The question often arises…
Can drinking yerba mate before bed help you sleep, or will it keep you up?
This post will be from my personal experience.
I’ve sipped yerba mate before bed many times. Not because I wanted to see if it would help cure my insomnia, but because I needed the slight caffeine kick to get work done.
And in a second, you’ll learn how it affected (or didn’t affect) my sleep.
Before I show you though, you need to know this…
It’s Not Proven
At the time of writing this, there are no scientific studies — that I was able to find at least — that proved yerba mate helps cure insomnia, induce REM sleep, or anything of the like.
Everything you’ve heard about yerba mate in relation to sleep is nearly all speculation.
This post is the same.
I’ll only be sharing what I’ve noticed. As well as what others have shared on the web.
But again, none of this is definitive. Everyone’s experience seems to be different (mine included).
If you really want to know if drinking yerba mate before bed is a good idea, you’re going to have to try it out yourself.
Now that that’s out of the way, what did I notice about drinking yerba in the evening?
Yerba Mate Before Bed
[Picture source]
My experience is what’s expected.
Every time I drank yerba mate before bed (3 hours before at most), I couldn’t sleep. This is obviously because of the caffeine. But by not being able to sleep, I really mean I could NOT sleep.
My mind would race non-stop. Every time I closed my eyes, I’d just get restless and open them again. And after about 30 minutes of trying to forcefully put myself to sleep, I’d eventually doze off. But then wake up after about another 30-60 minutes.
Through the night, this cycle would continue until it’s finally morning.
Now, of course there may be other factors that might be causing this instead of yerba mate. But of all the times drinking it at night, the above always happened.
Is this the case for everyone though?
Of course not.
Here’s what others have said about drinking yerba mate at night…
Mixed Results
Unlike me, some have reported that drinking yerba mate before bed actually helped them fall asleep. And it also improved the quality of it.
Although I’ve never experienced this, I can see how others might.
Yerba mate contains compounds that help with relaxation. This is noticeable immediately, at least for me. It’s almost like a soothing wave takes over your body. And this might help some fall asleep.
Another reason you might experience better sleep with yerba mate is because it contains magnesium, zinc, B vitamins, and other nutrients which help aid sleep. But I wouldn’t say this has as much of an effect as its calming and relaxing effects do.
Above all though, the most plausible reason why some people can/cannot sleep after drinking mate is tolerance.
If you drink liter by liter of mate everyday, the chances of its caffeine affecting your sleep is likely very low, as opposed to someone who only drinks it every now and then.
Remember, this only pertains to drinking mate before bed. Drinking mate in the morning is a completely different story. It barely affects my sleep.
Final Words On Yerba Mate And Sleep
Drinking yerba mate before bed may or may not help with sleep.
In the morning, it might help. But at night, everyone’s experience has been different. For myself, it worsens my insomnia and sleeplessness. While for some, it doesn’t do anything. And for others, it actually helps.
Again, there’s no definite answer.
You’ll have to try it out. I encourage you to too because it just might help.
Now, let’s address the second topic of this post…
Yerba Mate And Lucid Dreaming
Does yerba mate help you lucid dream?
First, here’s how Wikipedia defines a lucid dream: a lucid dream is a dream during which the dreamer is aware of dreaming.
Although I’ve never lucid dreamed after drinking mate, I did experience more frequent vivid dreams. This is in spite of the time of day I consumed it too. I only drink mate in the morning anyways, yet by the time I go to sleep, my dreams are as real as can be.
Now it’s worth mentioning that I’ve never lucid dreamed before. If you can already lucid dream however, maybe yerba mate can help you with it in some way. Many people have claimed guayusa to be incredible when it comes to lucid dreaming too.
How?
I have no idea. Neither does anyone else. Like with yerba mate helping with sleep, there are no definitive studies to back this either.
What I assume though is the effects of yerba mate in waking life (concentration, relaxation, focus, clarity) carrying over into your dream-life.
Summary
We know yerba mate is a powerful herb.
