Many people are looking away from big pharma and prescription medications and turning to herbalists and natural remedies for what ails them. Chemically processed drugs come with many side effects that are often more troublesome than the illness being medicated. Lemon balm is just one herb that is known to help many diseases or problems within the body.
Using herbal treatments are better for you and your home, and you will find they are much more cost-effective. Lemon balm is one of the best herbs because it has so many uses that it’s mind-blowing. It’s so easy to grow that you can cultivate it for your family, but if you prefer to buy it, there’s plenty of organic options.
Improving Your Mental Health with Herbs
The official name of this plant is Melissa officinalis, and it’s a relative mint. You won’t believe all the ways this little plant can help to improve your mental health. When you’ve tried everything else, then why not look to nature? Here are just a few of the ailments that you can treat with lemon balm.
1. Improve Your Sleep Quality and Cure Insomnia
Since this lemony balm is a cousin to the mint family, it’s known for its ability to bring relaxation, which is good for insomnia. It’s best to make it into an herbal tea and drink it about an hour before bedtime.
Some suggest that the supplements are better than teas for sleep, but you can try a variety of methods to see which one works best. Also, you can find comfort in knowing that this herb has been used since the middle ages to help with insomnia, and they found it a reliable treatment.
When you can’t sleep at night, it affects your mental health. Did you know that you can even experience hallucinations or delusions if you go several days without sleep? It’s essential to get 6-8 hours each night for optimal health, and herbs can assist you in reaching that medical goal.
2. Helps to Control Blood Sugar
Did you know that when your blood sugar levels are out of control, it can affect your mental health? High glucose levels affect the body’s ability to transport the blood since it becomes thick like sludge.
When your body isn’t circulating blood adequately, you aren’t getting enough to your vital organs, like your brain. If you don’t have the proper oxygen from your blood to nurture your cells, your mental health can suffer.
Many people go to their doctor, thinking that they are a nervous wreck when it’s diabetes. Thankfully, if you don’t like the options for blood sugar control on the market, herbs provide a natural alternative. Using an essential oil version for about a month will provide you with better control over your glucose.
3. Calm Inflamed Muscles and Joints from Stress
Tension is one of the worst problems to handle. It can make your head feel like it will explode and make your muscles and joints ache. Thankfully, lemon balm can provide the soothing relief you need.
Make a beautiful, healthy brew of lemony tea and add it to your bathwater. Sit and soak as long as you like. To enhance your mental health, try some candles and soft music too. Your muscles and joints will feel amazing.
4. Improve Your Focus and Concentration Levels
Many people don’t realize that ADHD or ADD are both mental health disorders. The hyperactivity or inability to focus is all caused by the brain. Thankfully, you have herbal options that won’t have near the side effects of stimulants.
Fill a diffuser with lemon balm essential oil and allow your body to breathe in this aroma as you work. Many offices believe so strongly in this that they keep a diffuser going all day. Employee’s focus can be enhanced with more than coffee or soft drinks.
There’s no need to use harsh chemicals to improve concentration when nature provides everything you need.
5. Ease PMS Symptoms
While you might not think of PMS as a mental health condition, there are mental health components as doctors treat this issue with antidepressants. All the hormonal fluctuations in the body during a lady’s time of the month can wreak havoc.
Thankfully, this lemon wonder acts as an analgesic for pain, plus it has a profound effect on anxiety. The power of nature can combat all the hormonal changes. It’s pretty impressive that one plant can do so much good for your body.
6. Boost Cognitive Function
Do you have problems with your memory, concentration, or doing those pesky math calculations? A 2014 study proved that lemon balm could help to perform better and enhance cognitive abilities.
The study used 25 people, both male and females, between the ages of 18-25. The people who used this lemony balm in dosages of 300-600 milligrams, three times each day, did better in the testing than those who didn’t use it.
The results were uncanny and enough to prove that the cognitive abilities of this herb are amazing. Thankfully, there are no side effects if you miss a dose and no habit-forming issues to contend with either.
7. It Treats Nausea
Nausea isn’t specifically a mental illness, but it’s a side effect of anxiety. Many times, when your nerves are all upset, you feel jittery and have stomach and digestive issues. Having chronic nausea is a horrible problem, especially when you can’t seem to function because it’s bringing such discomfort.
Thankfully, lemon balm has shown to be tremendously calming on nausea and acid reflux. The herbal tea seems to work best, but others have had great luck with the supplements too. The balm goes straight to the stomach and adds a coating of soothing relief.
8. Helping Schizophrenia and Serious Mental Illnesses
One of the most shocking uses for this herb is to help those with schizophrenia. Many professionals often consider this illness a mental death sentence as the effects it has on the brain are devastating. However, the therapeutic nervous function properties of lemon balm came to the aid of one woman.
The article called her Ms. R. When she came for help, she was on a wide variety of medications for her mental issues, all of which were very sedating.
Her bubble of life was exceedingly small, and she didn’t have much living to do. Her holistic practitioner did put her on a healthy diet, which can do many things alone.
Next, she was put on a regimen of herbs that included valerian, chamomile, hyssop, lavender, lemon balm, and sweet flag. Within six weeks of treatment, she began to let the harmful medications go one-by-one. Today, Ms. R. only uses herbs to treat her condition, and she does way better than she did on any of the prescription medications. Isn’t nature amazing?
Lemon Balm Tea Recipe
Making lemony tea is easy. You can make a hot or cold variety to appease your taste buds. Try it iced on a scorching hot day or warm on a cool winter’s day. You can even make it into healthy popsicles.
Ingredients:
•Two Cups of Boiling Hot Water
•Three Tsp. Lemon-Balm fresh or dried
•Honey to taste
You can also add rose hips, orange, or mint for extra flavors.
Directions:
Boil two cups of water in a tea kettle, then pour water into a large mug. Take the herbs and roll the leaves in your fingers to release the natural oils in the plant. Place either dried or fresh leaves in a diffuser for ten minutes. It takes this long for the proper steeping to make a delicious brew.
Once you remove the diffuser, you should use honey or a natural sweetener to taste. Since this plant has a citrus flavor, many find it enhances the taste to add other citrus herbs, though it’s delicious alone.
Final Thoughts on Trying Lemon Balm for Better Mental Health
Mental health conditions plague society. With almost 10 percent of the population over 18 suffering with some depressive condition and 40 million people with anxiety, is it any wonder why they turn to herbs for help? Herbalists know the proper blends of teas and supplements to help ease these problems.
While Eastern Medicine was once frowned on as experimental and dangerous, the Western world has discovered that these ancient ways have just as much research and respect as pharmaceuticals. Thankfully, this cousin to the mint family is one of the hundreds of herbs that can help with such disorders.
Now, keep in mind that there is not much research on how this herb affects pregnancy, so expectant mothers should avoid this one. However, there are little to no side effects and a whole lot of benefits.
Are you ready to help your mental health and start living again? The answer may be as simple as drinking a refreshing glass of herbal tea.
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