It’s the morning we’ve all been waiting for: Daylight Savings Time. Once a year, we’re blessed with a glorious extra hour of sleep. On November 2nd, set your clocks back and get ready to sleep in. What better way to make the most of this extra hour than to use one of Plant Therapy’s oils that aid in sleep and relaxation.
Check out a few of our favorites that are sure to make this Daylights Savings an excellent one. If you’re looking for a specific DIY, try Counting Sheep Cream for a fantastic, soothing lotion.
Counting Sheep Cream
What you’ll need:
- 1 oz Evening Primrose Body Cream
- 9 drops Lavender
- 4 drops Chamomile German
- 2 drops Frankincense Carteri
- 2 drops Bergamot
What you’ll do:
Add the essential oils to the body cream and stir well. Apply to the tops of the feet or chest 30 minutes before bedtime.
But which oils should you choose?
Wondering which oils are best for you and your family’s personal sleep issues? We’ve got you covered:
Nighty-Night
Designed just for the little ones, this KidSafe blend combines a fruity and earthy aroma that encourages calm. Use this blend to encourage all-over relaxation that will help promote a good night’s rest.
Sweet Dreams
Another amazing KidSafe blend, Sweet Dreams was formulated especially to help soothe a troubled mind and emotions. It differs from Nighty-Night in that it’s designed to calm the mind instead of the whole body.
Sweet Slumber
Formulated especially for the little ones who can’t use Lavender, this blend combines Cedarwood and Ho Wood for calming, soothing, and sedating benefits. Even though this blend is KidSafe, it’s a perfect choice for adults as well.
Lavender
Any list of relaxing essential oils wouldn’t be complete with Lavender. It’s sweet, dry, and herbaceous-floral scent is known for producing a tranquil environment that is calming and peaceful.
Chamomile
This oil is another great choice for calm and relaxation. It has a strong, sweet scent that blends well with Lavender.
Sleep-Aid
This special synergy was created with sleep in mind. The blend of Lavender, Mandarin, Ylang Ylang Complete, Valerian Root, and Neroli all help to create an atmosphere of calm and relaxation. Add to your diffuser for a well-rested mind and body.
Relax
Another Kid-Safe favorite, Relax will help to promote a calm and tranquil mind. It uses Lavender, among others, to create a soothing aroma that’s great for the whole family.
Ho Wood
This oil is distilled from the bark of the Ho Wood tree and has a woody, floral scent. It has a high quantity of calming linalool, making it a great choice when you’re looking for a soothing oil. It also blends well with the other relaxing oils like Lavender and Chamomile.
Bonus sleep-enhancing oils:
These two last oils aren’t usually thought of as “sleepy,” but they’re great little-known options!
Vetiver
A powerful essential oil has an intense earthy, woody, and smoky scent that encourages balance and relaxation. It’s an excellent choice to diffuse before bedtime. Consider blending with Bergamot, Lavender, or Lemon.
Sensual Blend
Have something else in mind for that extra hour? Set the mood with this romantic synergy that combines floral overtones with a warm, earthy aroma.
We love your Kid Safe Nighty Night synergy. Sometimes we add a bit of lavender as the blue tansy is strong in this, but really, just a few drops of the Nighty Night go a long way. My children have begun to request this over other options. Maybe we will try the Sweet Slumber synergy next. Ho Wood is one of my favorites.
I have made a sleepytime roller with vetiver,lavender and blue cypress.It’s so lovely and I get excellent, restful sleep! But I’ll have to switch it up every so often
I just made a blend for a friend with vetiver, ho wood, and sweet orange. Still waiting to hear how well it works for him.
We just figured out that Lavender oil gives my daughter very vivid dreams and Sweet Dreams does the same for me. It gives us great stories to tell in the morning.
You might give Sweet Slumber a try (unless of course you want to keep the dreams)! It doesn’t have Lavender specifically for that reason.
I struggle really badly with sleeping and have tried sleep aid and loved it! It worked really well. I sadly have run out and cant afford to get anymore yet but once I have some extra money to pay for customs fees and exchange rate. Some of these sleep blends are definitly going to be on order!
