Stress and strain of daily life make us all vulnerable to headaches and nervous strain. After a hard day, it feels good to just relax with a warm cup of herbal tea and quiet our minds before tackling a busy evening.

Sometimes, nervous tension is one the causes of sleepless nights. There are times you may need help to get to sleep, but you should not rely on any drug or herb for long periods of time. They are to be used as a temporary help only. If the problem persists, you should see your physician for the cause of insomnia. If your health is good, it may be caused by an emotional problem.

Many times, we just do not need as many hours of sleep as we think we do. If everything is going pretty well in your life, but you just can’t get to sleep, listen to your body. Maybe you need to stay up later then usual and attend to other things. Sometimes a sleepless night is a good time to get things done that you just don’t have the time for during the day. There really is no need to worry if occasionally you are unable to get to sleep. There are studies that prove that staying up for 24 hours sometimes cures or helps depression. The time to worry is if you consistently cannot get to sleep and it interferes with your daily life. That is the time to contact your physician for help.

Herbal BeautyIn addition to helping with headaches and sleeplessness, the recipes that follow are also good to use when you have a cold or the flu, as one of the symptoms is often a headache.

THIS ONE IS FOR HEADACHES, BUT ALSO IS AN ANTI- DEPRESSIVE: Pour 2 cups boiling water over 3 teaspoons dried primrose flowers and leaves. Let stand, covered, about 15 minutes. Strain and sweeten. Drink warm or hot. (Reheat as needed.) An older friend of mine has used this as an aid for over thirty years, so it must be very effective for her to have used it for so long.

ANOTHER ANTI-DEPRESSIVE: Put a handful of fresh chopped rosemary into a bottle of white wine. Let sit about 4 days. Strain and use by the tablespoon as needed. DELICIOUS! How could you stay depressed while taking so much pleasure in a taste sensation?

A FAVORITE FOR HEADACHES: Use 1 heaping teaspoon of dried chamomile flowers for each cup of boiling water. Steep 10 minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey. It’s a good relaxer. Caution: Do not use if you suffer from ragweed allergies, as chamomile is in the same family. There are too many other herbs that you can substitute for you to take a chance of suffering from an allergic reaction. Great for those that can use it.

MAKE YOUR OWN PAIN KILLER: Soak 1/2 teaspoon of dried willow bark in 2 cups cold water overnight. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain, cool, and bottle. Dosage is 1/4 cup, to be sipped slowly as needed for pain.

This really does work. It can be added to juices or teas if you wish. Often, people are surprised that it works so fast. It’s not so surprising when you remember that willow served as our first aspirin. Willow contains salicylates and was used as a pain killer until 1853. It was then taken from folk medicine and mass produced by a German chemist. In 1893, another German chemist, working for the Bayer Company, came up with the aspirin we now use. Aspirin’s ingredients now come from coal-tar and petroleum products. We use about 100,000 tons of aspirin a year worldwide and it has become a favorite to treat many disorders or discomforts.

HEADACHE CAUSED BY MENTAL FATIGUE: Mix 1 /2 teaspoon each of sage, peppermint, rosemary, and hops. Pour 2 cups boiling water over herb mixture and let steep 10 minutes. Add a pinch of ginger and sweeten. Drink warm before going to bed.

HEADACHES: Chop 1 cup fresh peppermint. Pour 2 cups boiling water over the herb and steep for 5 minutes. Strain and sweeten. Add lemon if desired. I use this one for the first twinge of a headache. Sometimes I can just think about getting a headache and that’s enough of an excuse to sit and drink a cup. Very relaxing to me.

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