Why Essential Oils Can Help Us Sleep Better... Nature is in its most dormant phase, resting and preparing for the burst of energy and life that Spring brings. It calls us to be in sync with the seasons, encouraging more restfulness in our lives. However, sleep can be a struggle for many of us. It could be drifting off or staying asleep – or both. There is almost too much information out there about overcoming this issue, and it can be confusing. Where do essential oils feature – and do they actually help? How Does Aromatherapy Help Sleep? Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts that contain volatile compounds (organic components that produce vapours at ambient temperatures). These affect us both emotionally and physically. They interact with the brain and parasympathetic nervous system (the rest & digest response associated with relaxation), both through topical application and inhalation. As noted in previous blogs, the olfactory system (the smelling function) is connected to the brain’s limbic system. This is responsible for regulating memories and emotion. As a result, you can train the brain to sleep alongside a particular fragrance. Neural pathways (your brain’s default network) are created by habits and routines, so creating a night time ritual with a fragrance causes us to automatically associate sleep with your chosen scent. So, in directly influencing our emotional state, essential oils can have a sedative effect on the nervous system. Lavender has famously been linked with helping to increase slow-wave sleep – the deep, restorative stage (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7806966/). What Essential Oils are Best For Sleep? The good news is that there are many essential oils that can help. Here, we pick some popular and lesser-known essential oils to get you started… Bergamot: Has a cooling effect and helps ease digestive and respiratory discomfort – tackling some major contributors that can disturb a decent night’s rest. Lavender: The most well-known in the aromatherapy world; however, what’s not so well known is that too much is stimulating! Just a couple of drops are most effective. Vetiver: Deeply sedative, this earthy oil improves breathing, helping to combat sleep apnoea. It also helps to regulate sleep patterns, grounding a restless mind. Petitgrain: Not the first thought that comes to mind, but don’t underestimate this herbaceous oil. Its subtle fragrance is light, yet calms the nervous system in order to promote a more restful night. Cedarwood: Contains Cedrol, a natural sedative that encourages the release of the feel-good hormone, serotonin. This gets converted into melatonin, the hormone that signals to the brain that it’s time to rest. Chamomile: Another very popular choice, this sweet herbaceous oil is a light sedative that soothes the mind and helps the body achieve full sleep cycles. Jasmine: Particularly good if you struggle to fall asleep, as its main component, linalool, calms the heart rate and nerve activity. A powerful oil, a drop will suffice, and is even more potent paired with a grounding oil such as Labdanum. A Four Scents Sleep Routine Interestingly, sleep isn’t just affected by the last few hours of the day. How you start your day matters! Strange as that sounds, the way your mind is managed particularly impacts your brain’s sleep/wake cycle (known as your circadian rhythm). Gathering awareness and reflecting on how you feel – and how you then decide to go forward or reframe it – as you wake, gives you a greater sense of agency in how your day will look like. You can’t control what happens, but you can control how you handle what happens. A meditative background fragrance, such as our Reed Diffuser, can aid this reflective process. Winter Rest’s warming, soothing and grounding fragrance is perfect for this, and designed to support you throughout the day. Especially so with your bedtime routine. The calming effects of a bath are well-documented, encouraging circulation and promoting relaxation. A sprinkle of our Himalayan Bath Salts adds the benefits of its mineral-rich content, including magnesium that helps relax the muscles, while the gentle notes of Oudh, Spikenard and Petitgrain soothe the senses. The trick is to ensure that the water is warm rather than hot (which is stimulating). Thirty minutes before bedtime, diffuse our Essential Oil blend to create a calming atmosphere. This will also help give your body the signal that it is time to shut down. Electric ultrasonic diffusers are the most effective, as the oil isn’t heated, therefore maintaining its therapeutic properties. A gentle spritzing of Pillow Mist just before bedtime introduces deeply relaxing Jasmine, and earthy aromas of Labdanum and Patchouli - the penultimate touch to your routine. Finally, our Balancing Duo of Winter Rest and Argan Oil is not just designed to create your own facial oil, but it can be used therapeutically to apply to your wrists, temples and behind the ears. For an extra pampering treat, massage onto the soles of your feet and the back of knees. These little moments of self-care, with the deep inhalation of essential oils, help you to focus on the here and now and calm racing thoughts. The intentional relaxation of mind and body help set you up for better rest… Why Aromatherapy for Sleep? Aromatherapy is designed to be complementary – it can be used alongside other relaxation techniques (such as yoga and meditation) as one enhances the other for a more powerful effect. The most obvious and beneficial aspect of aromatherapy in aiding sleep is that it’s natural and non-addictive, with no side effects. It also can be used to treat the underlying causes of poor sleep too. For example, this could be helping to encourage more consistent breathing or calm digestive cramps. However, caution is needed if suffering with blood pressure or health complications; always check for contraindications with a health professional if you have concerns. That said, essential oils are a great component in creating a relaxing environment, working alongside other contributors such as a cool, dark room and a good wind-down routine. Our Winter Rest blend features the comforting tones of Cedarwood, Vetiver and Oudh, symbolising the gentle side to the season, as well as harnessing the sedative, grounding qualities that encourage a good night’s rest.