I never knew Ho Wood had calming properties that can help you sleep. I will have to add this oil to my lost. Thank you for the information.
So much great information. And so many combinations to try and get a great nights sleep. Now lets go shopping and pick up a few that I don’t have.
We diffused Ho Wood, Patchouli, and Clary Sage and had our first full night sleep in months.
Sleep aide has worked well for me but I do plan on trying some of the suggestions on this blog all these comments are very helpful
My favorite sleep blend is Lavender, Vetiver and Chamomille!
Thank you for this blog, I just purchased chamomile Roman and my body reacts to it with a itchy throat and nausea I was super excited to try it as I love any relaxing oil but I guess you can’t love me all. The Relax blend is my favorite blend and I really go through it! I am also in love with Ho Wood so I will have to try some of the kidsafe blends out. this blog is just the thing I needed for new oils for relaxation and sleep! Any other ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, Thanks a million!
Thank goodness i found plant therapy! This is a great help to both me and my best friend who is now a mom to out her son to sleep especially on flu days! She’s been using nighty night to calm my godson and it really works!
As for me, I had a terrible insomnia before and using lavender with peppermint at night helped me get a straight sleep since then. Have been purchasing plant therapy set for me and for my friends as gifts and they are all loving it!
I’m thinking of making a diffuser blend with Lavender,Atlas Cedar,Bergamot,Sweet Marjoram,Amyris,Ylang Ylang
Interesting article. I have been using Sleep Aid and sometimes I mix in Let It Go as well to diffuse. I’ve also purchased the oils individually now so I think I’ll start trying to figure out which of the sleep/relax/sedation oils work best for me. I will definitely be trying at least a version of the Counting Sheep Cream. I almost bought that cream over the weekend to use for massaging EO’s into the body. I’ve started making roller bottles but I’d prefer a cream that isn’t so oily. Thanks for the great recipes….and making me think about the kidsafe blends. I had not even shopped those as I was under the impression that they were geared towards children, but I see now that they are still pure EO’s. Sleep is such an evasive creature….hiding from us all the time! Thanks for shining a light!
I love ho wood! It works well for the whole household to help us relax and sleep!
I love vetiver… Helps me relax n sleep..
I am one of those people who can’t shut my mind off. I’m lucky to get 4 good hours of sleep a night. It drives me nuts!! I am going to try to make a lotion or cream and see if I get better results, diffusing don’t seem to do the trick. Thanks for the sleep ideas…
We hope you get some quality sleep soon! If you find yourself still struggling, please reach out to our aromatherapists for more information and suggestions at [email protected] 🙂
Perfect timing! My teen daughter just came to me and requested to not go to school today because she felt she didn’t sleep last night. I will talk to her when she getsup and try a line spray tonight. I like vetiver for myself, but I think I’ll start with ho wood and Mandarine for her because she hasn’t been a fan of strog scets. thanks for the timely article.
Thank you so much for sharing, Sue! We are hoping it helps your daughter get some sleep!
Evening Primrose Cream!!! That sounds luxurious! For most nights, Nighty Night & Ho Wood in the diffuser are enough to help me fall asleep. For nights when my insomnia rears its ugly head, I love Sweet Slumber with Virginia Cedarwood and a drop of Palo Santo. My 8 year old likes balm mint bush (go figure), since it helps her nighttime anxiety and stuffy nose.
Thank you so much for sharing what you use.
I can’t sleep without my blend of ho wood, cedarwood, sometimes sandalwood (but it’s an expensive oil) and vetiver. Sometimes I use lavender and ho wood before bed but vetiver and ho wood are my go to for sleep. The work everytime without fail!
Sounds very relaxing! Thanks for sharing, Shannon!
This works pretty well for me too! I have been playing around with different combos, and this one really helped
I never thought of using relax as a sleep blend! I am going to give this a try tonight as I am still working at getting my internal clock turned around.
