Did you know tea can actually soothe anything from stress, sleeplessness, sore throats, to period cramps? Adding tea to your routine is a quick and easy way to practice self-care. Here are 6 teas we recommend to get started.
1. Chamomile Tea
Top of the list is chamomile tea. Chamomile helps both sleep and menstrual cramps. It’s a common tea available at most supermarkets and grocery stores, so it’s readily available when you can’t sleep at night or suffer from period cramps.
A bonus is that it also regulates the bacteria in your stomach. If you’re lactose intolerant like me, you can drink chamomile to calm your stomach. Note that teas for self-care are for temporary relief only. It is not a solution to all of your problems, so you should also seek out professional treatment if you have a chronic illness.
2. Green Tea
One of the most popular teas, green tea, is used both as medicine and an everyday drink. Green tea soothes stress, relieves nausea, and diarrhea. Note that most green teas are caffeinated, so even though it will calm your stress, it will also keep you awake. For a sleep friendlier option, look for “decaffeinated” on the label. My personal favorite of green tea is Bigelow tea. They offer a wide array of flavored green teas to try.
3. Lemon
Lemon tea is great for soothing headaches, hangovers, nausea, and cleansing your body. Lemon water is a popular detox drink, but lemon tea is rumored to be better for your health. If you are a beginner tea drinker, this is a good tea to start with due to its familiar light citrus flavor compared to many strong herbal teas.
4. Lavender
Lavender tea is one of my favorites on this list, because of its calming aroma. It is the perfect tea for calming your nerves. Lavender tea soothes sleeplessness, stress, and mood. Add a spoonful of honey with your lavender tea for an even more soothing blend.
5. Ginger
Ginger tea is known to soothe nausea, specifically with motion sickness, stomach flu, or hangovers. It’s great for carsickness on road trips and nausea from pregnancy. It also helps with stomach health. Ginger tea reduces bloating, aids in digestion, soothes heartburn, and stomach aches. Unfortunately, I personally do not like the ginger flavor, but my friends swear by its healing properties.
6. Echinacea
The most difficult to pronounce on this list, Echinacea (eh·kuh·nei·shuh), is a daisy-like purple coneflower that has many medicinal properties. It soothes sore throats, is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, and strengthens the immune system.
Echinacea tea is my go-to for when I have a cold and scratchy throat. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the taste, but its soothing power is worth it. My favorite for when I’m feeling under the weather is Lemon Echinacea by the brand Traditional Medicines Seasonal Teas. This particular tea is not as common as a few of the others mentioned above, but you can find it at most health food supermarkets or online. For more tips on self-care, read here.
