Essential Oils To Help Sleep: Everything You Need To Know

Do you struggle with getting a good night’s sleep? Taking a more holistic approach to sleep deprivation can be helpful when you find yourself struggling. Aromatherapy is one such approach you might take with a lack of sleep, and a lot of research has looked into the effect of essential oils to help sleep. 

Essential oils are basically plant extracts that capture a plant’s scent, flavor, and other original properties. Since essential oils are extracted and concentrated versions of the plants they come from, they are often considered more effective when it comes to their benefits.

 Many experts recommend using essential oils to help with better sleep, using it by spritzing on top of your weighted blanket, or simply using a room diffuser. Wondering how you can use essential oils to help sleep better? We’ve got you covered: 

How To Use Essential Oils For Better Sleep

Since essential oils are super concentrated, there are a couple of ways you can integrate them in a healthy way into your daily routine. There are a couple of different techniques you might be able to use for this. These include: 

• Using aromatherapy candles, which have essential oils infused into their wax, and can provide a warm and cozy bedroom as you wind down for the night. 
• Using an air diffuser to gently infuse the scent of the essential oil of your choice back into your space. 
• Do you take a warm bath before going to bed each night? The next time, try infusing your bath water with Epsom salts and essential oils for an unparalleled feeling of relaxation. 
• You can also incorporate essential oils into your bedding, by diluting a few drops into a spray-bottle filled with water. Spritz lightly over your weighted blanket, pillow, and bed for maximum impact. 
• If you do want to use an essential oil directly with your skin, simply try rubbing a few drops mixed with some kind of neutral carrier oil, such as coconut or sweet almond, and rub on your chest, wrist, neck, hands, and feet. 

If you plan on using essential oils directly onto your skin, be sure to patch-test on a smaller part of your skin first before applying to larger areas of your body, since your skin might be reactive. Essential oils to help sleep can be potent when applied directly onto more delicate parts of your skin, so it pays to be careful. 

5 Essential Oils To Help Sleep Well

If you’re on the lookout specifically for essential oils to help sleep better, then you’ll be happy to know you have a wide range of options to choose from. 

Here are some essential oils to help sleep well – 

• Lavender Oil – One of the most popular essential oils for a good night’s sleep, lavender has been studied to have anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) effects on depression. Some studies have even revealed that lavender can actually help slow down the heart rate, as well as keep muscles relaxed for more restful sleep. 

• Chamomile Oil – While you might be more familiar hearing that chamomile tea can be helpful if you’re trying to get to sleep, it might be interesting to learn that its essential oil form also has calming properties. Not only does this minimize levels of stress and anxiety, it is also said to soothe anger and irritability. 

• Bergamot Oil – This citrusy scent comes with it’s own load of health benefits, from high anxiety, insomnia, and chronic fatigue, to some more targeted health conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis. 

• Valerian Oil – Similar to chamomile, valerian oil is a popularly used remedy for insomnia. It is also used to calm down anxious nerves, but can also be used as a digestive aid, and to minimize the impact of menopausal symptoms too. 

• Sandalwood Oil – The woody, earthy tones present in sandalwood oil make it an easy choice when it comes to relaxation and anxiety relief right before sleep. Sandalwood is also known to have a sedative effect, which makes it a good natural choice for anyone trying to prep for a night of sleep.

If you’re looking for essential oils to help sleep better, these are a great start. Remember you can even layer essential oils, or mix them together, if you’re looking to combine the strengths of a few. Trial and error is key to figuring out what works for you. 

Once you get a sense of what works for you, picking out essential oils to help sleep will become a lot more intuitive, and you’ll be able to work out what specifically works, whether that’s integrating the scent into a sleep accessory like a weighted blanket, or simply rubbing it on your temples. It’s also important to remember now to rely solely on essential oils to help sleep better – a holistic approach requires thinking about every aspect of your sleep schedule. 

Optimizing Your Sleep Set Up 

This includes paying special attention to your sleep setup. One way you can sleep better is by choosing to invest in a weighted blanket. Weighted blankets are a great choice for anxious sleepers who struggle to stay asleep for longer periods of time. Weighted blankets are also popularly used for young children, and children on the autistic disorder, and have been found effective in achieving a calm night’s sleep for both.

Weighted blankets work by distributing an even amount of weight across the body, using something known as gentle pressure stimulation to try and mimic the comfort of bing swaddled or tightly embraced. Weighted blankets are especially effective for those who require building a calming bedtime routine before going to sleep. 

Whether by using a weighted blanket, or simply by combining an essential oil concoction of your own, better sleep is right around the corner with a little bit of planning. Finding out what essential oil works for you will help you begin to start planning a bedtime routine that really works for you. You’ll be resting easier than you ever have before you know it.