5 Best Essential Oils for Sleep

5 Best Essential Oils for Sleep and how to use them to get the best sleep ever! Plus bedtime tips to help you wind down for the night.

Do you ever have those nights where you just can't relax, turn your mind off... and get a good night's sleep? With the help of these essential oils, you'll wake up feeling energized and well-rested! So many people wake up in the night and can't get back to sleep because they have racing thoughts and worries. That's where essential oils come in, as they are a powerful tool for relaxation and reducing stress!

Jump to:

• Tips for a better night's sleep
• 1. Lavender
• 2. Cedarwood
• 3. Vetiver
• 4. Frankincense
• 5. Tranquil Roll-On
• Liquid Sleep Roll-on

Tips for a better night's sleep

• Try limiting your screen time at night (turn off that cell phone!) and pick up a book before bed instead of watching TV
• If you can, use low lighting in your bedroom. A himalayan rock salt lamp casts a nice warm glow and is not too bright
• Put your diffuser on before bed with any of these relaxing essential oils and let it run while you sleep (it should turn off automatically)
• Add a couple drops of lavender, frankincense, or cedarwood to the palms of your hands, rub together and inhale the aroma for a relaxing and grounding bedtime routine
• Use one of the suggested roller bottle blends (below) on your chest, wrists, neck and feet
• If you do wake up in the night, don't open up your phone and start scrolling! Instead, reach for a bottle of essential oil and relax with the calming aroma. You'll be back to sleep in no time!

See my post: A Holistic Nutritionist's Guide to Better Sleep for more sleep tips!

1. Lavender

Lavender essential oil can be used topically or diffused to act as a nerve and calmative, which enhances relaxation.

To use as part of your evening routine, you can dilute with a carrier oil and rub and apply topically, or spritz your pillow with distilled water with witch hazel and Lavender mixed in a spray bottle!

2. Cedarwood

Cedarwood essential oil includes the key constituents alpha-himachalene, beta-himachalene, gamma-himachalene, and delta-himachalene. This essential oil is a must- have for deep sleep, as it helps to stimulate the pineal gland, which releases melatonin. Cedarwood can be used topically or diffused to act as a nerve and calmative, which enhances relaxation.
Also helps to reduce symptoms of cough or cold.

3. Vetiver

Vetiver is known as the "oil of tranquility" - it is very grounding, calming, and stabilizing. It has a deep, earthy scent. Vetiver has a thick consistency, and is sometimes hard to use because it takes so long to get a drop out of the bottle if you don't remove the oil stopper! You may wish to use an eye dropper for more exact measurements. If you leave oil stopper on the bottle, you'd be waiting a very long time to get a drop out. Vetiver can be blended with lavender, frankincense and cedarwood to make a calming roller bottle blend (keep reading for the recipe)!

4. Frankincense

Frankincense is steam distilled from the gum/ resin of the Frankincense tree - Boswellia carter, grown in Somalia. Used in spiritual practices for thousands of years, frankincense is well known for it's relaxing properties. Can be used to increase spiritual awareness during meditation, and uplift spirits. I like to diffuse 2 drops frankincense with 2 drops lavender at bedtime. We like to call this the "zen blend"!

5. Tranquil Roll-On

Tranquil is a proprietary blend made by Young Living that contains lavender, cedarwood and roman chamomile. This blend is so comforting, and contributes to a relaxing bedtime experience. Roman chamomile has been studied for promoting healthy sleep, reducing insomnia, and may also help to boost your mood. In this study (2006), chamomile essential oil was found to promote feelings of drowsiness and calmness.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmQucdln2BK/

For those of you who like to DIY your own roller bottle blends, here is one of my personal favourite sleep roller recipes!

Liquid Sleep Roll-on

This is a blend of vetiver, lavender, cedarwood, and frankincense. Add the following essential oils to a 10 ml roller bottle with fractionated coconut oil as the carrier oil:

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