Life
Pining for a good night’s rest? The best essential oils for sleep might help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. To learn more, Bustle reached out to Heidi Moretti, registered dietitian and nutritionist who recommends lavender, cedarwood, and roman chamomile for sleep and relaxation.
“These oils all help dampen down the stress response, or cortisol, in the body,” which encourages sleep, according to Moretti. For some, citrus and peppermint essential oils can be too stimulating around bedtime. “However,” Moretti qualifies, “I have known some people who really relax with use of orange oil.” So, I've included one citrus-y blend.
She adds that third-party testing is a hallmark of the best essential oil companies, noting DoTerra as one of the best: “They disclose each batch's exact composition,” she notes. So I've only included third-party tested oils. However, Moretti notes organic essential oils aren’t necessarily better, since they can still contain harmful solvents and "be quite [diluted].”
Diffusing is the best method for using essential oils to help you sleep, Moretti says, “because it releases small amounts into the air throughout the night. Topicals are nice, but some people can have skin sensitivities to the strong essential oils.”
Lavender, roman chamomile, and cedarwood have been scientifically proven to improve sleeping patterns, but scent preference or citrus sensitivity will help your decision-making; note that lavender and roman chamomile are more floral scents while cedarwood smells woodsy.
Read on for the best essential oils for sleep. All are 100% pure and have undergone GC/MS testing, which identifies different substances within a test sample.