Thanks for this, sleep can certainly be an issue in our house so will be putting some of these on my shopping list – currently waiting for sweet slumber to arrive!!!
Vetiver is a must-have in any of my sleep blends!
This is perfect–thanks! Lavender doesn’t seem to do much for me personally with sleep (though I DO love the smell!). However, clary sage and vetiver work great!
Thanks for the ideas and suggestions, we have had a lot of sleeping issues in the house lately and this really helps in pointing us in the right direction.
I made a blend of lavender, vetiver, and let it go. I rub it on my wrists and feet before bed and I sleep like a baby. Highly recommend finding a blend that works for you if you are having sleep troubles. Remember to follow all suggested rules and guidelines if you choose to apply to the skin (always use a carrier oil!) You can diffuse the same blend as a different option. Happy snoozing!
I’ve found that palmarosa, ginger, and vanilla help my kids.
I have found that a blend of lavender, peppermint and eucalyptus work well to get everyone back in a routine.
Can’t wait to try this blend. I need all the help I can get in the sleep department. Lately I love using linen sprays on my pillow before bedtime. I really love Tranquil, Meditation, and Calming the Child but also love to have plenty of options.
Very helpful. The time change always impacts me.
My first sleepy combo for my nightstand diffuser was Lavender and Vetiver. I LOVE the smoky aroma of Vetiver. Then I tried the Sleep Aid synergy and it is fantastic…works every time. I just read on this blog that the Relax synergy is also good for a peaceful sleep and I will try that one tonight. I recently bought Ho Wood and will try that with some Chamomile and Lavender. thanks so much for all the helpful tips.
Great info here. My son in law doesn’t like lavender so now I can recommend Sweet Slumber!
Loved this blog post! I especially enjoyed the side by side comparison of the kidsafe synergies! We love Ho wood and Vetiver at our house!
These ideas sound great. Could I use regular, unscented hand lotion instead of the one listed in the recipe above?
Thanks for sharing this! I just purchased Sweet Slumber and Sweet Dreams and I’m going to make into room/linen sprays to use before bedtime. I did this with my last bottle of Nighty Night and it was a big hit with my girls and really helped them relax and prepare for sleeping. We’ve tried diffusing the oils for bedtime but it didn’t have as much of an impact as the spray does.
Thank you so much for your comment, Joy!
How do you prepare the spray?
Simona, follow this link to learn a spray recipe: https://blog.planttherapy.com/blog/2019/01/17/essentials-video-vetiver-pillow-spray/ … feel free to use any blend of essential oils you would like to make the perfect bedtime spray just for you 🙂
I love these recipe infograpics! Great sleepy oil suggestions. Vetiver is my absolute favorite! It works like a charm everytime. Thanks, Plant Therapy!
Lavender is my go to hands down.
Anyone else experience kids sleep walking or bed wetting when using oils before bed or during sleep? Any oils we should avoid because of it?
I absolutely love vetiver for sleeping! I made an inhaler and use it on the nights that my mind races and keeps me awake. I am off to sleep very quickly after a few deep inhalations.
I have used the relax synergy. I also have been experimenting with other oils to make my own bedtime blend. I use 1 drop Vetiver and I add marjoram, orange, clary sage, lavender, lavandin, bergamot, ylang ylang, and cedarwood. I only use 1 drop of Vetiver because the smell is so strong. Then depending on how I feel will add other oils. Lately I have been using vetiver, orange, sweet marjoram and cedarwood. Other times I use lavender, lavandin, bergamot and ylang ylang.
I struggle with staying asleep. Going to sleep is not usually an issue. But if anything wakes me up, it’s 2-3 hours before I can go back to sleep. I’m hoping something will help me
I love relax blend and using it for kids also.
My favorite sleep blends include Ho Wood, Relax, Lavender and Sweet Slumber. I really LOVE the Relax Synergy Blend the best. I love having all the options as I don’t often sleep well or long, but I get good rest with these oils help.
There is nothing worse than trying to get kids back in the routine after clocks change, hopefully a little lavendar & ho wood helps them.