The Best Teas For Stress Relief & How To Brew Your Perfect Cup

From waking you up to getting you ready for sleep, there's a healthy tea for every point in the day. If you're looking for a sipper that will help you get through stressful moments, the following calming teas come expert-recommended.

According to Kami McBride, an herbal educator and author of The Herbal Kitchen, calming teas typically fall into one of the following categories:

The simple ritual of sitting down with your herbal brew of choice can also be therapeutic. "Slowing down, breathing in the fumes (which by the way is a hydrating act), savoring the aroma and taste...it can be considered a form of meditation," Cohen tells mindbodygreen. "Whatever herbs are inside the tea are a bonus!"

As for the best types of herbal teas to sip for stress relief, these seven come science-backed and expert-recommended:

"Chamomile is calming, relaxing, and soothing," McBride says. "[It] is one of the great teas to drink after dinner to help you unwind from the day." Though it does have diuretic qualities, she adds, so you'd be wise to take your last sip a few hours before bed.

Cohen adds that lemon balm is an easy herb to cultivate, making it a good pick for a home-grown tea. Like chamomile, it's best enjoyed in the evenings as some people find that it makes them sleepy.

You can steep petals from any color rose under the rainbow, but McBride says you'll want to first make sure they don't have any herbicides or pesticide residue. Organic is best!

"You can drink it to help with stress...feeling overscheduled, or just too busy doing life," she says. The oat plant5 is also rich in minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

When enjoyed as a tea, McBride says that "the aroma of lavender relaxes the nervous system and produces a calming and soothing effect on the body."

"It contains withanolides, compounds that help activate GABA receptors8 in the brain to decrease activation of our nervous system and stress response,"* integrative physician Cindy Tsai, M.D., previously told mbg. Like oat straw, ashwagandha tends to be more effective when consumed regularly.

Research on humans is limited, but schisandra has been shown to promote a more positive mood9 and support healthy cognition in mice. It makes for a bright, sweet, sour tea that can be enjoyed at any time of day.

If you're tired of one-note teas and looking for a blend, McBride says these stress-relieving herbs complement each other beautifully:

Once you've landed on your herb(s), here's McBride's pro routine for blending them into a tea. While you can of course use prepacked tea bags, she says that loose tea tends to be fresher and more potent.

Once the last sip is taken, here are a few other tools that can help ease stress daily.

McBride notes that many of the aforementioned herbs can also be incorporated into bathing and beauty routines (her book is a treasure trove of ideas for these). Add them to a warm bath or rejuvenating facial steam for a relaxing ritual at the end of a long, stressful day.

Supplements featuring calming plant ingredients like lavender, ashwagandha root and leaf extract, rhodiola, full-spectrum hemp oil, and lemon balm can also be helpful for easing stress.* Most can be taken on a daily or as-needed basis. Be sure to always ask your doctor before trying a new supplement, and look for one that uses science-backed ingredients and doses. (Here's a list of mbg favorites.)

In addition to herbal allies, a paper and pen can also support you on your journey to stress less. Cohen likes to spend the first bit of her morning writing in her journal for three to five minutes to get down any lingering thoughts or worries. Don't worry about making it perfect. You never have to go back and reread what you wrote if you don't want to; just get it down on the page so it's off your chest.

Sipping on herbal tea can be a great way to calm down and blow off some steam in more ways than one. If you're looking for a new brew to sip during stressful moments, chamomile, lemon balm, rose, oat straw, lavender, ashwagandha, and schisandra are all great options.