Five Essential Oils to Enhance Your Bedtime Environment

doTERRA Serenity^® Restful Blend

As the name suggests, doTERRA Serenity helps you create a restful environment that’s perfect for winding down at bedtime. It’s a blend of Lavender, Cedarwood, and Ylang Ylang essential oils, all of which promote a tranquil atmosphere. To get the best results, you can diffuse it, put it on the bottoms of your feet, inhale it directly from your hands, add it to a warm Epsom salts bath, or put a few drops on the back of your neck or over your heart. doTERRA Serenity is included in the Aroma Essentials Collection, which is a great way to get several of our bestselling essential oils.

Lavender Essential Oil

The serene scent of lavender has been used for centuries. Adding Lavender essential oil to your bedtime routine is simple. You can take it internally in a cup of calming tea, diffuse it, or add a few drops to pillows or the bottoms of your feet when it’s time for shut-eye.

Calmer^® Restful Blend

Calmer may be part of our Kids Oil Collection, but don’t let that fool you. Anyone can benefit from this powerful topical oil blend. Calmer can help you and your little ones wind down for the day with its relaxing, positive aroma. You can roll it on the back of the neck and chest or apply it directly to the wrists or the bottoms of the feet before climbing into bed.

doTERRA Balance^® Grounding Blend

If you’re looking to for a peaceful, centering scent in the evening, try doTERRA Balance. We refer to doTERRA Balance as the Grounding Blend because its aroma is designed to promote a tranquil atmosphere. We recommend using it as a massage oil, applying it to the bottoms of your feet, wrists, or neck. Or you can simply diffuse it in your room before bedtime.

PastTense^® Tension Blend

It’s easy to bring the stresses of the day into the evening, but incorporating PastTense into your bedtime routine can help. It’s a fresh, minty oil blend that can be massaged into your shoulders and back, applied to your temples and the back of your neck, or rolled onto your wrists. No matter where you use it, you’ll experience its aroma of relaxation and tranquility.

Photo Credit: Ciera Hudson @cierahudson, doTERRA partner

Photo Credit: Ciera Hudson @cierahudson, doTERRA partner

How Do You Use Essential Oils?

If you’ve never tried essential oils before or wonder how to use them effectively, it’s simple. Essential oils are typically used in three ways: aromatically, topically, or internally.

1. Aromatically
   
   With this method, you use a diffuser to release essential oils into the air, apply them to your skin (where you can catch regular whiffs of the aroma), put a few drops in your palms and inhale deeply, or mist them onto your pillows and bedding.
2. Topically
   
   Applying essential oils to your skin allows them to soak in. You can use them in a massage, put them in a bath, mix them with lotion, or place them directly on targeted areas such as your wrists, neck, bottoms of the feet, or over the heart.
3. Internally
   
   You can take many essential oils internally by adding a few drops to a glass of water or a Veggie Cap, cooking with them, or just putting a few drops under your tongue. Internal usage allows the essential oils to be transported throughout the body.

When using essential oils at bedtime, you may find you like different applications for different essential oils. Depending on the sleep routine you’ve established, you may want to try different methods each night or use a few every night. The key is to find what works best for you.

“I said goodbye to candles and plugins a few years back, and now I use essential oils in nearly every aspect of my home. I keep a diffuser in the girls’ room and love being able to create a fresh and clean environment that smells incredible, straight from nature.” — Ciera Hudson (@cierahudson)

Bonus: 11 Tips to Drastically Improve Your Night’s Rest

Along with using essential oils for your sleep routine, you can try other simple tips to help you get a better night’s rest. If you’re having trouble sleeping, check out some of these tips and see if there’s any improvement.

1. Be consistent. Your body appreciates routine. Going to bed and waking up around the same time each day trains it, making it easier to sleep and wake each day.
2. Set the mood. Creating a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere is what we’ve been talking about with using essential oils for sleep. And you have other ways you can do this too. Making sure you have a quiet, dark room helps. A clean space that’s comfortable and free of clutter also promotes good sleep.
3. Avoid screens. TVs, computers, phones, and tablets release blue light that stimulates brain function. Avoid using these 30 minutes prior to bedtime to help your brain wind down.
4. Move your body (but not right before bed). Daily physical activity leads to better sleep. But vigorous exercise before bed can actually have the opposite effect. Move throughout the day, but save the one to two hours before bed to wind down. If you move any during that time, it should be light yoga or meditation exercises that are designed to calm your body.
5. Create a ritual. We’ll say it again, your body appreciates routine. Create a ritual you go through before bed to signal your body and mind that it’s time to settle in for sleep. This can include physically getting ready for bed, reading a book, dimming the lights, listening to music, drinking herbal tea, taking a relaxing bath or shower, or whatever else works for you.
6. Invest in a quality bed and bedding. An uncomfortable mattress, pillow, or bedding can make you toss and turn at night and rob you of a good night’s sleep. While you don’t have to have the absolute best of the best, take the time to find quality materials that fit your budget so you can be comfortable all night.
7. Be cool. Your body temperature naturally drops when it’s time to sleep. Keeping your bedroom cool is a good way to signal your body that it’s time to wind down and settle in for a long winter’s nap—or at least several hours of shut-eye.
8. Limit alcohol and caffeine. Alcohol and caffeine are stimulants that can keep you awake when you’d rather be asleep. Both stay in your system for hours and can really mess with your sleep cycle. Avoid them later in the day and for sure before bedtime, if possible.
9. Skip naps. If you’re not sleeping well at night, it’s tempting to doze off during the day. Unfortunately, this only perpetuates the problem of not sleeping at night. Do your best to skip naps so you can get more, deeper rest at night.
10. Don’t eat meals at bedtime. Eating puts your body to work. Your digestive system fires up to process all the food you just gave it, which can lead to being more awake. Eat your last meal a couple of hours before going to bed. If you’re hungry later on, have a light and healthy snack, but stay away from heavy meals.
11. Wear a sleep mask. Sleep masks can be calming as well as practical. A solid sleep mask helps block out light and other distractions so you can stay asleep longer.

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A post shared by CIERA HUDSON (@cierahudson)