Chamomile and Lavender Tea: Benefits and Safety

Chamomile and lavender tea is a low-risk drink for most healthy adults^{1, 2}, but we found no trial of the two brewed together, and the evidence for each herb on sleep, mood and anxiety is modest and short-term.

The evidence on each herb sits on our chamomile and lavender pages. For the anxiety trials, see chamomile for anxiety and lavender for anxiety.

Both herbs are used as calming, relaxing teas. Each has been studied on its own, mostly for anxiety, mood and sleep, and the authoritative summaries say the evidence is not yet reliable enough to rate their usefulness^{1, 2}. The tea trials are small and short:

• Chamomile tea: in 80 postnatal women with poor sleep, 2 weeks of chamomile tea lowered scores for physical sleep inefficiency and depression symptoms compared with usual care³.
• Lavender tea: in a matching trial of 80 postnatal women, one cup a day for 2 weeks reduced fatigue and depression and improved bonding with the infant⁴.
• Lavender tea in older adults: in 60 older adults in Iran, a 2 g tea bag used twice a day for 2 weeks lowered depression and anxiety scores compared with no treatment⁵.

All three trials compared the tea with usual care or nothing, not with a placebo drink, so expectation may explain part of the effect^{3, 4, 5}. In both postnatal trials the groups scored similarly at the 4-week follow-up, which the authors read as an effect limited to the immediate term^{3, 4}.

Blends sold with extra ingredients such as probiotics, honey or other herbs are different products again.

Possibly a little, for some people, and the evidence rests mostly on chamomile:

• Sleep quality: a 2024 systematic review of 10 studies in 772 adults pooled 5 of them and found chamomile, in various forms and not only tea, lowered Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores by 1.88 points (95% CI -3.46 to -0.31), but results varied widely between trials (I-squared 88.4%) and sleep duration and efficiency did not improve⁶.
• Earlier review: a 2019 meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials also found better sleep quality (standardized mean difference -0.73, 95% CI -1.23 to -0.23), yet the one insomnia trial it included found no change in insomnia severity⁷.
• Chronic insomnia: in a 28-day trial of 34 adults with primary insomnia, chamomile at 270 mg twice daily did not beat placebo on any sleep diary measure⁸. A review of 14 trials in 1,602 people with insomnia found no significant difference from placebo for any herbal single-ingredient product, chamomile included, on any of 13 efficacy measures⁹.
• Lavender tea: the postnatal trial’s abstract lists group differences in fatigue, depression and bonding but none in sleep quality⁴.

Our reading: limited evidence. A warm cup before bed is a reasonable wind-down habit, but no trial shows the tea treats insomnia. See insomnia for supplements with firmer evidence.

Does chamomile and lavender tea make you sleepy?

Neither herb is a proven sedative at tea strength. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) lists lavender flower as a traditional aid to sleep, and notes it may impair the ability to drive and use machines, although no studies have tested this¹⁰. Wait to see how a first cup affects you before driving.

No tea has been shown to treat an anxiety disorder. The best anxiety trials of both herbs used standardized capsules, so they cannot tell us what a cup does.

Chamomile

• In 57 people with mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), 8 weeks of chamomile extract reduced Hamilton Anxiety (HAM-A) scores more than placebo (P = 0.047)¹¹.
• In a longer trial, 179 people with moderate to severe GAD took 1,500 mg of chamomile extract daily for 12 weeks, and 93 responders were then randomized to 26 weeks of chamomile or placebo. Relapse was 15.2% on chamomile versus 25.5% on placebo, a difference that was not statistically significant (hazard ratio 0.52, 95% CI 0.20 to 1.33)¹².
• A 2019 meta-analysis found no difference in general anxiety across 3 trials, but a modest HAM-A improvement in GAD at 2 weeks (mean difference -1.43) and 4 weeks (-1.79)⁷.

Lavender

• A meta-analysis of 5 placebo-controlled trials in 1,213 adults found that 80 mg a day of a standardized lavender-oil capsule for 10 weeks beat placebo on anxiety, with a responder rate ratio of 1.34 and no significant difference in adverse events¹³.
• In 539 adults with GAD, HAM-A scores fell by 12.8 points on 80 mg, 14.1 points on 160 mg, 11.3 points on paroxetine 20 mg and 9.5 points on placebo over 10 weeks¹⁴.
• A 2019 review of 65 randomized trials of lavender in all forms pooled the oral capsule trials at 80 mg a day for at least 6 weeks (1,173 participants) and found HAM-A scores 2.90 points lower than control (95% CI -4.86 to -0.95)¹⁵.

