Lemon Balm Tea for Relaxation: Benefits, Brewing Tips, and Safety

What Lemon Balm Is and Why It Has Been Used for Calm

Lemon balm is the herb Melissa officinalis L., a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is native to the Mediterranean region and has since been cultivated and naturalized across Southern Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. Its leaves carry a light citrus scent that has made it a kitchen and garden herb as much as a medicinal one.

The plant's medicinal record stretches back roughly two thousand years, with references appearing around 300 B.C. and later in Dioscorides' De Materia Medica around 50–80 B.C. Over that long history it has been used traditionally to ease digestive complaints, encourage relaxation and sleep, lift mood, soothe skin irritation, and support wound healing. Its standing in formal herbal references is reflected in its inclusion in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, the European Pharmacopoeia and the Iranian Herbal Pharmacopoeia.

In folk and traditional practice, lemon balm has been used as a calming herb for anxiety, stress and mild low mood, and for nervous digestion, headaches and restful sleep. That traditional reputation is the reason it appears in so many evening tea blends today, including combinations with valerian root.

• Botanical name: Melissa officinalis L., family Lamiaceae.
• Key phytochemicals include rosmarinic acid, citral, oleanolic acid and ursolic acid.
• Because it is not made from Camellia sinensis leaves, lemon balm tea is naturally caffeine-free and suits evening consumption.
• Traditional uses in the historical record center on calm, sleep and digestion rather than on any single acute effect.

Sources: Nutrients (MDPI), via PubMed Central, Full Leaf Tea Company, Examine.com

How Lemon Balm May Support Relaxation and Sleep

The most concrete mechanism described in the pharmacological literature involves GABA, the brain's main inhibitory neurotransmitter. Rosmarinic acid, along with ursolic acid and oleanolic acid, inhibits the enzyme GABA transaminase (GABA-T), which is the enzyme that breaks GABA down. In animal work, GABA-T activity in aged rats was reduced after doses of 50 to 200 mg per kilogram over five weeks.

This mechanism is supported mainly by animal and cellular studies. Lemon balm and its components appear to modulate GABAergic, cholinergic and serotonergic signalling in preclinical work, which is a reasonable basis for further study but is not the same as demonstrated clinical benefit in people.

The human evidence base is genuinely promising but modest in scale. A 2024 narrative review in Nutrients concluded that lemon balm holds promise as a calming agent exhibiting anxiolytic and antidepressant properties and sleep quality enhancement, while also calling for further robust randomized controlled trials using standardized extracts. The same review notes that few robust clinical trials have been published, and that several studies of middle-aged adults combined lemon balm with other herbs such as valerian, which makes it harder to attribute sleep improvements to lemon balm alone.

Two specific trials are worth naming because they are frequently cited. A 2023 double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial published in Frontiers in Pharmacology enrolled 100 healthy adults with emotional distress and poor sleep and reported improvements in depression, anxiety, stress and sleep quality compared with placebo after 400 mg per day of a phospholipid-bound lemon balm extract for three weeks. A 2024 crossover randomized controlled trial in Nutrients reported that 87 percent of treated participants reported improved sleep versus 30 percent in the placebo group. The numbers are striking, but the wise reading is that they are interesting signals rather than settled conclusions, especially because the trials used concentrated extracts rather than a simple tea.

• Lemon balm is caffeine-free, so it will not work against you the way a caffeinated drink can in the evening.
• The proposed calming mechanism involves slowing the breakdown of GABA, but that evidence comes mostly from laboratory and animal models.
• The 2024 review describes lemon balm as promising for calm, anxiety and sleep quality while calling for more rigorous trials.
• Some sleep studies combined lemon balm with valerian, so results may not reflect lemon balm on its own.
• Trial results come from standardized extracts, not from a standard cup of tea.

Sources: Nutrients (MDPI), via PubMed Central, Examine.com, Mattress Miracle (retailer blog, Ontario, Canada), Full Leaf Tea Company

Storing Dried Lemon Balm

Most people brewing lemon balm for relaxation use the dried leaf, because it is available year-round and measures consistently. Dried lemon balm has a slightly deeper, more mellow herbal character than the fresh plant, with a softer and earthier aroma. Fresh leaves are brighter and lighter, with a clearer citrus edge, but they are at their best within a few days of harvest and gradually lose moisture and fragrance even when refrigerated.

Because dried herbs are more concentrated after losing their moisture content, recipes generally call for less dried herb than fresh when substituting between the two forms. No single conversion ratio fits every recipe, so it is best to start with the amount a recipe specifies and adjust by taste.

Proper storage matters more than most people expect. When dried lemon balm is kept in an airtight container away from direct sunlight, it retains its potency for about a year and remains the most practical preservation method for tea and pantry use. One source also recommends harvesting leaves before the plant flowers, on the reasoning that rosmarinic acid content is highest at that stage, and drying them in a warm, airy space out of direct sunlight.

Sources: Calhoun Farmstead, Mattress Miracle (retailer blog, Ontario, Canada)

Step-by-Step Brewing Guide for Lemon Balm Tea

Brewing lemon balm is simple, but small choices make a real difference in how the cup tastes and smells. The guidance below reflects one commonly cited traditional-style preparation: about 1.5 to 2 grams of dried leaf per 240 milliliters of water (roughly one cup), steeped covered for 10 to 15 minutes and drunk 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime when the goal is sleep. Treat that as a sensible starting point rather than an established clinical dose; a second source suggests a shorter steep of 5 to 7 minutes, so anywhere in that range is reasonable and you can adjust to your own taste.

