Essential Oils for Sleep

Many people suffer from poor sleep. Whether it be not being able to get to sleep, or waking up in the wee hours and not being able to get back to sleep. Either way it’s a pain and can make you feel rubbish the next day. If it happens frequently it can have a really detrimental effect on your physical and mental well-being. More often than not poor sleep is caused by anxiety and/or stress. Feeling agitated, ‘stuff’ going round and round in your head, worrying about everything. Even the fact that you might not being able to function the next day if you don’t get to sleep.

As with many such issues it’s good to develop coping mechanisms. Calming your body down before bed time is essential, for example through reading, watching something relaxing on the telly, doing a bit of yoga and/or meditation. It’s good to be physically tired too, either through your job or exercise (although not just before bed).

Aromatherapy can play a significant part in helping with sleep issues. Our sense of smell is the only sense that has a direct link to the brain via the olfactory nerve, or more specifically the limbic system. This is the primitive area of our brain that controls emotions and hormone balance. If we use calming essential oils in a sleep blend, they will have a calming and balancing effect on the nervous system.

Which oils can we use to achieve this calming effect? And how do we use them? The simplest way to use your oil of choice is to flick a few drops on to your pillow before bed time. Or you could use an electronic diffuser. If you have a bath before bed you could mix a few drops in with the bath water. Or use topically in a cream or massage oil.

My Favourite Essential Oil Blends for Sleep

• Sleep Well – a calming and soporific blend of Roman Chamomile and Lavender pure essential oils. In the Aromatherapy world this blend is considered to be the best for helping you sleep better. With a floral, fruity, herbal aroma, Sleep Well is very powerful, so only a small amount is needed to do the job!
• Calming – a calming, relaxing, and strengthening blend of Frankincense, Lime and Lavender pure essential oils. This blend is great for dispelling anxiety and depression. Frankincense in particular is know for its ability to calm breathing and the mind, and is used by Buddhist monks to prepare for meditation. It has a gorgeous earthy, sweet citrus aroma.
• Reviving – a calming and reviving blend of Grapefruit, Ylang Ylang, and Sweet Marjoram pure essential oils. This blend is great for fatigue, anxiety, and panic, due to its ability to slow down breathing, regulate the heartbeat, and lower blood pressure. It has a lovely tropical aroma, tangy yet sweet.

These blends are also available as Sleep Well Massage Oil, Calming Massage Oil and Relaxing Massage Oil, simply massage a little into your chest before you go to bed.

I hope you find this article useful, and that my blends help with any sleep issues you might have. If you would prefer you could of course use individual essential oils.