Orange Lime Tea To Help You Sleep

In "Remembrance of Things Past," French novelist Marcel Proust wrote about small cookies -- the famous madeleines -- eaten alongside medicinal lime-blossom tea. In alternative medical traditions, lime blossom is used as a sedative and antianxiety agent. It's unrelated to the small green citrus fruit, however. The blossoms come from the lime tree, Tilia cordata or Tilia platyphyllos, also called the linden tree. Orange blossoms also have calming properties. Consult your health care provider before self-treating insomnia with herbal tea.

Linden Blossoms

In the United States, lime-flower or lime-blossom tea is usually called linden tea or linden-flower tea. Lime or linden flowers, dried and made into herbal tea, appear to be mildly sedative and soothing. The tea also relieves minor stomach upsets and promotes sweating, which helps to treat colds and flus. There's not much scientific proof that linden flowers are effective sedatives, but they have a long history of such use in Europe.

Orange Blossoms

Orange blossoms come from trees that produce the familiar orange citrus fruits. Like linden blossoms, orange blossoms are a traditional herbal sleep aid and anxiety reliever. Other uses include soothing an upset stomach and stimulating appetite. The flowers are intensely fragrant, and orange-blossom oil, called neroli, is a common aromatherapy and perfume ingredient.

Citrus

Don't confuse lime-blossom tea with tea made from the citrus fruit lime. Lime juice and lime zest are tasty and contain vitamin C, but they aren't likely to promote sleep. To the contrary, the ayurvedic tradition considers the juice and zest of both the lime and the orange to be stimulating. Instead, look for teas made from mixtures of linden flower, orange flower and other soothing herbs such as chamomile and passionflower.

Considerations

Before self-treating anxiety or insomnia with linden flowers or orange flowers, ask your health care provider to suggest a safe and effective dose. Linden may be dangerous if you're pregnant or have heart disease. Don't take these herbs with sedating or anti-anxiety drugs, lithium or diuretic medications unless your doctor confirms the combination is safe.