Chamomile: The Calming Herb Behind Better Sleep
Chamomile: The Calming Herb Behind Better Sleep
It's 11pm, you've just finished replying to work messages, and your mind is still racing. Instead of another cup of kopi or teh tarik, you reach for something caffeine-free and warm — a cup of chamomile tea. But does this daisy-like flower actually help you wind down, or is it just a comforting bedtime ritual?
What Is Chamomile?
Chamomile is a small, daisy-shaped flower from the Asteraceae plant family — the same family that includes sunflowers, ragweed, and marigolds. There are two main types used for health purposes: German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla, also called Matricaria recutita) and Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). Of the many species of chamomile, just 2 are typically used in dietary supplements: Matricaria chamomilla and Chamaemelum nobile.
Most Singaporeans and Malaysians will only ever encounter chamomile as a dried tea bag on a supermarket shelf, sitting next to green tea and peppermint. Chamomile, peppermint and other teas that do not come from the Camellia sinensis plant are not considered 'true' teas but herbal or infusion teas. Beyond tea, chamomile also comes as capsules, liquid extracts, and topical creams. The chamomile flower is dried and ingested as tea or in a capsule, applied topically as an extract, or used as aromatherapy.
Why Do People Take It?
Winding down before sleep
This is chamomile's most famous use — a warm cup after dinner instead of a heavy dessert or another round of kopi. Chamomile is also used as a mild sedative to improve sleep, and people try chamomile tea and other products to help with issues such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, stress, anxiety, and depression. A recent review pooling several clinical trials found chamomile improved sleep, especially the number of awakenings after sleep or staying asleep, though it did not clearly improve total sleep duration or daytime alertness. Health authorities are careful not to overstate this — there's very little information on chamomile's effect on insomnia specifically, and a 2019 review found one study on insomnia that showed no benefit for that condition. In other words, chamomile may help you settle rather than cure a genuine sleep disorder.
Taking the edge off everyday anxiety
For the kind of low-grade, work-week stress many of us carry around, chamomile has some of the more promising (if still early) research behind it. Limited data shows that short-term use of chamomile is likely safe and can be effective in lessening symptoms of anxiety, though it may raise the risk of bleeding when used with blood-thinning medicines, especially at high doses. Separately, a 2016 randomized controlled trial involving 179 participants with moderate to severe generalized anxiety disorder found that chamomile extract produced a clinically meaningful reduction in anxiety symptoms over 8 weeks. This doesn't make chamomile a treatment for diagnosed anxiety disorders, but it may explain why so many people reach for it during a stressful exam season or a packed work quarter.
Settling an upset stomach
Long before it was a bedtime drink, chamomile was used as a digestive remedy, and this tradition is one reason it's still recommended after a heavy meal. People take chamomile to relieve gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and indigestion. For a bloated feeling after a char kway teow or laksa session, a warm, unsweetened chamomile tea is often gentler on the stomach than another sweet drink — though it's a comfort measure, not a cure for ongoing digestive issues.
Calming irritated skin
Applied on the skin rather than drunk, chamomile has a long history as a soothing agent. People apply a compress of chamomile extract to soothe irritated skin, such as from eczema, poison ivy, diaper rash, and chickenpox. Some early research even compared it to a mild steroid cream: early research suggests that chamomile may be about 60% as effective as certain doses of hydrocortisone cream for eczema. That's a modest effect, but it explains why chamomile shows up in so many gentle skincare and baby-care products across the region.
Bioavailability & Absorption
Chamomile's calming reputation is usually pinned on a flavonoid called apigenin, along with terpenoids like bisabolol and chamazulene found in its essential oil. It contains various bioactive compounds, such as flavonoids like apigenin, luteolin, and quercetin, and terpenoids such as chamazulene, bisabolol, and bisabolol oxide, which are believed to contribute to its potential sleep-enhancing effects. Interestingly, even experts aren't entirely sure which part does the heavy lifting: scientists aren't sure which compound in chamomile may be responsible for its reported ability to help you relax, and it could also be that the simple act of drinking warm tea promotes relaxation.
How you take chamomile matters somewhat. Hot water helps pull the water-soluble flavonoids out of the dried flowers during steeping, which is why tea is the most common and most studied format. Capsules and standardised extracts concentrate these compounds further, which is also why their effects — and their interaction risks — tend to be stronger than a single cup of tea.
Safety Basics
For most healthy adults having a cup or two, chamomile is considered gentle. Chamomile is likely safe when used orally in amounts commonly found in teas and other foods. The main things to watch for are allergies and drug interactions rather than the tea itself.
If you're allergic to ragweed, daisies, marigolds, or chrysanthemums, be cautious — people are more likely to experience allergic reactions to chamomile if they're allergic to related plants such as ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, or daisies. Reactions are usually mild, though side effects are uncommon and may include nausea, dizziness, and allergic reactions, including severe hypersensitivity reactions and anaphylaxis, in some people.
Chamomile can also interact with certain medications. Interactions between chamomile and some drugs metabolized by the liver and warfarin, a blood thinner, have been reported, and there are theoretical reasons to suspect chamomile might interact with other drugs as well, such as sedatives. It may also interfere with hormone-related medicines: chamomile may increase the effects of medications that prevent blood clots and sedatives, and could interfere with the effects of tamoxifen, hormone replacement therapy, and estrogen-containing oral contraceptives. If you're on any regular medication — including birth control, blood thinners, or sleep aids — it's worth a quick chat with your pharmacist or doctor before making chamomile tea a daily habit. Pregnant or breastfeeding women, and parents considering it for young children, should also check with a healthcare provider first, since little is known about whether it's safe to use chamomile during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
Natural Food Sources
Chamomile isn't a food you'd find in a typical Singaporean or Malaysian kitchen — it's almost always consumed as an infusion rather than eaten as part of a meal. Common ways to get it include:
- Dried chamomile flowers or tea bags, steeped in hot water as a caffeine-free herbal tea
- Loose chamomile flowers used in tea blends, sometimes combined with lemongrass or honey
- Chamomile capsules or standardised extracts, taken as a supplement
- Chamomile essential oil, used in aromatherapy diffusers or diluted for skin use
- Chamomile-infused creams, lotions, and baby-care products
- As a flavouring in some baked goods, jams, and ice creams
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Final Thoughts
Chamomile isn't a miracle cure for insomnia or anxiety, but the evidence does support it as a gentle, low-risk way to wind down — especially compared to reaching for another sugary drink or scrolling through your phone after a long day at the hawker centre or the office. With Singapore's packed work schedules and Malaysia's similarly fast-paced urban routines leaving little room for proper rest, a caffeine-free ritual like chamomile tea can be a small, practical piece of a better wind-down routine, alongside good sleep habits and regular movement, such as the kind encouraged by HPB's National Steps Challenge. Just be mindful of allergies and medication interactions, and check with a healthcare provider if you're pregnant, breastfeeding, or on regular medication.
This article is for general informational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your diet or supplement routine.
References
- NIH NCCIH
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/chamomile - Mayo Clinic
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/generalized-anxiety-disorder/expert-answers/herbal-treatment-for-anxiety/faq-20057945 - PubMed Central (NIH)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9822300/ - HealthHub Singapore 🇸🇬 SG
https://www.healthhub.sg/well-being-and-lifestyle/food-diet-and-nutrition/eat-right-sleep-tight - Harvard Health Publishing
https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrition/the-health-benefits-of-3-herbal-teas - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229924000591