How to improve your sleep with essential oils

lavender oil and candles to help sleep

A good night’s sleep can be a great tonic for pretty much all of our daily problems. Stress, anxiety and jam-packed schedules suddenly become a whole lot easier to manage when you have a solid eight hours of slumber in your system.

In honour of Sleep Awareness Week (which commences on the 23rd April), we’ll take you through a few of the very best essential oils for helping you sleep a little better, so that you can enjoy a restorative overnight rest and all the benefits that come as part of it.

The importance of sleep

Quite apart from its abilities to keep our spirits high, sleep is an essential tool in keeping our physical health in check, too. Studies into long-term sleep deficiency have identified that it is connected to a higher risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke.

So while a decent sleep can help us deal with the daily grind, it can also help to protect our long-term health in myriad significant ways.

Essential oils for sleep

Aromatherapy has long been respected for its ability to improve sleeping patterns, but which oils are best when it comes to boosting our relaxation as we head towards bedtime?

  • Lavender essential oil: This deliciously sweet and versatile oil can be used at bedtime to soothe the mind of all ages and genders. Try rubbing a couple of drops between your hands (diluted with a carrier oil), cupping your hands over your nose and mouth and inhaling the scent, before rubbing the oil into your wrists as you settle into bed.
  • Cedarwood essential oil: try adding a couple of drops of cedarwood in your bedroom diffuser while you snuggle up with a good book. A great night’s sleep will be yours for the taking.
  • Orange essential oil: Orange essential oil, with its uplifting citrus scent, is perfect for soothing a troubled mind at bedtime. Try mixing a couple of drops with a carrier oil and rubbing it into your abdomen as you lie in bed.

Natural remedies

So if you’ve been suffering with poor sleep lately, take a cue from Sleep Awareness Week and have a play with the above essential oils. You’ll soon discover the benefits for yourself, and daily life will become so much more manageable once you’ve got on top of your sleeping problems.