Using Essential Oils for Sleep Support

I love sleep.  I have always valued my sleep and do not do well with lack of it.  Fortunately, I don't normally suffer from insomnia but I know so many people who do.  It causes them such stress, anxiety and poor health.  

While there is a lot you can do to help get a good night's sleep, you can support normal sleep with therapeutic grade essential oils.  

As you know, Kelly and I love our Young Living essential oils.  We are using them for everything from immune support to beauty products to emotional support and so much more.  

We had the pleasure of joining many of our Oily Angels team in Nashville at the Thrive Conference a few weeks ago.  One of the highlights of the weekend was listening to Dr. Oliver Wenker, MD speak about using essential oils for sleep.  Today, I am going to share with you, what I learned from him.

Did you know?

• 31% of population suffers from insomnia.  (source)
• More women suffer from insomnia than men?  (source)
• People with insomnia suffer from more body pain, less general and mental health and other vitality scores. (source)

Effects of Lack of Sleep

We all know that lack of sleep causes us to feel fatigued.  

BUT, did you know that lack of sleep can lead to weight gain?  

If that wasn't bad enough, it can also lead to decreased brain size?  

Support Your Sleep

You can do many things to support your sleep.  

• Keep regular sleep/wake up times.
• Regular exercise in the morning or afternoon.
• Increase exposure to bright light during the day.
• Avoid exposure to bright light at night.
• Avoid heavy meals and drinking 3 hours before bed.
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol and nicotine.
• Enhance sleep environment
  • turn off tv/electronics well before bed.
  • avoid major activity before sleep, except sex.  (sex can release a variety of hormones that can aid sleep).

You may also have an underlying medical condition (such as low thyroid, depression, anxiety, imbalanced hormones) that may need to be treated as well.

Essential Oils for Sleep Support

You can also help support your sleep with essential oils.  Now, you never want to rely on anything to help you sleep all the time.  If you are having trouble sleeping, it is really important to get to the root of the problem. A great book to help you with that is our friend, Emily Benfit's The Sleep Solution. 

But, for occasional insomnia, using essential oils can be a life saver!

Did you know that one study showed that Lavender and Roman Chamomile essential oils effectively reduced anxiety and improved sleep quality of intensive care patients?  And that Valerian essential oil significantly enhanced sleep while Lemon essential oil significantly shortened sleep?

There are many oils you can use to support sleep.  Some that are recommended are:

• Lavender – well known for its calming and sedative effects and slows down brain waves.
• Vetiver – known in folk remedies as oil of tranquility. 
• Valerian – used for centuries to promote sleep and relaxation.  This oil can be slow in onset, however.  Use for 2-3 weeks to build up effects. 
• RutaVala – contains Rue, Lavender and Valerian.  Rue is known for its sedative effects.  
• Mandarin – similar to Tangerine oil.  Has been used for centuries to help with sleep. 
  

  Other oils for sleep support:

• Roman Chamomile
• Ylang Ylang
• Cedarwood
• Dream Catcher blend
• Peace and Calming blend
• Bergamot
• Melissa
• Stress Away blend

EO Recipe for Sleep Support

I usually diffuser some mixture of lavender, cedarwood, valerian and vetiver for sleep.  Dr. Wenker had a special recipe using Young Living essential oils for sleep.  You put all the oils in a capsule, top with a good carrier oil, like coconut and take before bed time.  

 Do you use essential oils to support your sleep?  What are your favorite mixtures?

Want to learn more about Dr. Wenker's Sleep presentation?  Kelly did a great Google Hangout on the subject. You can catch it here:

 

As you know we only recommend using Young Living Essential Oils. We trust their purity and believe in their Seed to Seal Guarantee. If you are ready to get started using Young Living Oils, we are happy to have you on our team!

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