# Using Hops For Insomnia Relief?



## joshuahardie (12/5/08)

http://www.totallynatural.com.au/tranquil-calm-max.htm

I have had some bad insomnia over the last couple of weeks
Not the have not slept in 2 weeks sort of insomnia, but the sleep for 2 hours, awake for 3 sleep for 2 = dang i only got 4 hours of broken sleep and i am shattered type of insomnia.

Fast forward to last night and i am looking at some brochure for a herbal tablet that is supposed to help with sleeping disorders

i check the active ingredients to find that the thing is supposedly 33% hops.... yes beer hops.

bugger this i say, go to the fridge get out some hops (NZ B Saaz for those interested) chuck em in a empty teabag, pour hot water
and voila, hop tea. tasted like hops funny enough  , but no more bitter than green tea.

it is funny, i was thinking of cutting back on beer to see if it was a reason i was not sleeping. going off this newfound scientific advice, i am thinking about upping my doseage....

but seriously, has anyone heard of this before, and is it likely to have any affect at all.


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## Sprungmonkey (12/5/08)

Hops is a member of the Cannabinaceae family. Wonder if that has anything to do with it... haha.


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## white.grant (12/5/08)

Apparently you stuff your pillow with it. More here http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g260...0/ai_2603000067

cheers

Grant


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## SJW (12/5/08)

Interesting, I might give a little hop tea a go. I am a shocking sleeper.


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## brettprevans (12/5/08)

I dont stuff around with herbal stuff. it doesnt work for my insomnia. Stilnox all the way. besides I recon the hops would be more expensive than the sleeping tablets anyway. interesting idea though. although if you think about it, why doesnt beer make you go to sleep. youve taken most of the oils out of the hops when you steep/boil them......


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## brendanos (12/5/08)

I saw an empty box of "hops sleep tea" at a friends place yesterday, I think it was a blend of a few "herbs and spices", possibly valerian.

I'm going to try the "twp teaspoons of flowers in one cup boiling water for five minutes" approach. It's also said to aid digestion. Imagine all the hop tea and breakfast combinations....


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## lagers44 (12/5/08)

I've heard somewhere that hops are a sedative , they were as others have said used in pillows & as tea for helping people get to sleep. 

Suppose you could also try some of that " other " green stuff people use.  

Lagers


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## Lobsta (12/5/08)

citymorgue2 said:


> I dont stuff around with herbal stuff. it doesnt work for my insomnia. Stilnox all the way. besides I recon the hops would be more expensive than the sleeping tablets anyway. interesting idea though. although if you think about it, why doesnt beer make you go to sleep. youve taken most of the oils out of the hops when you steep/boil them......



woo for stilnox. no i dont take it, i dispense it. noticed any cool/scary side effects? there was a bloke who painted his door in his sleep one time, another chick kept gaining weight and when she woke up, her fridge was empty, turns out she was eating in her sleep. there has also been anecdotal evidence of sleep driving... 

maybe if u get somebody to lock you in a room from the outside with a brewstand, you might wake up with a fermenter full of fresh brew... or wort painted all over your door  

Lobby the pharmacy nerd.


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## brettprevans (12/5/08)

nup never had any issues. I recon half these people make it up. once it kicks in for me (and if im stupid enough to have stayed up after taking it) my legs cease to work, I go woosey, feel funny and go to sleep. a bit like drinking really. Way better than Tamazapan. takes too long and is too light.

I had considered making a Temaz beer, but figured that could be a bit dangerous. Maybe i'll try Fents' 'alternative' ale first.


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## sinkas (12/5/08)

AS far as I recall, there are a couple of valerian and hops extract comnbinations that have been shown to moderately improve sleep in patients suffering sleep disturbance; However I am pretty sure the whole thing was funded by the german Hops growers consortium, so the result might be a little over interpreted.

Do some thinking, or preferrably ask someone (who might have qualifications in Primary health care) to help you work out what might be causiing it before you start dosing up, as sudden onset insomnia, if not due to lifestyle and stress issues can be a sketchy situation.


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## neonmeate (12/5/08)

other people usually find getting me on the subject of hops is a good cure for insomnia


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## joshuahardie (13/5/08)

Grantw said:


> Apparently you stuff your pillow with it. More here http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g260...0/ai_2603000067
> 
> cheers
> 
> Grant



That website claims that a tea can be made with 2 teaspoons of fresh hops in a cup of boiling water.
i reckon i used about 10 pellets last night, it was so bitter it almost ripped my face off, and i could not finish it.

The commercial version used under 1 gram of hops, so I am thinking 2 or 3 pellets in the water would be the max.

I have slept better the 2 nights i have had it, but that could be due to a huge amount of factors, not to mention the likely placebo affect.

Still can't hurt to give it a whirl for a week or so.


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## brettprevans (13/5/08)

hmmm I can feel a poll waiting to he had here :lol: :

What hops do you use for your insomnia tea:
amarillo
cascade
Fuggles
Nelsen Sauvin
etc

actually I recon a Nelsen Sauvin/Amarillo might be nice.


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## Linz (13/5/08)

Id go the older, more traditional, 'noble' hops for the sleep remedy..Hall. fuggles, EKG

Not that I have any trouble sleeping....I've slept thru a lightning strike!!(on a window sill in the next room, not me!)


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## Sammus (13/5/08)

This certainly explains a lot. I was wondering why I fell asleep so easily after knocking back a few IIPA's...