Two cautions apply. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) notes the lavender research has small samples and a lack of independent funding². And inhaled lavender, which the 2019 review found reduced anxiety scores (Hedges’ g -0.73)¹⁵, is a separate question from drinking the tea: NCCIH calls the benefit of lavender aromatherapy unclear².

Most of the trials above enrolled adults with clinically assessed anxiety, mainly GAD. Persistent anxiety needs a clinician’s assessment, not a daily tea. See anxiety for the full evidence picture.

We found no study that measured caffeine in chamomile or lavender tea specifically, so check the label for other botanicals. In an analysis of herbal teas as a group sold in Lima, Peru, caffeine ranged from 0.47 to 4.91 mg/L, about 1.2 mg in a 240 mL cup at the top of that range¹⁶. A separate study found traces of caffeine in linden, a common ingredient of sleep teas, with up to 226 µg per prepared cup¹⁷.

Blends that add other leaves, flowers or extras can therefore carry a trace. For other options, see our guide to sleep supplements.

Side effects are uncommon at tea strength, and each herb has its own:

• Chamomile: nausea, dizziness and allergic reactions, including rare severe hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis¹.
• Lavender: in the amounts tested in studies, some people had diarrhea, headache, nausea or burping².
• Tolerability in trials: chamomile and placebo groups reported similar adverse-event rates in the GAD trial¹¹, and the lavender-oil meta-analysis found no significant difference from placebo¹³.

Stop drinking the tea and seek help if you notice swelling, hives or trouble breathing after chamomile.

Check with a pharmacist or clinician first if any of these apply:

• You take warfarin. A case report describes a 70-year-old woman on warfarin admitted with multiple internal hemorrhages after using chamomile tea and body lotion¹⁸. In a crossover trial, 12 healthy volunteers who drank 9 chamomile tea bags a day for 7 days had no change in prothrombin time (-0.2 ± 0.4 seconds versus 0.1 ± 0.5 seconds on placebo), but the authors drew that conclusion for people not taking warfarin¹⁹.
• You take sedatives or have surgery planned. NCCIH says lavender might interact with sedative drugs or herbs, which matters before surgery, and suspects chamomile could do the same^{2, 1}.
• You are allergic to ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds or daisies. These plants raise the chance of an allergic reaction to chamomile¹.
• You use birth control or have an estrogen-sensitive condition. NCCIH reports preliminary signs that chamomile may weaken birth control pills and may affect conditions sensitive to estrogen, such as breast or uterine cancer¹.
• You take liver-metabolized drugs. EMA notes CYP450-based interactions with high oral doses over about 2 months in kidney-transplant patients²⁰.
• You are pregnant or breastfeeding. NCCIH says little is known for either herb^{1, 2}. EMA’s chamomile monograph states that safety has been established for plain herbal tea but not for the other preparations²⁰, and EMA does not recommend lavender flower during pregnancy or lactation for lack of data¹⁰. A review of 23 studies in 2,065 women could not support clinical recommendations on chamomile in pregnancy²¹.
• You are giving it to a child. EMA does not recommend lavender flower under age 12 because data are lacking¹⁰.

There is no tested recipe for the blend, so use the single-herb figures as reference points:

• Lavender: EMA’s traditional-use monograph gives 1 to 2 g of lavender flower in 150 mL of boiling water, up to 3 times a day, for mild stress and to aid sleep¹⁰.
• Chamomile: EMA gives 1.5 to 4 g in 150 mL of boiling water, 3 to 4 times a day, for minor stomach and digestive complaints such as bloating²⁰.
• Blends: neither monograph covers a mixture, so any single-herb figure only applies if you steep each herb by weight. Tea bags and loose flowers are both used, but only loose herb is easy to weigh.

A practical plan: have one cup at night for 2 weeks, the length of the tea trials above^{3, 4}, then judge whether it helps. If it does not, or if anxiety or poor sleep persists, see a clinician instead of adding more cups. Looking at other combinations? Our guide to magnesium and melatonin covers one more sleep pairing.

