With the excessive use of technology and the pressures of modern day fast-paced lives, many of us struggle to get a proper night’s sleep. Deep sleep is essential in helping our bodies restore and replenish, our cells to regenerate and our mind to rest. Creating and adopting a calming, nourishing and wholesome sleep ritual every evening can be deeply fulfilling for the body and soul. Your ritual can be as simple as turning off all electronic devices, having a hot shower or bath, and making a cup of tea. To top it off, add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to your diffuser to create a calming atmosphere before bed.
Why is sleep important?
Sleep is one of the key determinants of health. Along with a nutritious diet and daily physical exercise, sleep is essential in maintaining optimal health. Getting a good night’s sleep is important, as it restores the physical and neurological functions of the body. It also works to improve memory, increase concentration, regulate appetite, repair muscles as regenerate skin cells. This is why it’s so important to improve sleep quality and fall asleep naturally.
How do essential oils help sleep?
Many essential oils have calming properties and promote relaxation. Essential oils such as Lavender and Frankincense can relieve stress and anxiety, helping our bodies enter a restful state, ready for sleep. As essential oils are natural, they don’t come with some of the negative side effects often associated with sleep medications. Therefore, essential oils promote a healthy sleep.
With so many options to choose from, we’ve selected 5 of our favourite essential oils to help you get a good night sleep.
1. Lavender Essential Oil
The nurturing floral scent of Lavender essential oil gently calms the mind and body. Lavender essential oil is popular for its relaxing and healing qualities, and is known to reduce stress and anxiety, making it a popular choice for bedtime rituals and promoting a restful sleep.
There are many ways to reap the benefits of lavender essential oil:
Bath: add up to 5 drops, in a dispersant such as oil, to the bath.
Diffuser: add 6-8 drops to your diffuser to help calm the nerves and promote relaxation.
Massage: use a 2.5% dilution; 50 drops per 100ml carrier oil.
2. Frankincense Essential Oil
The woody aroma of Frankincense essential oil helps soothe the mind and slow down breathing. It’s calming, grounding scent also helps open breathing passages, allowing your body to reach its ideal temperature for sleeping. Often used during meditation practice, frankincense essential oil can reduce stress and ease the mind and body into a state of relaxation.
To use: simply add 6-8 drops of frankincense oil to your diffuser and enjoy the benefits.
3. German Chamomile Essential Oil
German Chamomile essential oil acts as a mild sedative and helps to calm the nervous system, promoting sleep. The soothing, calming and comforting scent of chamomile is known to reduce anxiety and stress levels, as well as enhancing sleep quality.
Bath: add up to 5 drops, in a dispersant such as oil, to the bath.
Quick fix: A few deep inhalations from the bottle can help when you are at work, in the car or anytime you need a quick break.
Massage: use a 2.5% dilution; 50 drops per 100ml carrier oil.
4. Cedarwood Essential Oil
The warm and soothing scent of the Cedarwood essential oil tree can help us to release negative emotions, connect with ourselves and others and promote deep sleep. Cedarwood can enhance the production of serotonin, which is converted into Melatonin in the brain, promoting a restful and rejuvenating sleep.
There are a number of ways to use cedarwood essential oil for sleep:
Diffuser: add 6-8 drops to your diffuser and enjoy the grounding, calming aroma.
Bath: add up to 5 drops, in a dispersant such as oil, to the bath.
5. Marjoram Essential Oil
The warm and comforting scent of Marjoram essential oil is soothing for the body and mind. Marjoram relieves the nervous system from anxiety and tension, promoting feelings of deep relaxation. Marjoram also helps reduce blood pressure and slow down breathing, making it the perfect essential oil for getting to sleep, and staying asleep.
To use: add 6-8 drops to your diffuser before going to bed. This will help calm the mind and prepare the body for sleep.
Author: Alissa Geddes
Aromatherapist
Alissa is a fully qualified Aromatherapist with further qualifications in Remedial Massage & Myotherapy. She qualified as an Aromatherapist in 2005 and has worked in hospitals, day spas and in clinical practice. Alissa contributes her extensive knowledge to ECO. and helps with detailed education to our ECO. community. Alissa is passionate about assisting and teaching others how to restore and maintain their health and wellbeing.
