When our family made the decision to try essential oils back in February, one of my top priorities was to try use them to help us get better sleep. I’ve had trouble falling asleep for my entire adult life, and was pretty desperate for help. My son was also struggling, taking almost 2 hours to fall asleep some nights. Some of the oils we’ve tried have really helped us, so today I’m sharing how to get started using essential oils to get better sleep for the whole family. I’m not a doctor and can’t tell you what is best for your family, and this is not medical advice in any way. I’m just a mom who is trying out natural remedies with my family and sharing what has worked for us with you. Click here for more information on why we use essential oils and to see our current oil deal.
To Help Adults Fall Asleep: Falling asleep has been a struggle for me for many years. I’ve taken sleep aids to help me fall off and on for over a decade. I’d heard that essential oils could help me to get better sleep and it was really one of the main reasons I wanted to try them. I use my DIY lavender essential oil lotion nightly (recipe below), as well as cedarwood and valor essential oils. I diffuse 2 drops of each in my small bedroom diffuser, and apply cedarwood to the bottoms of my feet and valor to my big toes and jawline. I apply it to my jawline because I hold all of my tension there and it has a tendency to be painful at night. Massaging the valor oil along my jaw really helps me to relax. I’ve read that Roman Chamomile and Valerian essential oils can also help with sleep, but haven’t tried them yet.
To Help Kids Fall Asleep: Every night before bed we put our homemade lavender lotion on the kids. This is made with 1/3 cup whipped coconut oil and 15 drops of lavender essential oil. I make a jar for each child and keep it in their rooms. It also helps with dry skin and works well as a cloth diaper safe diaper cream. Lavender is very gentle and soothing, and helps them to relax and settle down. My favorite oil blend is now SleepyIze, because it has helped the Bear (age 4) fall asleep quickly. For MONTHS we struggled because it would take him 1-2 hours to settle down and fall asleep no matter what we tried. The first day we applied SleepyIze to his feet, neck, and wrists, he was out in 20 minutes. It has worked every night for 3 weeks now, and I am so thankful. It is one of the specially blended Kid Scents, so it is formulated to be safe to apply on kids because the carrier oil is already blended in. We also diffuse either SleepyIze or Lavender in his room when he is extra wired at bed time.
To Help Kids & Adults Sleep Longer: A dear friend has a son who is an early riser. He has woken up between 4:30 and 5:30 his entire life. She tried lavender, but it didn’t help. She read a recommendation to try cedarwood essential oil to help him sleep longer. The first morning he slept until 6:15. Victory! I’ve tried it on myself, and I feel like it helps me sleep more soundly. I don’t wake up restless and sleep deeply throughout the night when I use it.
I’ve heard that Peace and Calming can be really helpful for kids and adults at bed time, but it is out of stock until September. You can try making your own by creating a blend of Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, Blue Tansy, Tangerine, and Orange. This is on my oily to do list. Valor is also out of stock until September, so until then you can mix up your own blend using Idaho Blue Spruce, Blue Tansy, Frankincense, and Idaho Balsam Fir. Both blends use Blue Tansy, and the Young Living farm growing it had a bad crop this year causing a shortage. While it is frustrating not to be able to order things when they go out of stock, I love buying from a company that controls the whole oil producing process from seed until the bottle is sealed.
We also use yoga and relaxation exercises to help us get better sleep. What natural remedies do you use to help your family get better sleep?
For more ideas on getting started with essential oils for everything you can imagine, check out the whole series from my Oil Explorers Team.
Hey! I just found your blog via pinterest & was enjoying reading a couple posts, but after a minute or two of reading, my computer screen kept jumping to your video ad and wouldn’t let me scroll back up to the post. Not sure if it’s a problem on my end or yours, but it hasn’t happened to me before on other blogs. Just wanted to let ya know 🙂
Thanks Emily. I’ll look in to it.
when you use cedarwood for sleeping… did you diffuse it or rub it somewhere?
I diffuse it and rub it on my wrists and feet.
New to Essential Oils, I am looking for a MIRACLE to help my little booger sleep. He falls asleep in 20-30 mins, but wakes a couple hours after falling asleep and we are having to sleep in the bed with him. I have Sleepyize on the way and have been told to use Cedarwood with it. But I am wondering, can I diffuse all night long? I am not fully understanding how EOs work. I will be rubbing the Sleepyize on his feet, but would like to diffuse the combo as well.