What is the body asking for?

Ashwagandha

Withania somnifera

Winter cherry root — an adaptogen for wired-and-tired nights, not a stimulant.

insomnia

Cannabis (hemp & marijuana)

Cannabis sativa

A dioecious annual used as fiber, seed food, and — where legal — as a medicine for pain, nausea, and spasticity.

insomnia

Catnip

Nepeta cataria

A grey mint that sends cats sideways and, as a mild tea, settles people the other direction.

insomnia

Chamomile

Matricaria chamomilla

A small daisy used for centuries as an evening tea for restlessness and mild digestive cramp.

insomnia

Fly agaric

Amanita muscaria

The red fairy-tale mushroom — a deliriant poison with a folk-intoxicant history, not a gentle psychedelic.

insomnia

Hops

Humulus lupulus

The beer flower — a bitter, estrogenic sedative that also climbs the shed.

insomnia

Kava

Piper methysticum

Pacific ceremonial root for social ease and muscle quiet — liver-safe only as traditional aqueous preparations.

insomnia

Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia

Silver-leaved Mediterranean shrub; the scent alone is a documented mild anxiolytic.

insomnia

Lemon balm

Melissa officinalis

Lemon-scented mint for fretful moods, a racing mind, and cold-sore lips.

insomnia

Lemon verbena

Aloysia citrodora

An Andean shrub that smells more of lemon than lemon does — a digestive and evening leaf.

insomnia

Linden

Tilia cordata

Heart-shaped leaves and a honey-bract blossom — the classic European calm-and-cold tea.

insomnia

Motherwort

Leonurus cardiaca

A bitter mint for a racing heart and a spinning mind — not a culinary leaf.

insomnia

Opium poppy

Papaver somniferum

The garden poppy that also yields opium — a beautiful annual whose latex is the source of morphine, codeine, and a century of addiction medicine.

insomnia

Passionflower

Passiflora incarnata

A climbing vine with baroque flowers, used when the mind will not step off the wheel.

insomnia

Poria

Wolfiporia extensa

A buried pine fungus used in Chinese soups for dampness, gut, and calm — a sclerotium, not a mushroom cap.

insomnia

Reishi

Ganoderma lucidum

The lacquered 'mushroom of immortality' — a bitter decoction for recovery, sleep, and immune tone.

insomnia

Skullcap

Scutellaria lateriflora

A wetland mint for circular thinking — a nervine that wants the right species.

insomnia

Sweet marjoram

Origanum majorana

Oregano’s sweeter kitchen cousin — a tender Mediterranean mint for digestion and a quiet evening cup.

insomnia

Valerian

Valeriana officinalis

Foul-sweet root used as a non-habit-forming night herb — strong, uneven, not for everyone.

insomnia