Supplements in this guide

• Chamomile
• Lavender

We searched the research literature on chamomile, lavender, tea, anxiety, sleep and warfarin, read the NCCIH fact sheets on both herbs and the EMA monographs for both flowers, and fetched 17 PubMed records, citing systematic reviews and randomized trials in adults first. We found no trial of chamomile and lavender brewed together as a drink, so every number above comes from one herb at a time. We did not review aromatherapy blends of the two essential oils. Researched on 2 November 2026.

1. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Chamomile: Usefulness and Safety. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/chamomile
2. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Lavender: Usefulness and Safety. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/lavender
3. Chang SM, et al. Effects of an intervention with drinking chamomile tea on sleep quality and depression in sleep disturbed postnatal women: a randomized controlled trial. J Adv Nurs. 2016;72(2):306-15. doi:10.1111/jan.12836
4. Chen SL, et al. Effects of Lavender Tea on Fatigue, Depression, and Maternal-Infant Attachment in Sleep-Disturbed Postnatal Women. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2015;12(6):370-9. doi:10.1111/wvn.12122
5. Bazrafshan MR, et al. The effect of lavender herbal tea on the anxiety and depression of the elderly: A randomized clinical trial. Complement Ther Med. 2020;50:102393. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102393
6. Kazemi A, et al. Effects of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Complement Ther Med. 2024;84:103071. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2024.103071
7. Hieu TH, et al. Therapeutic efficacy and safety of chamomile for state anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, and sleep quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials and quasi-randomized trials. Phytother Res. 2019;33(6):1604-1615. doi:10.1002/ptr.6349 Our study summary.
8. Zick SM, et al. Preliminary examination of the efficacy and safety of a standardized chamomile extract for chronic primary insomnia: a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011;11:78. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-11-78
9. Leach MJ, et al. Herbal medicine for insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2015;24:1-12. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2014.12.003
10. European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. Community herbal monograph on Lavandula angustifolia Miller, flos. EMA/HMPC/734125/2010. 2012. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-monograph/final-community-herbal-monograph-lavandula-angustifolia-p-mill-flos_en.pdf
11. Amsterdam JD, et al. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral Matricaria recutita (chamomile) extract therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2009;29(4):378-82. doi:10.1097/JCP.0b013e3181ac935c Our study summary.
12. Mao JJ, et al. Long-term chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trial. Phytomedicine. 2016;23(14):1735-1742. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2016.10.012 Our study summary.
13. Dold M, et al. Efficacy of Silexan in patients with anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2023;273(7):1615-1628. doi:10.1007/s00406-022-01547-w Our study summary.
14. Kasper S, et al. Lavender oil preparation Silexan is effective in generalized anxiety disorder--a randomized, double-blind comparison to placebo and paroxetine. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2014;17(6):859-69. doi:10.1017/S1461145714000017 Our study summary.
15. Donelli D, et al. Effects of lavender on anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Phytomedicine. 2019;65:153099. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2019.153099
16. Gonzales-Yépez KA, et al. Determination of Caffeine, Theobromine, and Theophylline by HPLC-DAD in Beverages Commonly Consumed in Lima, Peru. Int J Food Sci. 2023;2023:4323645. doi:10.1155/2023/4323645
17. Mathona C, et al. Unexpected occurrence of caffeine in sleep-inducing herbal teas. Chimia (Aarau). 2014;68(10):705-9. doi:10.2533/chimia.2014.705
18. Segal R, et al. Warfarin interaction with Matricaria chamomilla. CMAJ. 2006;174(9):1281-2. doi:10.1503/cmaj.051191
19. Schwartz JA, et al. Effect of chamomile intake on blood coagulation tests in healthy volunteers: a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Perioper Med (Lond). 2023;12(1):51. doi:10.1186/s13741-023-00339-7
20. European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Matricaria recutita L., flos. EMA/HMPC/55843/2011. 2015. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-monograph/final-european-union-herbal-monograph-matricaria-recutita-l-flos-first-version_en.pdf
21. Ferguson T, et al. The Efficacy and Safety of Using Chamomile Products During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. Cureus. 2025;17(3):e81527. doi:10.7759/cureus.81527