7 Essential Oils for a Good Night’s Sleep

A healthy adult requires around 7 to 8 hours of sleep every day. It is important that we get not just enough sleep, but quality sleep. We spend almost a third of our lives sleeping, and it is important that we get everything right about it. Having adequate good sleep helps with our brain functions, providing us better focus throughout the day, making us more productive in our daily lives. Sleep deprivation or the lack of quality sleep may increase our risk of having a stroke or heart disease.

This article will share with you a list of several essential oils that are effective in treating insomnia and promoting good sleep, by reducing stress, anxiety and several mental and emotional conditions that affect how we ease into sleep.

There will also be a section of blends at the very end that you can try for a more complex scent and synergistic effect.

1) Lavender

Lavender is a popular and highly prized essential oil because of the range of therapeutic benefits it provides and its likable aroma.

It has a sweet floral scent with woody undertones.

Lavender is a soothing oil and helps balances your emotions. It is good for relieving anxiety, stress, depression and nervous tension. It also aids you into sleep due to its sedative properties.

2) Geranium

Geranium is a very soft but powerful essential oil.

Geranium has a sweet floral scent, have similar notes to that of a rose, but with additional green undertones.

Geranium helps to sooth the mind from mental stress and exhaustion. It is great for unflattering the mind at the end of the day, to give your head a conducive environment for a peaceful rest.

3) Roman Chamomile

Roman chamomile is a calming and relaxing essential oil. It is a great oil to use if you are having insomnia or disturbed sleep.

Roman chamomile has a gentle scent that is sweet, fruity and floral, with some hints of apple.

It provides a calming and relaxing effect, that is also useful to aid in depression, nervousness, anxiety, and stress.

4) Bergamot

Bergamot is one of the most popular citrus essential oil. The aroma is easily liked by most.

Bergamot can be both uplifting and relaxing, making it versatile to be used both during the day and at night.

It has a refreshing citrusy scent, that is sweet and fruit-like, with slightly floral and green notes.

Bergamot helps to ease anxiety, depression, stress and mood swings. It provides an uplifting effect to the mind that helps to rid negativity. It is also a great aid for insomnia when used at night.

5) Frankincense

Frankincense is a highly-prized essential oil. It has stabilizing attributes and is highly valued since ancient times.

Frankincense has a clean and woody scent, with rich and warm incense notes.

Frankincense lightens your heart and lifts your emotions, making it an amazing essential oil to use for meditation. It fights mental fatigue and supports the nervous system, helping you feel relaxed and at ease before bedtime.

6) Rose

Rose is well-beloved all over the world. It is a symbol and expression of love and compassion in many cultures.

It has a deep and soft floral scent with a rich sweetness, that evokes passion and sensuality.

Rose helps to support the emotional wellbeing. It brings about positivity and calmness. It helps you to feel relaxed and compassionate and can enhance your love life as well. It also has sedative properties that assist you in restful sleep.

7) Tangerine

Tangerine calms you down, in times of anger, shock and grief. It provides a wonderful emotional balance and sedative effect.

It has a very fresh citrusy scent with a sweet note, very similar to that of a mandarin.

Tangerine is great for those anxious nights that keep you awake. It calms your nerves and aids irritability.

Blends you can Try

The individual essential oils that we have gone through can be diffused or used on their own. If you need more ideas, here are some essential oils for better sleep. For those that are looking for a synergistic effect or a more complex scent, you could try the following blends.

Blends for Diffusion

For Stabilising the Emotions

Soothing and stabilizing. Assists in mental fatigue.

Prepare the following oils according to this proportion:

Add accordingly to your diffuser, and let it diffuse for an hour.

For Calming the Nerves

Assists in depression, nervousness, anxiety, and stress.

Prepare the following oils according to this proportion:

Add accordingly to your diffuser, and let it diffuse for an hour.

For Restful Sleep

Assists in insomnia, stress, irritability, and anger.

Prepare the following oils according to this proportion:

Add accordingly to your diffuser, and let it diffuse for an hour.

Blends for Baths

For Relaxing After a Mentally Tiring or Stressful Day

Prepare and mix the following:

Get into the bathtub first, then add the mixture into the water and use your hands to swirl and disperse around.

Blends for Applying to the Body

For Easing into Sleep

Prepare the following:

Mix the blend for every 1 ounce / 30 ml of your favorite carrier oil, or unscented lotion if you want to minimize an oily mess.

Use an amount that is needed on your upper limbs and chest before going to bed, and store the rest in a clean lotion bottle.

For Relaxation & Meditation

Prepare the following:

Mix the blend for every 1 ounce / 30ml of carrier oil.

Apply on the chest and hands.

Due to the photo-toxicity of bergamot, only use this blend at night so as to minimize exposure to UV rays.

Blend, Relax & Enjoy

So there you go. We hope that the information and recipes are helpful for you to get your good night’s sleep.

Do remember to check each ingredient and make sure you have no allergic or adverse reactions to them before use.

A skin patch test is always recommended if it’s your first time using any of the ingredients or essential oils.