5 Essential Oils that May Help You Sleep Better

Sleep.

For some people, it takes about ten seconds from their head hitting the pillow before they’re fast asleep and dreaming. But for others, sleep can prove to be an elusive state of being that they can never quite get to, no matter how hard they try.

Sure, maybe you can fall asleep (after about an hour of tossing and turning!) but it never feels like deep sleep or actual rest, which means you always wake up tired and ill-prepared to face the day.

If that sounds like you, there’s a surprising little oil that may make a difference … five actually! Keep reading to learn about five of our favorite essential oils that may help you fall asleep faster, sleep deeper and wake up feeling better.

Our Five Favorite Essential Oils for a Healthy Sleep

1. Chamomile Essential Oil

There’s a reason why most sleepy-time teas are made with chamomile! One of the world’s favorite calming ingredients, chamomile is used for everything from supporting healthy skin, to promoting gastrointestinal health, to supporting healthy sleep.

For centuries, this flower has been used to support occasional sleeplessness, whether in a calming, before-bed tea or as an essential oil. Get your fill by placing a drop or two into steaming water and taking ten deep breaths. That slow breathing may support steady snoring in no time!

2. Lavender Essential Oil

The potential benefits of lavender essential oil extend far beyond a natural sleep aid, including stress relief, promoting inner peace and possibly even temporary relief from feelings of anxiousness.

The scent of this pretty purple flower offer support for a healthy sleep and even better, it may be suitable on everyone from your newborn baby to your 90-year-old grandmother - so it can help everyone smell good and have support for healthy sleep. All it takes is a few drops on your pillow!

3. Valerian Essential Oil

A lesser known essential oil, valerian has been used to support sleep since the 17th century - that’s over 400 years! Extracted from the root of a plant that blossoms with pretty pink flowers every year, valerian essential oil may help you do more than just fall asleep.

This strong, earthy smelling oil can actually promote better sleep too. And sleeping better means you can wake up feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to take on the day. 

Also, if you'd like to receive the benefits of Valerian without going through the oil diffusing process, consider a natural sleep aid alternative. A sleep supplement can be a great way to impact your sleep.

4. Cedarwood Essential Oil

If the experience of a crackling fire helps you fall asleep, cedarwood essential oil is your new best friend. This comforting, woodsy scent has the added potential benefit of acting as a sleep aid.

It’s been shown to promote a slower heart rate and may support healthy blood pressure levels already in the normal range, which means your body may relax so you can sleep soundly. Place a few drops in your bedroom diffuser and fall asleep feeling like you’re at a quiet cabin in the woods.

5. Marjoram Essential Oil

Known to the Romans as the “herb of happiness” and the Greeks as the “joy of the mountains,” marjoram oil is distilled from the leaves of the popular herb and is often used for its soothing and relaxing properties.

Rub a couple drops directly onto the back of your neck and you may be off to dreamland before you can say, “I’m tired.”

Looking to sleep better? Get our Free Sleep Diary!

How to Use Essential Oils for Healthy Sleep

Now that you know which essential oils may help you sleep, how do you use them to do just that? Well, there are two main ways that essential oils can be used to create a peaceful atmosphere that may help you fall asleep andstayasleep:

1. Topical Use

Applying essential oil topically can be a great way to reap the potential benefitsand fall asleep smelling like a flower. Put a few drops in water and use a spray bottle to create a perfume-like mist or dilute your essential oil with coconut oil as to make a DIY massage oil and rub it into your body’s main trigger points.

If you need help finding them, here’s a list of all the places on your body that might benefit from an essential oil as you fall asleep.

2. Aromatherapy

We’ve mentioned it a few times, but the secret weapon when it comes to experiencing the full range of your essential oil is the diffuser. Simply add a few drops to your diffuser and experience the calming (and potentially sleep-inducing) effects of you chosen essential oil as your drift off into a peaceful and truly restful sleep.

Closing Thoughts

Essential oils have the potential to help you fall asleep faster, sleep more soundly, and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. And just because we’ve listed our five favorites above, remember this: the secret toyour sleeping success will often lie in finding the right mixture of essential oils that work best for your unique experience.

Check out this infographic to learn more about the potential benefits and uses of essential oils!

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Sources:

•https://nhc.com/essential-oils

•http://www.byrdie.com/best-essential-oils-for-sleep/slide6

•http://www.themilitarywifeandmom.com/essential-oils-for-sleep/

•http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/03/essential-oils-sleep.html