Essential Oils For Sleep Improvement

Essential oils can help improve sleep quality.

We’re a special breed – and weirdly, we appear to understand each other well.

Nothing takes the shine off your day like a crappy night’s sleep.

It seems that being excited, being sad, being worried – even needing to get up early to catch a flight can keep you awake at night.

Let’s look into the things that might help with sleep improvement – and yes, I am going to give you some essential oil blends to try, but I feel it goes broader than that.

Pre-sleep preparation guide.

Have a ‘finish work’ time, and stop cramming last minute jobs in after it.
Give yourself an after-I-have-finished-working task – like a short walk, a warm shower, a cup of tea and a lie-down or just standing outside looking at the clouds (or the moon) just pick something out that you enjoy doing and mark out 5 minutes to do it as a ‘finish the workday’ ritual.
Get your PulsePoint essential oil Deep Rest or Stress Less blend out and apply around your neck, the base of the skull, across your shoulders & clavicle. Optional extra – apply across the backs of your knees and ankles. Those are areas with lots of lymph. If you don’t have a Pulsepoint, use the essential oil blend and mix a drop or two into massage oil or moisturising lotion & massage that in.
Massage the oils in.
About an hour before bed, add a few drops of the essential oil blend to your diffuser.
Set the coloured lights on your diffuser (if you have coloured lights) to the deepest mauve colour you can get – mauve is the deep resting colour.
1. 1. - Sit in a chair with both feet flat on the floor and work your way through this relaxation exercise:
      With one hand, pinch the other (meaning bring the thumb and first finger closer together, effectively pinching the space between each finger – first do the larger gap in between the thumb and fingers, then pinch the space between the phalanges bones between each of the fingers. Pinch and hold firmly. Count to ten for each hold. This should take you a couple of minutes. Also pinch the pad on the outside of the little finger.
    - Now lie flat (I do this on the floor with a pillow under my head) with your feet up (I put them on the chair). If you are more comfortable on a bed or couch that’s fine. Concentrate on allowing your head and shoulders to connect with the ground. It will feel like a long time. Stay in this position for at least 3 minutes. Close your eyes and try to bring that deep mauve colour of the diffuser into your closed eye vision.
    - Stay lying down for another 2 or three minutes and shift your focus to breathing to the bottom of your stomach – think about breathing in through your nose, filling your stomach with air – then slowly releasing it to a count of ten through your mouth. Do at least ten of those.

You will find that you are feeling calmer and that your mind has slowed down.

Keep your diffuser on during the night, even if you don’t have essential oils in it. The negative ions in the vapour will keep the air fresh & clean.

NOTES: you don’t have to have PulsePoint, you can just add your essential oils to a base (carrier) oil and do it that way, but you do not need much at all.
If your end of day ritual involves a bath, make it a warm bath and blend your essential oils in a heavy oil like flaxseed and add that to your bath.

Essential oil blends for sleep.

Evening – finishing after work: Deep Rest Blend or Stress Less Blend

Boost with frankincense if you need an additional ‘unwind’ factor.
Boost with mandarin if you are experiencing ‘racing mind’ or feeling anxious about something.
Boost with sweet orange if you are feeling bloated or digestion is an issue.
Boost with Bergamot if you feel a bit down (add Ginger if you feel really down, or if grief is a factor)
Boost with lemongrass if you are feeling overwhelmed.

When ready to sleep: Sleep Support Blend