Essential Oils can support you to find a more restful sleep. There are several you can choose from. I always recommend to use both topical application as well as diffusing in the bedroom before & during sleep. It depends on the severity of the sleep problems.
Lavender is probably the most well known essential oil to support sleep and find a calmer state. It doesn’t work for everyone though – approx. 30% of the population find Lavender uplifting rather than calming. I am one of them. I love lavender to calm my anxious feelings and thoughts, but I can’t use it at sleep time. Its works super well for my children though.
The Magnolia Touch roller bottle is another best friend at sleeptime. It has a much higher Linalool content than Lavender and Linalool is well knows for its calming effects . Again this is not just for sleep time. It makes a beautiful perfume and can help us keep our emotions calm during the day and help dealing with stress.
The best and most reliable sleep oil is Vetiver, which is also called the “knock out” oil. It comes from a grass root and is a really thick and resiny oil. Vetiver works a treat not only for sleep, but also for over anxious, over active, highly stressed people. Its very grounding and calming and I definitely recommend going for this one if you have severe sleep problems.
Roman Chamomile is great as well to support sleep and one of the essential oils that are safe to use for babies and small children as well.
If there are nightmares or night terrors involved Juniper Berry is great. Its the oil of the night and helps relieve any fearfulness around nighttime. One of my children sometimes gets bad nightmares when they have a fever. If that happens I rub some diluted Vetiver and Juniper Berry along their spine and they usually settle within minutes – like magic. Before I had the oils it took lengthy periods of time to settle them back.
doTERRA also a few blends that can benefit your sleep routines. Lavender Peace Blend is beautiful blend of essential oils specifically formulated to help sleep and relaxation. You can find more info on this blend HERE.
Also the Peace blend from the Emotional Therapy kit can be helpful for sleep and helping calm the show. The Peace blend comes either as a roller or a neat oil which can be used in the diffuser. You can find more info on this blend HERE.
And last but not least the Balance blend helps to ground and calm either morning or evening. I know many people who rub the Balance blend under their feet in the morning to stay grounded and calm. Others find it also helpful at sleeptime. More info on this blend HERE.
Its a matter of finding an oil or blend that works for you as we are all individual beings. Experiment and have a bit of fun. And remember it might be necessary to apply both topically on the skin and also diffuse. For some people either or is enough, some people need both.
Also be mindful to have at least 30 minutes of screen free time before bed, try and go to bed before 10 pm and try to establish a bed time ritual that helps you find calm and peace and nourishes you. For example legs up the wall yoga pose (Viparita Karani) and conscious, deep belly breathing in combination with your oils could be good to try. You might like to write in your journal to process the events of the day or have a calming herbal tea and read a nice book (obviously not a gripping thriller right before bed ;-).
For those of you who need scientific research you can find lots of studies on pubmed. Here are a few examples.
- Sleep in ICU https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26211735
- Dementia patients https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5376423/
- General https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25584799
- ICU after surgery patients https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5412241/
Search: pubmed studies on aromatherapy Lavender sleep
- Postpartum patients https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4443384/
- Lavender with students https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4505755/
- General https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612440/
- Lavender in patients after chemo https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29547610
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you want to start your doTERRA journey you can find instructions on my website HERE.