Hop pillows are lovely.
One of the most common questions people ask me as an herbalist is “What can I take to help me sleep?” Since the underlying cause of insomnia is usually stress, working with the appropriate calming and comforting herbs is a good place to start.
In my post on comforting herbs, I mentioned that hops can be taken as tea or tincture to help with stress and insomnia—but my favorite way to use hops to encourage sleep is with hop pillows. The aroma of good quality hops is a gentle, effective soporific (so effective that people who pick hops all day sometimes get sleepy on the job).
Here’s how to make a hop pillow:
Make or find a small cloth bag. I generally make mine out of two 3×5 inch pieces of quilting cotton, but a large muslin teabag works well.
Fill the bag with good quality hops. Good hops should be fresh, more green than brown, and very aromatic. If you have trouble finding good hops, try a brewing supply store. Most bulk dried hops you find in herb stores are old and sad. (Herb stores often don’t take very good care of their bulk dried herbs, but that’s a topic for another post.)
After you’ve filled the bag with hops, sew or fasten it closed—tight enough so that if you roll over on it at night, you won’t wake up to a bed full of hops.
Sleep with the pillow close enough to smell it. (I like to give mine a few good squeezes to release the aroma when I get in bed.)
Sweet dreams!
(N.B. Most herbalists consider hops to be contraindicated in cases of depression. I think this is less of an issue with hop pillows, but it’s definitely something to consider. Always pay close attention to your reactions to any herb—if your instinct says something isn’t good for you, don’t use it!)
Henriette said,
January 14, 2007 @ 5:45 am
Note though that hops is depressive. A herbalist in the UK thought that this was hogwash and gave hops to two already depressed clients; both got much worse.
She stopped giving hops to the depressed.
Thing is, a lot of morning insomnia (you wake up a few hours before you should and can’t go back to sleep) is due to depression. Bummer, that.
crabappleherbs said,
January 14, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
Thanks, Henriette.
Do you have any information on what kind of depression was involved? I.e., was it the excess kind (intense sadness) or the deficient kind (feeling flat and numb)? I’m developing a theory that hops is contraindicated for the second kind but not necessarily the first.
Yes, morning insomnia is often associated with depression — and I don’t give hops for morning insomnia, I tend to use it for people who have trouble falling asleep due to agitation.
Henriette said,
January 14, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
Sorry, she didn’t say. You’re probably on the right track, though.
pdxJules said,
May 4, 2008 @ 6:18 pm
When Hops emerge in Spring, cut and cook the tops - just like Asparagus. Tasty eating, and by harvesting tips you’ll get a stronger vine - to produce more Hops. If you grow a lot offer these to a Chef - they can brong a nice price per pound.
You can also divide crowns and share the rhizomes - or sell, if you know the variety - your Hops plants with Home-Brewers.
A Hops shortage will greatly raise prices the next couple of years…so these pleasant vines are valuable to some of us.
Store Hops flowers in a Freezer Bag after harvest - best used for brewing fairly Fresh…before the next season’s harvest.
MARY said,
May 11, 2008 @ 11:37 pm
Okay- I have always had trouble waking up in the morning. Now that I am a senior citizen, I also have trouble going to sleep and staying asleep. The fact is, I am totally exhausted all the time, yet the Doc says I am healthy. Is there any hope for Grandma?
crabappleherbs said,
May 16, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
Hi Mary.
I think there’s plenty of hope for grandma!
I would suggest looking up an herbalist in your area for a personal consultation — there are so many things that can affect sleep that I don’t think you’re likely to get much useful advice online.
I would ask around about local herbalists, or look online. (The American Herbalists Guild is one resource, though they only list herbalists who are professional members of their organization.)
Peter D Tripp said,
June 14, 2008 @ 9:24 am
What’s all this about Stattins? Are they really as needful as is presented? What effect do they have on our Colesterol, (the good one i.e.) Can it really be maintained that lack of the good Col. does effect the Dementia issue?