Covering the cup during steeping is recommended by the source that gives the longer steep time, on the reasoning that lemon balm's volatile compounds, including citral, evaporate in steam and are better retained under a lid. Citral is indeed named as a key component of the herb, and the underlying chemistry is plausible even though the specific preparation advice is not independently confirmed elsewhere.

A single cup is the standard evening serving. One source cites traditional herbal medicine guidelines, including a Canadian regulatory monograph, as allowing up to about 4.5 grams of dried lemon balm leaf per day, which works out to roughly two to three cups. That upper range comes from a single source and should be read as that source's stated range, not as a universal daily limit.

1. Warm a cup or small teapot so the water does not cool too quickly.
2. Measure about 1.5 to 2 grams of dried lemon balm leaf, roughly one to two teaspoons depending on the leaf cut, into an infuser or strainer.
3. Heat fresh water to just below a boil, around 200 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Pour about 240 milliliters (one cup) of the hot water over the leaf.
5. Cover the cup or pot to help retain the aromatic compounds.
6. Steep for 10 to 15 minutes, or as little as 5 to 7 minutes if you prefer a lighter, more delicate cup.
7. Remove the leaf, then sip it 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime if you are using it as part of a wind-down routine.

Sources: Mattress Miracle (retailer blog, Ontario, Canada), Full Leaf Tea Company, Nutrients (MDPI), via PubMed Central

How Lemon Balm Compares to Chamomile and Other Relaxing Herbs

Lemon balm sits in a crowded field of evening herbs, and the most common comparison people make is with chamomile. The two are often described as working through different routes. One source contrasts chamomile's apigenin, which is thought to bind to GABA-A receptors, with lemon balm's rosmarinic acid, which inhibits GABA-T and thereby slows GABA breakdown. That contrast is a mechanism sketch rather than a head-to-head clinical comparison, and the evidence does not establish that one herb outperforms the other for relaxation or sleep.

What can be said more confidently is how the herbs differ as a drink. Lemon balm brings a bright, citrus-mint character that some people find more refreshing than the apple-like sweetness of chamomile, and it is naturally caffeine-free like chamomile. Because lemon balm is frequently blended with valerian root in commercial sleep teas, a blend you buy may deliver more than lemon balm alone. Whether that combination is meaningfully better than lemon balm by itself is not established by the available evidence.

If you are choosing among relaxing herbs, the practical approach is to let flavor and your own response guide you, and to try one herb at a time so you can tell what is actually helping. Our broader herb guide and sleep tea overview cover other options if you want to compare more than one.

• Lemon balm is often paired with valerian root in sleep blends; the mixture is common, but its superiority over lemon balm alone is not established.
• Both lemon balm and chamomile are caffeine-free and suitable for evening use.
• The chamomile-versus-lemon-balm mechanism contrast is a hypothesis, not a proven ranking.
• Trying one herb at a time makes it easier to judge what works for you.

Sources: Mattress Miracle (retailer blog, Ontario, Canada), Nutrients (MDPI), via PubMed Central, Examine.com, Full Leaf Tea Company

Side Effects: Who Should Use Caution

Lemon balm has a long history of food and tea use, and one source states that it is classified as Generally Recognized As Safe by the US FDA for culinary and medicinal herb uses. That classification is asserted by a single commercial source and no FDA page is included in the material behind this article, so it should not be treated as verified regulatory status. More useful for everyday decisions is the list of groups that a medically reviewed health source advises to consult a doctor before using lemon balm: people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, children, people taking sedatives, and people with thyroid disorders.

On interactions, the picture is precautionary rather than quantified. One source describes theoretical interactions with sedatives and thyroid medications as unlikely but possible at standard tea doses, meaning roughly 1.5 to 2 grams per cup once nightly. The concerns are additive sedation if you take prescribed sedatives, anxiolytics or antihistamines, and additive effects if you take thyroid medication. A separate medically reviewed source states that lemon balm may interfere with the action of thyroid hormones and that a person should consult their doctor before taking lemon balm with thyroid hormones. No source provides an interaction threshold or a measure of clinical magnitude, so the right move is to ask a pharmacist or physician rather than to estimate your own risk.

Chronic sleep problems deserve a medical conversation regardless of what is in your teacup. If you are taking prescription medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a thyroid condition, or have ongoing difficulty sleeping, speak with a qualified healthcare professional before making lemon balm a nightly habit.

This article is informational only and is not medical advice.

• Consult a doctor before use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Consult a doctor before giving lemon balm to children.
• People taking sedatives, anxiolytics or antihistamines should ask about additive drowsiness.
• People with thyroid disorders or taking thyroid medication should ask before regular use.
• Standard tea doses described here are about 1.5 to 2 grams per cup, once nightly.
• Seek medical advice for persistent sleep problems rather than self-treating indefinitely.

Sources: Mattress Miracle (retailer blog, Ontario, Canada), Medical News Today (medically reviewed by Amy Richter, MS, RD; written by Peter Morales-Brown)