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Herb library · Herb · Humulus lupulus

Hops

The cone-like flowers of the plant that bitters beer, sold for sleep and stress, usually mixed with valerian. Hops alone has not been tested for sleep, and small studies on menopause symptoms have not settled anything.

Traditional use

Hops have flavored beer for centuries, and a pillow stuffed with hops was a long-standing folk aid to sleep. The European Medicines Agency accepts hop teas, tinctures and extracts for mild symptoms of mental stress and to aid sleep on the basis of long-standing use. Many products combine hops with valerian or other calming plants, and hops are also sold as a phytoestrogen for menopause and, in breastfeeding, as a supposed aid to milk supply. Hops are also native to North America: Melvin Gilmore recorded (1919) that the Teton Dakota made a drink of the native hop's fruits for fevers and intestinal pains, and that the Omaha-Ponca called the plant "sweet medicine."

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Sleep and stress: no clinical studies have tested hops on its own. At least seven controlled trials have tested fixed combinations of hops and valerian; whether hops helps on its own, adds to valerian, or does nothing remains to be determined.

  • Limited

    Menopause symptoms: three small placebo-controlled studies (20, 67 and 36 women) of hop extracts gave inconsistent results, with no clear dose response. The EMA regards them as pilot studies that do not show efficacy.

  • Insufficient

    Milk supply: there are no data on whether hops helps breastfeeding mothers; a small study found a hops soup appeared to lower prolactin, the hormone behind milk production.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • InteractionIt may cause drowsiness and may add to the effect of sedative drugs and alcohol. Do not drive or operate machinery if affected.
  • ConditionIt has been suggested that people with depression avoid it, as its sedative effect may worsen symptoms. Long-term effects of its plant estrogens on hormone-sensitive conditions such as breast, uterine or prostate cancer and endometriosis are unknown.
  • AllergyAllergy is rare; skin and breathing reactions have occurred mainly in people handling the fresh plant, such as hop pickers.
  • NoteNo serious side effects have been reported. LiverTox reports that hops have not been linked to liver injury. Tinctures contain alcohol.
  • PregnancyThe EMA does not recommend it in pregnancy or breastfeeding; nothing is known about its passage into breast milk, and some sources advise avoiding it while breastfeeding because of its plant estrogens. Not recommended for children under 12.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“The Teton Dakota steeped the fruits to make a drink to allay fevers and intestinal pains.”
Melvin Randolph Gilmore, Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region (1919), p. 77. See the page of Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region, p. 77 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region, p. 77
“They are principally used for their sedative or hypnotic action—producing sleep, removing restlessness, and abating pain, but which they often fail to accomplish. A pillow stuffed with hops has long been a popular remedy for procuring sleep.”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1905), vol. 2, p. 999. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 999 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 999

Sources

  1. Community herbal monograph on Humulus lupulus L., flos (opens in a new tab) · EMA · read September 25, 2026
  2. Assessment report on Humulus lupulus L., flos (opens in a new tab) · EMA · read September 25, 2026
  3. Hops (LiverTox) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Hops (Drugs and Lactation Database, LactMed) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.