But to say drinking it before bed is great for sleep and lucid dreaming is wishful thinking (in the morning, this might be the case though). Remember, there are no studies to back this. Only personal anecdotes. And of those accounts, the results are still mixed.
The most you can assume from all this is for some, yerba mate can affect sleep and dreaming.
Again, you’ll have to try and find out yourself.
Have you drank yerba mate before bed? Leave a comment and share your experience!
P.S. If you enjoyed this article, you might want to check out our store offering yerba mate, mate gourds, and bombillas because you might like something.
This article is awesome !
Awesome article buddy, keep updating your blog
I arrived here because I had yerba mate in the evening, amd now it’s 5 am and I still can’t sleep.
Hi 👋🏼,
I have been drinking Yerba Mate in my cafe every morning; 2 bags in my 16 oz cup refilled twice with the same two bags. This is the first time I’m finding out the tea has caffeine; I GUI could have read the bag! 😂😂😂. Anyway, I am one of those people who is in affected by caffeine; can drink a cup of coffee w/ or w/o the tea before bed and fall asleep. Never noticed a change in dream pattern. I’ve only ever had 2 lucid dreams in my lifetime I’m 57, hated both of them; scared the shit out of me so I would have noticed if the tea caused a lucid dream. Great flavorful tea though!
I do not suggest to drink Yerba mate before sleep. It is 4 o’clock in the morning now and I can’t even think about going to my bad. Anyway it would be the very good life lesson for everyone.
I had only 20 g of Yerba Mate by taking 3 Bolt energy chews at 8:30 at night and I could not fall asleep until after 5AM! Never again.
3 a.m can’t sleep. Had it at 9 p.m.
Decided to take ibrufen 400 , it might help me sleep.
The taste if the drink was really bad. I did not know it had caffeine until i read this post.
I hope I can sleep within the next 30 minutes.
People who say yerba helps them sleep better are weird to me. Its like saying snorting coke makes you relaxed and combats anxiety.
Yesterday 2020-04-01 I had my first cup of Yerba Mate tea ever. It was around 10 pm. I went to bed at midnight and very lucid dreams. Camera like videos. It didn’t keep me awake though. I slept soundly but I was amazed at the quality of my dreaming. This made me curious to find out if others have had the same experience. If you are into shamanism then my experience is that the Yerba Mate tops the cacao ceremony drink.
I took Yerba tea dinner time , and I couldnìt sleep till 5 am, I try again in the morning which time suit me to fall asleep in the night.
Yes, I’ve experienced the same and it’s frustrating. I always drink yerba mate first thing in the morning.
I used to drink mate consistently everyday and it barely affected my sleep. I was going to bed late normally anyway. This was until i ran out. Not drinking mate didnt effect my sleep at all but once i got some more i could sleep till 5am. So yeah it must be the tolerance
Thank you for the great info— really like thinking it could help sleep for some people
Hey Stephanie,
I wish it was true for me. Yerba mate will keep me up like nothing else! Though, some people do report drinking it before bed really helps them get better sleep/dreams. All depends on our body’s chemistry.
Cheers,
Darren
Same experience I CANNOT SLEEP after drinking mate at night. It can make sense with caffeine tolerance. I will recommend you to drink mate to activate your brain during DAY (not evenings) so it will not affect your sleep.
Started drinking yerba mate a few days ago the first couple days I just ran it through my Keurig I was worried it would do something weird to me today I did the regular steeping heaping teaspoon and steeped for 6 minutes after the first cup Within 15 minutes I wanted to fall asleep and I thought well maybe I was just tired or something went ahead and did another cup in the exact same thing happened this is in the morning Has anybody else had problems with it making you sleep right off the bat I am very sensitive to caffeine I cannot believe that I’m not up and doing things love the feeling of all of it so wish it didn’t make me fall asleep in the morning will this wear off? Thanks
Hey Laurie,
I’ve heard of others experiencing the same thing. It may just be that your body is not accustomed to the effects yet. But do keep in mind, yerba mate can be just as relaxing as it is stimulating.
I would suggest having a meal beforehand if you aren’t already. And of course, proper rest and hydration.
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
Darren