What Exactly Is Lavender?

Lavender is a flowering plant in the mint family that’s easily identified by its sweet floral scent. It’s believed to be native to the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and India, with a history dating as far back as 2,500 years. In ancient times, lavender was used as a holy herb. Additionally, it was often used to freshen up and give a light scent to a variety of personal items, such as clothes and hair.

Sweet, fragrant, and forever soothing, lavender is one of the loveliest scents in the world. Just the very word conjures perfumed fields painting pretty Provence purple. Anyone who has had the pleasure of inhaling deep lavender knows its instantly soothing effect. This is the reason it's distilled down into essential oils, crushed into beauty products, and even turned into culinary products like tea. Lavender tea is lush stuff. Not only is it deliciously caffeine-free and gloriously aromatic, but it also comes with a heap of health properties too. Let’s take a look at all the lavender tea benefits and get you brewing up a floral cup of goodness.

WHAT IS LAVENDER TEA?

Lavender tea is made from buds of the lavender flower steeped in hot water. It is a tisane or herbal tea as it doesn’t come from the camellia sinensis plant. The lavender plant is known as lavandula angustifolia and is commonly found in Mediterranean climates.

Purple and violet and with an unmistakable scent, lavender is one of the world’s favorite herbs. For centuries lavender has been used in aromatherapy and healing thanks to its calming effect and ability to shut out anxiety and take away pain. Lavender makes a delicious addition to tea as it brings with it that earthly sweet aroma, a hint of rosemary, and even notes of mint or apple or any other treasures carried in with the wind. Lavender is often found as an ingredient mixed into other tea blends – especially teas that tend to be targeted at helping people wind down and relax or as a beautiful bedtime brew. But you can also drink lavender tea without any additional flavors involved and just enjoy the pure lilac-colored flower completely on its own. let’s take a closer look at exactly what lavender tea can do for you.

BETTER SLEEP

De-stress and sleep easy by curling up before bed with a cup of calming lavender tea. A steaming cup of lavender has long been used to treat sleep disorders as the aromatic herb helps to calm brain function all by triggering a response in your nervous system. Studies have shown that new mothers dealing with postpartum enjoyed better sleep quality when inhaling lavender fragrance 4 days a week for 8 weeks. While there are many anxiety-busting de-stress teas out there, lavender is believed to be one of the best.

BALANCE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

There are lots of awesome teas out there that are considered immune and energy-boosting teas and lavender is one of them. Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties all lead to lavender being hugely beneficial for your immune system. Keeping your immune system healthy and working to the best of its ability is a surefire way of cutting down on your risks of catching illnesses and being at the top of your health game. Lavender tea is said to contain loads of vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, and a host of other nutrients that help the body to fight off all kinds of infections.

WOUND HEALING

Cuts, burns, and any kinds of skin blemishes and wounds will all enjoy the healing properties of lavender. This fragrant flower can help to produce collagen in the skin which encourages healing. A recent study showed that topical application of lavender oil for 14 days had a significant impact on reducing the area of the wound.

PROMOTE HAIR GROWTH

While more studies are needed to truly nail down these results, preliminary findings have led us to believe that lavender can help your hair to grow. For those suffering from hair loss or anyone who craves long and luscious locks, the results of lavender oil in hair growth and animal studies nod towards potential success.

MIGRAINE PAIN RELIEF

As lavender gets to work on reducing pain in the body, this also means it can play an important role in helping reduce headaches, muscle pain, backache, and any other issues you have going on. Essential oils have long played a role in helping to naturally treat headaches and in trials and tests, lavender didn’t skip a beat and came back as hugely beneficial in soothing an aching head.