Herb
Catnip
A gentle mint-family herb, brewed as a mild tea, traditionally used to calm nerves, settle the stomach, and soothe restless children.
📊 How it ranks (our editor score) — 84/100Tap to see the breakdown
👶 Safe for children?
This remedy carries age-related cautions. Please read them before giving it to a child, and check with your pediatrician or pharmacist first.
- For young children, use only weak, cooled tea and check with your pediatrician first.
🌱 What it is
Catnip is a soft, minty herb in the mint family, dried and steeped as a mild tea for calming nerves and easing digestion in both adults and children.
✨ Why it's good for you
- May help support a calm, settled mood
- May help support a comfortable, settled stomach
- May help support easing into rest in the evening
🥗 Nutrition
Per 1 cup brewed tea (240ml) · about 2 calories
- Nepetalactone (bioactive)
- Trace vitamin C
- Negligible macronutrients
Source: Nutrition estimate (per typical serving)
🥄 How to use it
Steep 1 teaspoon of dried catnip in hot water for 10 minutes and sip in the evening, or offer a cooled, very weak teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → to a fussy child (with a pediatrician's okay). It blends well with chamomile.
How much: As teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, 1 teaspoon dried herbA plant, or part of one, used for flavor, food, or gentle health support. More → per cup in the evening; very weak and cooled for children, with medical guidance.
Show full details & how to prepare it
Catnip is best known for what it does to cats, but for people it's a gentle member of the mint family with a long history as a calming bedtime teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →. It's used to ease frazzled nerves, settle a queasy or crampy stomach, and quiet a restless, colicky, or teething child.
It makes a mild, grassy teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → that pairs naturally with chamomile. As with most calming herbs, it's for the evening rather than before driving, it's best avoided in pregnancy, and for little ones it should be weak, cooled, and cleared with your pediatrician first.
Ways to prepare it
⚠️ Cautions
- Avoid in pregnancy (it can stimulate the uterus).
- Can cause drowsiness — fine at bedtime, not before driving.
- For young children, use only weak, cooled tea and check with your pediatrician first.
📚 What others say
- A traditional calming herb for nerves and digestion
- Long used as a gentle tea for restlessness and upset stomach
Learn more
🕊️ A word of encouragement
Gentleness calms what force never could. Offer yourself, and those you tend, the soft mercy of rest.
💬 Ask Remy about Catnip
📚 Resource confidence
Based on mentions in health references
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