How to Use Passion Flower for Sleep

Passion flower is a climbing vine plant. Its flowers have traditionally been used to calm people and to treat insomnia. Although the flowers have been used for years, scientists and the medical community are not quite sure how the plant works. It may increase gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. GABA helps you calm down by reducing the activity of some brain cells. You can take passion flower either as a tea or as drops to help you sleep. If you take any medications, you should check with your doctor first.

Things You'll Need

• Tea kettle or sauce pan
• Water
• Passion flower tea
• Passion flower extract

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Boil water. Pour a cup of the water ( 8 ounces) into a mug.

   • 2

     Add about 1 teaspoon of dried passion flower to the boiling water and let steep for about 10 minutes.

   • 3

     Remove the dried flower from the tea, pouring it through a mesh strainer into another mug. Set the tea aside to let cool.

   • 4

     Drink the passion flower tea about one hour before you plan on going to bed.

   • 5

     Take 10 drops of passion flower extract orally about an hour before bed if you don't want to drink the tea.