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## Fourstar (13/5/08)

Sammus said:


> This certainly explains a lot. I was wondering why I fell asleep so easily after knocking back a few IIPA's...



I had a thing abck in Uni to have a glass of scotch before bed, nightcap if you will. stopped doing ti and wondered why i was struggling to sleep. becomes quite a habit to break.

On ANZAC day weekend i went to canberra, market in kingston they were selling herbal pillows, some had hops in them. ive heard they are great for sleep issues.


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## soupbones (13/5/08)

Brew yourself a good Amarillo Ale and hop the hell out of it. And I mean hop the hell out of it, so it smelsl like grass clippings even. Even dry hop it with amarillo. Up the sugars so it gets an FG somewhere over 6%. One of the best beers I have had that put you out like a light in no time. Just one long kneck of that used to make me drowsey enough to crash out in front of the telly most nights without getting pissed. Never had another beer do that ever ( not without drinking it lots and lots of it ).


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## brendanos (15/5/08)

I had some Motueka & honey tea last night. It was incredibly bitter, left a taste in me and my friends mouths for hours, though I found it really pleasant, and almost as satisfying as an IPA.


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## boingk (18/5/08)

> Just one long kneck of that used to make me drowsey enough to crash out in front of the telly most nights without getting pissed.



The 'Tettnang Tantalizer' in my sig does that to me...after one or two I'll be feeling right sleepy. Usually though, my homebrew fuels my nightly exploits here at uni, so once or twice a week will see me drinking somewhat more than one or two stubbies of it... 

I find that one or two stubbies worth and listening to some soft music is about the best you can get in the insomnia game without going pharmaceutical.

Cheers - boingk


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## Adric Hunter (18/5/08)

in the first issue of Beer and brewer they recomended to sew some cascade into your pillow to help with sleeping disorders


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## Pickaxe (9/8/13)

Its a classic herbal remedy for sleep. In the pillow, also lavender is recommended. +1 for valerian tea. Has soporiphic qualities according to a lot of texts - ie. Helps with sleep. Also supposed tp help aid dreaming.


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## Pickaxe (9/8/13)

Old text I have says to put hops or lavender in pillow case to help aid sleep disorders. Remember sleeping at a friend house as a kid, English mother used lavender to calm her hyperactive children. It's a to made me sneeze all night.


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## Mardoo (9/8/13)

Just ask Yob if he's sleeping better


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## JDW81 (9/8/13)

I find a good diet, and exercise the perfect combo for a good night sleep. I'll leave the hops for beer.


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## bum (9/8/13)

Rooting works for me.

Try some rooting.


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## JDW81 (9/8/13)

bum said:


> Rooting works for me.
> 
> Try some rooting.


I didn't specify what type of exercise....


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## 431neb (9/8/13)

I think the secateurs are for when you want to stop (rooting that is).


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## JDW81 (9/8/13)

431neb said:


> I think the secateurs are for when you want to stop (rooting that is).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yates (I think) used to make rooting powder, but apparently someone complained about the name so they changed it to plant cutting powder or some other benign name.


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## Midnight Brew (9/8/13)

I like the whole approach to hops to help you sleep and I think its better then just taking a pill. Best way to approach it is a process of elimination through your lifestyle. Things you'd be looking at would be:

Consumption: Caffeine, processed food, excess alcohol (its a home brewing forum kinda a given) , too many refined sugars, whether you get enough fruit, veg, nuts or seeds into your diet.

Lifestyle: Exercise, leisure time (perhaps not enough), work (over worked/hate your job), stress which would in most cases be the biggest factor, depression or mental state of mind, and even if your mind is just thinking like crazy it might be a good idea to have a mental dump on a piece of paper. As in write down what you need to do in the next few days or things like that. Even a great way to deal with stress is through discussion.

I think the key with all lifestyle related things is balance. Certainly helps me sleep better.


Disclaimer: I'm not a medical practitioner or qualified in any food or health field or trying to sell anything. Just what I believe.


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## Three Sheets (9/8/13)

joshuahardie said:


> http://www.totallynatural.com.au/tranquil-calm-max.htm
> 
> I have had some bad insomnia over the last couple of weeks
> Not the have not slept in 2 weeks sort of insomnia, but the sleep for 2 hours, awake for 3 sleep for 2 = dang i only got 4 hours of broken sleep and i am shattered type of insomnia.
> ...


I had a similar problem but found the hops contained in Reschs Pilsner helped me sleep. Often it would require 17 or 18 stubbies but it always worked.


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## Phillo (9/8/13)

I had often wondered why I fall asleep after ten AIPAs. :icon_drool2:


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## Mardoo (9/8/13)

Funnily enough my ex-girlfriend's Dad started using wild hop tea "to relax", drinking ONLY wild hop tea, and ended up in the hospital critically dehydrated. Turns out they're also an excellent diuretic. But then we all know that, now don't we?


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## Aces High (9/8/13)

I remember reading an article about traditional hop harvesting. a group of people would sit around a table, the hop bine would be dragged onto the table and they would pick the hops off by hand. Apparently by the end of the day people would just lay their heads down on the table and go into a stuporific sleep.


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## Pickaxe (9/8/13)

Reminds me of a story of people manicuring a similar plant, and rolling balls of green off their.hands. beautiful aroma off that too.

Wouldn't brew with it though...

Mate passed out trying that one ad well.


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