Catnip uses and benefits and why you should try an herbal dream pillow

Gardening
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The other day I was walking along one of the walking paths near my neighborhood and was met with an unexpected surprise. Something familiar and green was peeking out of the weedy unkempt hillside. Catnip! I couldn't believe it at first, I was not expecting to see it there on a steep embankment not more than 20 feet from a major highway. After I noticed the one plant, I realized that there were at least a half-dozen more spread around the area. Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is not native to the US but has became naturalized since it was brought here from Europe. A member of the mint family, it quickly becomes weedy under the right conditions, just like other types of mint. It's not surprising to me that it was able to grow where I found it but that it had not been mowed down like most other "wildish" areas in suburbia. This is the first time I have seen it growing wild my area. I should note that you should never harvest wild plants that are growing less than 50-100 feet from a roadway. Luckily, I have catnip growing at home that is about ready to harvest. Catnip is not just for cats! Catnip uses and benefits are abundant.

Why grow catnip?

Many people grow catnip for the most obvious reason; they have a cat! But catnip is not just for cats, it is a great herb for people to use, as well. Catnip is a perennial and an easy to grow addition to your garden or "herb-scaping" as I have done. I harvest it when it is beginning to flower by cutting the entire stem near the base.

Next, I lay the stems to dry on a screen in my basement where I have a fan set to low speed to circulate air and speed drying. I have this dehydrator from Hamilton Beach and I like that I can control the temperature and set a timer for drying on it. I use it for certain things like dehydrating hot peppers, but I have found that with herbs containing volatile oils like mint, catnip, lemon balm, etc. the heat of dehydration dissipates too much of the scent away and the herbs are left tasting and smelling very dull.

Here is a photo of my set up. Very rudimentary but effective. This is an old window screen that I have cleaned and repurposed. It works well because I can spread a large amount of herbs out in a single layer.

Catnip Uses and Benefits

Once dry, the catnip can be used for a variety of purposes. You can give it to your cat for an occasional fun treat. You can even sew up some fun little catnip toys if you're feeling crafty. The scent and flavor of catnip is slightly bitter, pungent, and aromatic. It smells similar to other mints or to lemon balm, another member of the mint family. Volatile oils are a chemical constituent found in certain plants that the plants produce to protect themselves from pests or predators and/or to attract pollinators. They are also responsible for a plant's scent and when they are distilled from a plant they are called essential oils. These volatile oils interact directly with our nervous system having a stimulating or a relaxing effect depending on the herb. The mechanism of exactly how this interaction occurs and why it triggers certain nervous system responses is still not fully understood. Some volatile oils, like terpenes, are even able to cross the blood brain barrier, presumably due to their small particle size and lipid solubility. Catnip can be used in tea or tincture form by people for different conditions such as headaches, fever, digestive upsets such as gas, colic, or indigestion or just to ease stress and tension. Catnip tastes great in a tea blended with chamomile, lemon balm, lavender, or mints. Catnip is considered a very safe and gentle herb for children but it should not be used during pregnancy or lactation.

Dream Pillows

If you are into aromatherapy, here is another idea for using catnip. I have been wanting to make a dream pillow for a while. The idea is pretty straight forward, you sew up a pouch and fill it with dried herbs, creating a pillow that you can sleep with under your actual pillow. I enjoy using an essential oil diffuser in my bedroom and I also like making pillow or linen spray with essential oils but I just love the idea of an herbal sachet as a dream pillow for some reason. Maybe it reminds me of how you put a tooth under your pillow at night and in the morning, you are delighted to find money in its place! It's as if the underside of a pillow is a magical sort of place. But let's get out tooth fairy land and put our science hat back on. Can the scent of herbs actually improve the quality of sleep or of dreams for that matter? The volatile oils from herbs are being released from the plant all the time, the process is exacerbated by heating of course and obviously essential oils that are distilled are much more concentrated. We know that aromatherapy has been scientifically proven to have systemic effects on the body and can be useful for:

When we breathe in volatile oils from herbs, they interact with the olfactory pathways in the nose which are connected with the limbic system in the brain. The limbic system is significantly involved in emotions, stress, memory, hormone balance, and other vital functions such as breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate. This is why essential oils, when used appropriately, can offer many benefits for our mental and emotional health as well as physical.

The use of some relaxing herbs at bedtime may improve sleep quality by promoting relaxation, but what about dream quality?

Indigenous and traditional cultures seem to emphasize the importance of dreaming and the role it plays in an individual's physical, emotional, and spiritual journey through life. In our everyday lives, we may discuss crazy dreams we have had with our friends as a conversation piece but probably don't give them much more thought than this. Dreaming mostly occurs during REM sleep. Poor quality REM sleep is associated with learning and memory problems. If you find you are not dreaming, you may not be getting sufficient quality sleep, especially REM sleep. Nightmares or unpleasant dreams tend to occur more if a person is experiencing excess stress or anxiety in their waking life. So if the essential oils in certain herbs can help us relax and improve the quality of sleep it may lead to more frequent, and possibly more pleasant dreaming. You can decide if or how to use your dreams to inform and guide your emotional and spiritual life, but either way, your overall physical health will improve if your sleep quality improves. So what the heck, it can't hurt to try one of these fun little sachets under your pillow, or in a drawer, the car, or anywhere you wish to enjoy the pleasant scent of calming herbs.

What are your favorite ways to use catnip?

References

Brazier, Y. (2017 March 20). Aromatherapy: what you need to know. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/10884M

Butnariu, M. & Sarac, I. (2018) Essential Oils from Plants. Journal of Biotechnology and Biomedical Science - 1(4):35-43. DOI : 10.14302/issn.2576-6694.jbbs-18-2489

Cronkelton, E. (2019 March 7). Aromatherapy uses and benefits. Healthline.com. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-aromatherapy#unproven-claims

Gladstar, R. (2008). Rosemary Gladstar's herbal recipes for vibrant health. Storey Publishing.

Macmillian, A. (2017 October 27). Why dreaming may be important for your health. Time USA, LLC. https://time.com/4970767/rem-sleep-dreams-health/

Mountain Rose Herbs. (2020). Catnip. https://mountainroseherbs.com/catnip

The Ohio State University. (2020). Ohio perennial and biennial weed guide. https://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedguide/single_weed.php?id=22

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