What are the best essential oils for deep sleep? What are the best essential oils for sleep and relaxation?
These are some of the most common questions I get as a Certified Aromatherapist. I have to use safe essential oils for kids since I have little ones. There is no single blend that is the best, it varies from person to person. Some people feel energized by Lavender and Orange Sweet. If that’s the case for you then you would want to substitute or omit those essential oils from the recipes listed below.

- 3 drops Amyris
- 3 drops Chamomile German CO2
- 2 drops Marjoram Sweet
- 2 drops Amyris
- 2 drops Patchouli
- 1 drop Lavender Fine
- 3 drops Vetiver
- 2 drops Amyris
- 1 drop Orange Sweet
- 2 drops Cedarwood Himalayan
- 1 drop Blue Tansy
- 2 drops Chamomile German CO2
- 2 drops Lavender Fine
- 1 drop Orange Sweet
- 2 drops Vetiver
- 2 drops Cedarwood Himalayan
- 1 drop Chamomile German CO2
- 1 drop Jasmine Absolute
- 3 drops Vetiver
- 2 drops Lavender Fine
- 1 drop Cedarwood Himalayan
You’ll notice that I used Amyris in several of these recipes. It’s been one of my severely underused essential oils, and after starting to blend it I feel like I’ve been missing out! This great oil has a dry, woody, peppery balsamic aroma. This essential oil is fabulous for emotional support; relaxation, soothing, uplifting. It’s also really great for your skin and improves texture and the appearance of fine lines. Certainly one I’ll be getting out much more frequently!
What about using a nebulizing diffuser? I would assume I should diffuse before bed only since the oils are released in a much more intense and concentrated manner?
You are correct! And if you’re diffusing around kids, we recommend using an ultrasonic diffuser instead or only using a nebulizing diffuser for 5 minutes before bedtime.
In several of your blog posts on sleep and EO’s, you mention diffusing for 30 min before bed. You say to turn it on and leave. Should you turn the diffuser off while you sleep? Mine has an intermittent setting. Should I not be sleeping with it on?
Hi Missy! Great question! Diffusing during sleep is totally fine, just make sure you pay attention and if your body responds well, it’s safe to do!
I used Vetiver,Amyris, Orange sweet…
All I can say now is: “GOOD MORNING!”
Thank you for this recipie blend!
I Will be trying out the other blends posted in this blog!
They all sound great! Would the other oils change the smell some mixed with the Vetiver? I’ve heard it’s great but I’m not a big fan of the smell of vetiver alone. The therapeutic benefits are supposed to be great so I really want to use it!
Brandy, Vetiver really does like to take over in a blend! Because of this, try just a tiny bit at a time to learn how it affects the aroma of whatever you are blending with. Personally, I love Vetiver with citrus oils because it helps smooth out the Vetiver smell, which I am also not a huge fan of 🙂 Many people also love to blend it with floral oils.
I’ll deff be trying these blends! Great blog!
Amyris, patchouli and Lavender fine is heavenly! I love this blog; soo many good ideas for using the oils!
Which is better? Should I mix the recipe or use calming the child or night night ?whats the diff between calming the child and night night
Rowena, since everyone has their own personal tastes when it comes to aromas, there really is no one recipe that I could say would be better than the others, because we are all different! You will have to try them out and learn the one that works best for you. You could absolutely also use either Calming the Child or Nighty Night; the difference is that Calming the Child is really great for calming an overactive mind and Nighty Night is more of a full mind and body relaxation.
Vetiver Lavender and Cedarwood are my daughter and my husbands favorite! They both fall fast asleep and wake up very rested after this blend!
Thank you for sharing, Roxanne!
My favorite sleepy time oil blend is sweet slumber. My husband loves ho wood and grapefruit pink. They both work wonders for our household!
I prefer Nighty Night myself, but I love ALL things Blue Tansy. 🙂
I’ll have to try one of these, just lavender isn’t working anymore.
Can I substitute Cedarwood Atlas with Cedarwood Himalayan?
Hi, Karen! Yes they are both calming and you could try the Atlas instead… Also, it is KidSafe too 🙂
I have used several different sleep recipes with good results for 1/2 the night. Usually awaken after about 4 hours and can’t get back to deep sleep, usually can’t turn the brain off again. Is there an answer or do I just reapply oils for the rest of the night?
For that very reason I like to diffuse intermittently throughout the night. 30 minutes on then 30 minutes off is often a good amount of time to let your body process the oils and not overload the system, while still getting the continuous benefits.