If you are one of those people who are frequently struggling to fall asleep and lack quality sleep, it’s high time you tried the ultimate natural remedy – essential oils for sleep and essential oil blends for sleep. This essential oil therapy, also known as aromatherapy, has been used for hundreds of years for promoting health and wellbeing by using natural plant extracts.
With its amazing scent, a blend of fresh, clean, and floral lavender essential oil will gently calm your spirit. We can say that it is a medicine cabinet in a bottle and a must for the first aid kit. This is one of the most popular essential oils for sleeping due to its relaxing and healing properties. When talking about relaxation, we mean relieving stress, tension, treating anxiety and insomnia. For this reason, lavender is a common ingredient in almost every restful essential oil sleep blend. It’s believed that Lavender essential oil treats allergies, depression, infections, nausea, muscular pains, and is beneficial for different types of skin problems.
Clary Sage is an essential oil that is a renowned antidote to mild depression, stress and anxiety. It is also helpful for recovering from nervous fatigue. Clary Sage is used as a treatment for women’s health issues, helps ease menopausal symptoms, reduces spasming and painful periods while encouraging regular and healthy cycles.
Frankincense’s spicy and woody aroma can slow your mind. It may help you overcome nervous fatigue and in a way, silence your busy mind. Also, it may encourage you to reflect on the past and seek clear inspiration for the future. Frankincense is praised in meditation rituals, as it is stress relieving, helps deepen the breath and still your mind. In addition, this essential oil aids in some other health issues, such as boosting immunity, balancing hormones, stimulating and improving circulation, and treating skin conditions.
Geranium is a great harmoniser, characteristic for its herbaceous rose-like scent. This essential oil helps you manage anxiety and relax while retaining alertness. You may find it very helpful at the beginning of a hectic day, or as an emotional restorative in the afternoon. Aside from its calming effects, Geranium may also help regulate oil production on the skin and has antimicrobial and astringent properties (reducing acne breakouts, skin infections, and skin irritation when applied topically).
With its deep floral aroma, Ylang Ylang essential oil can be very sedating and can help with feelings of depression, irritation and anger. It has a calming effect on the nervous system and can uplift your mood. Ylang Ylang is a perfect treatment for slowing the mind and promoting relaxation. It may also improve your mood. Besides having calming effects, this essential oil may soften your skin and generally improve its appearance. Plus, Ylang Ylang is one of those aphrodisiac essential oils.
Now that you know which are sleeping essential oils, you can either make your own mix or buy them as an already made essential oil sleep blend. Here are some ideas of the possible combinations:
A diffuser is a device that breaks the essential oils down into smaller molecules and disperses them into the air, thus creating a pleasant and calming effect. It will disperse the particles at a comfortable concentration that is easy to breathe in and won’t overbear the room. The usual dosage is 3-4 drops of essential oil for 100 ml of water.
Just open a bottle of some pure essential oil for sleeping and inhale deeply a few times. You can also go with the steam method, for which you’ll need a bowl of hot water and a towel. Add a few drops of essential oil in the hot water, place a towel over your head and the bowl, close your eyes and deeply inhale for a few minutes.
For this method, you only need some type of dry material (for instance, a cotton ball or fabric). Add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to the material, hold it to your nose and inhale. You can also add the material to your pillowcase, the vents of your car, or your shirt collar.
Essential oils can be also used topically on the skin, by gently rubbing the oil into a pressure point, such as your wrists, your temples, and third eye. Also, you may place a few drops on the area behind your ears or massage your feet with them.