Diffusing essential oils for sleep is one of the first things that got me hooked on essential oils.
Like a lot of women, I used to wake up 2-3 times a night. I’d hear the dog walking around, or my husband would turn over, or my mind would race with all the things I had to do the next day. I just couldn’t seem to get the sleep I needed. I was always tired and in a bit of a brain fog.
Then my sister Ann introduced me to essential oils. I was pretty skeptical at first. How could these essential oils be as great as she claimed? Could they really help you breathe better, increase your metabolism, support your immune system, and help you feel less stressed? That all sounded too good to be true.
But she is my sister, so I gave the oils a try. I put 3-5 drops of lavender essential oil in a diffuser by my bed. Turned the diffuser on. Climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep. Next thing I knew my alarm was going off. I had slept straight through the night for a full 8 hours!! “But how could this be?”, I thought. It must have been a fluke. Maybe I was just so exhausted from the day before and that’s why I didn’t wake up?
I tried it again the next night. I filled up my diffuser with tap water, and again, I put a few drops of lavender essential oil in my diffuser. I turned it on and climbed into bed. Again, I slept soundly all through the night, not waking up until my alarm went off at 6:00.Â
And so it went night after night for months! I was now a believer. A BIG believer!
Essential Oils for Sleep
There are a lot of essential oils that help the mind and body relax. My favorite essential oils that support a great night’s sleep are lavender, cedarwood, vetiver, marjoram, Roman chamomile, bergamot, orange, frankincense, patchouli, and sandalwood.
click here for a free printable of this list of the 12 best essential oils for sleep and the 12 best diffuser blends for sleep
Lavender: widely used for its calming properties. It eases tension and induces relaxation.
Cedarwood:Â warm, woody scent that is both grounding and calming, promoting a great night’s sleep
Vetiver: This grass has a rich, exotic aroma that is extremely grounding for emotions.
Marjoram:Â has a slightly spicy, warm aroma that calms and helps you release emotional stress and trauma
Roman Chamomile:Â sweet floral aroma is calming and soothing to the mind and body, making it one of the most often used essential oils for sleep
Bergamot: floral citrus aroma is an adaptogen, meaning that it can be both uplifting and calming, depending on what your body needs at the time. Helps calm and reduce anxious feelings.
Wild (Sweet) Orange: sweet citrus scent and, like bergamot, wild/sweet orange is also an adaptogen that can be either energizing or calming, depending on what your body needs
Grounding Blend: refers to a generic term for essential oil blends from several different brands that include essential oils like blue tansy, frankincense, and spruce. These blends promote tranquility and relaxation while eases anxious feelings.
Frankincense: warm, spicy aroma promotes feelings of peace, relaxation, and satisfaction. A great oil to use to help balance your mood. When combined with other oils, frankincense often enhances the properties of the other essential oils.
Patchouli:Â musky scent is grounding and balancing for emotions
Hawaiian Sandalwood: rich, sweet and woody aroma instills calm and relaxation. It’s soothing scent lessens tension, promotes emotional well-being, and has a meditative-like effect.
Calming Blend: refers to a generic term for essential oil blends from several different companies that include essential oils like lavender, ylang ylang, marjoram, and Roman chamomile. These blends lessen the feeling of stress, calm emotions, and create a peaceful feeling.
12 Best Diffuser Blends for Sleep
click here for a free printable of list of the 12 best essential oils for sleep and the 12 best diffuser blends for sleep
If you’re missing an essential oil that’s called for in a recipe below, find essential oil substitutes here.
sleep diffuser blend #1
3 drops lavender essential oil
3 drops cedarwood essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #2
3 drops bergamot essential oil
3 drops lavender essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #3
3 drops lavender essential oil
3 drops sweet (wild) orange essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #4
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops vetiver essential oil
2 drops marjoram essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #5
3Â drops Roman chamomile essential oil
2 drops bergamot essential oil
2 drops frankincense essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #6
3 drops grounding blend essential oil
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops Roman chamomile essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #7
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops Roman chamomile essential oil
2 drops marjoram essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #8
3 drops patchouli essential oil
2 drops wild (sweet) orange essential oil
2 drops frankincense essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #9
3 drops vetiver essential oil
3 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops frankincense essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #10
3 drops lavender essential oil
3 drops vetiver essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #11
3 drops vetiver essential oil
3 drops calming blend essential oil
sleep diffuser blend #12
3 drops patchouli essential oil
3 drops sandalwood essential oil
In addition to diffusing essential oils for a great night’s sleep, I also love to use essential oils to help relax throughout the day and before bed. Here are a few of the ways I use essential oils to relax:
- taking a calming shower to relax me before bed (find sleepy shower steamer recipes here and find calming shower mist sprays here)
- calming magnesium body butter (find the recipe here)
- homemade Relaxation Rub (find the recipe here) It’s great for reducing stress & anxiety, improving sleep, calming, balancing, & relaxing. Plus is easy to make and only 3 ingredients.
- taking calming, detox baths (15 easy DIY relaxing bath salt recipes)
- using roller bottle blends (find my favorite roller recipes for emotions here)
- keeping inhalers in my purse so I can use whenever needed to combat stress and anxiety (it’s really easy to make essential oil inhalers – here’s how)
You might also like these other recipes and posts on using essential oils…
Must-Have Roller Bottle Recipes & Free Printable Labels
How to Make DIY Diffuser Necklaces for Less Than $1
31 Genius Essential Oil Tips & Hacks
Diffuser Blends that Support Clear Breathing
Christmas Diffuser Blend Recipes
Interested in more recipes, tips, and ideas for how to use essential oils?
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There are so many essential oils out there. I need some direction on which brand/brands to buy. Please help. Thx so much.
Hi Jacque,
I don’t promote or recommend specific essential oil brands because One Essential Community is intended to help people use their essential oils, regardless of what brand(s) they use.
That said, I know that it can be hard to figure out which brands of essential oils are high quality and a good value, so I completely understand.
I’ll say that I personally use many brands of essential oils. The ones that I use most often are all available online: doTERRA, Young Living, and Plant Therapy.
Hope that helps,
Sarah