3% theanine.

It has a relaxing and anti-anxiety effect on the mind. And as you and I both know, stress causes a lot of sleepless nights!

Green tea itself is not a natural remedy for insomnia because this tea contains caffeine. You can, however, purchase green tea that is decaffeinated.