{"id":76,"date":"2018-06-25T08:21:42","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T08:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/?p=76"},"modified":"2019-12-16T09:17:09","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T09:17:09","slug":"this-essential-oil-could-help-you-sleep-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/this-essential-oil-could-help-you-sleep-better\/","title":{"rendered":"This Essential Oil Could Help You Sleep Better"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the surge in popularity of\u00a0essential oils<\/a>, you can purchase and use these little vials for just about any bodily complaint. Got a headache?\u00a0Peppermint oil<\/a>\u00a0just might ease the tension. Raging breakout? Some people \u00a0swear by tea tree oil for acne. The list goes on and on. While some health benefits of essential oils are probably purely anecdotal, others have significant scientific evidence behind them.\u00a0Lavender oil<\/a> for sleep\u00a0is one example.<\/p>\n

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Though lavender has been used to promote relaxation (and, therefore, sleep) for\u00a0thousands of years\u00a0in traditional medicine, more recently, researchers have assessed these effects from a scientific perspective \u2014 and their findings are encouraging. In one example, Taiwanese researchers had insomniac women\u00a0inhale lavender aromatherapy\u00a0for 20 minutes a day twice a week. After 12 weeks, participants reported a significant improvement in sleep quality. In another\u00a0experiment, when 20 healthy volunteers inhaled lavender oil, their\u00a0blood pressure,\u00a0heart rate, and\u00a0skin temperature\u00a0all dropped \u2014 indicators that the body is preparing for rest.<\/p>\n

BETTER REST THROUGH REDUCED ANXIETY<\/h3>\n

Another reason lavender may be effective for sleep is that it can\u00a0decrease anxiety. (After all, who can sleep when carrying a mental burden of stress and worry?) Numerous\u00a0studies have found the effects of lavender comparable to low doses of the prescription anti-anxiety drug Ativan, both for mental health and sleep. Not surprisingly, lavender appears to\u00a0relax the nervous system\u00a0by a very similar mechanism to pregabalin (also known as Lyrica), another prescription medication used to treat anxiety. And unlike heavy-duty prescription drugs, lavender appears to have \u201csleep promoting,\u201d rather than sedative properties. For those of us who\u2019d prefer a gentle glide into sleep over getting knocked into a state of total unconsciousness, this is good news.<\/p>\n

Lavender use for mental health and sleep is especially popular in Germany, where much of the research on its effects has been conducted.\u00a0Five German double-blind studies\u00a0gave women with moderate to severe anxiety disorders a lavender supplement over six to 10 weeks. After this treatment, women in all of the studies had reduced symptoms of anxiety, and in two of them, they also reported significant improvements in sleep duration and quality. Looking at the entire body of research available until 2012, a\u00a0systematic review concluded that lavender oil \u201cmay be of small to moderate benefit\u201d for sleep. So while it may not be the cure-all for hardcore insomniacs, it\u2019s probably worth a try, especially for occasional trouble sleeping.<\/p>\n

HOW TO USE LAVENDER FOR SLEEP<\/h3>\n

With lavender\u2019s proven effects on sleep quality, you may decide you\u2019d like to give it a whirl. If so, the options abound for how to dose yourself at bedtime \u2014 and the most successful method may depend on your personal preferences. Some proponents recommend the \u201ccup and inhale\u201d method of placing a few drops of\u00a0lavender oil\u00a0on the palms, then drawing them up to the face for several deep inhalations. Other people find that applying oil directly to the face increases effectiveness, since you\u2019ll continuously breathe in its aroma. Sprinkling your pillow and bed sheets with drops of oil or placing it in a\u00a0diffuser\u00a0are other easy methods for keeping the scent close by. One more pro tip: Unlike many other essential oils, it\u2019s generally\u00a0not recommended to use a \u201ccarrier oil\u201d\u00a0like olive or coconut alongside lavender.<\/p>\n

For those who might be averse to lavender\u2019s scent (or prefer not to use oil on the skin or bedding), it\u2019s also available in\u00a0capsules. Gel caps typically contain 80 mg, or four to five drops, of lavender oil and should be taken as directed on packaging. As with all oral supplements, be sure to purchase from a reputable source and discuss your usage with a medical professional.<\/p>\n

With evidence-based benefits for quality rest \u2014 plus zero addictive properties and a much lower cost than sleeping pills \u2014 lavender oil makes an excellent choice for a natural remedy for insomnia. Worst-case scenario, you\u2019ll merely scent your bedroom with a lovely, calming aroma. But if you\u2019re among the fortunate for whom lavender works, you may find yourself pleasantly drifting off, with images of purple flowers bidding you goodnight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the surge in popularity of\u00a0essential oils, you can purchase and use these little vials for just about any bodily complaint. Got a headache?\u00a0Peppermint oil\u00a0just might ease the tension. Raging breakout? Some people \u00a0swear by tea tree oil for acne. The list…Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[25,6,24],"class_list":["post-76","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essential-oil-distillation","tag-essential-oil-could-help-you-sleep","tag-essential-oils","tag-lavender-oil"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":907,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions\/907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialoilmach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}