Do you have trouble winding down at night? These seven calming essential oils might be just what you need. Diffuse them in your bedroom to create a relaxing atmosphere and help you get the sleep you need.
Are you feeling stressed? Do you need some extra relaxation? Whatever the reason for stress and tension in your life may be, these calming essential oils and oil blends can help.
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Essential oils are nontoxic extracts from plants. They are suitable for calming emotional tension and promoting relaxation. You can use essential oils as safe home remedies to calm your nerves and emotions.
Essential oils have been used for thousands of years for various health issues. They can aid physical symptoms such as headaches or sore muscles. Certain oils also support mental wellness, spiritual practice or emotional balance. The oils naturally support human well-being on many levels.
In this article, you will learn about the most calming essential oils, and get tips for the best relaxing essential oil blends.
Emotional Well-Being
I know way too many people struggling with mental health. In my house, I try to use essential oils with anxiety reducing properties on a daily basis. Negative emotions can take over too quickly, and I’ve learned it’s best to prevent anxiety rather than going through the turmoil of a full blown crisis.
Certain essential oils are more suitable for prevention, others help best when you’re right in the thick of it.
Essential oils reach our brains instantly when inhaled. Through topical application, it takes about 20 minutes for the effects to take place.
Which Essential Oils Promote Calm?
The following essential oils can help you relax and be at peace with your emotions.
1. Frankincense Essential Oil
Frankincense essential oil has calming properties that promote relaxation, ease stress, and relieve anxiety. It helps to regulate blood pressure, which keeps anxiety levels in check. This oil is often used in spiritual practices such as meditation, prayer and yoga.
2. Lavender Essential Oil
There are many essential oils that can help you relax, but lavender is the most popular. It’s aroma has been proven to reduce stress and tension for those who use it regularly in their homes. Lavender enhances comfortable sleep, reduces symptoms of depression, and calms anxiety symptoms. The wonderful scent of lavender essential oil supports emotional balance.
3. Chamomile Essential Oil
Chamomile oil has a nice and fruity-herbal fragrance. It promotes sleep, relaxation, and anxiety relief. Its use dates back centuries into ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome. There are multiple varieties of Chamomile available. All varieties are emotionally and mentally calming.
4. Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
Ylang Ylang essential oil has mild sedative features and can strengthen your nervous system. You can promote your emotional well-being by using this natural oil. Among many other benefits, it can uplift your mood and calm difficult emotions.
5. Melissa Essential Oil
Melissa is commonly called “Lemon Balm”. It has uplifting and medicinal properties. Boost your immunity and strengthen your nervous system with this calming essential oil. Melissa can help reduce feelings of sadness, worrying, and depression. It soothes your mind and acts as an antidepressant.
6. Clary Sage Essential Oil
Clary sage has an earthy fragrance. The oil promotes hormonal balance, inner peace and feelings of well-being. You can reduce both the emotional and physical symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in ladies by using Clary sage oil.
7. Bergamot Essential Oil
Bergamot is a citrus fruit. The oil contains mood-enhancing properties, promoting feelings of joy and excitement and reducing stress and anxiety. Using this aromatherapy oil can even help relieve feelings and symptoms of depression. If you are suffering from depression, please make sure you get care from a qualified mental health professional.
Bergamot essential oil is a natural remedy that has been effective in Chinese traditional medicine for ages. To this day, you’ll find traces of it in the popular Earl Grey tea.
It is a photosensitive oil. Beware of sun exposure after its use to make sure you avoid an allergic reaction like skin irritation or itching.
Where to Apply Essential Oils for Calming
Here’s how you can enjoy relaxing aromatherapy benefits without much fuss:
- Add calming essential oils into your regular body lotion. Use 9 drops of essential oils per 1/2 oz (1 tablespoon) body lotion. Apply all over.
- Combine 1 teaspoon almond oil or fractionated coconut oil with 3 drops of essential oils. Use as a neck rub to relieve targeted stress points, or massage the blend onto the bottoms of your feet.
- Make a DIY rollerball with relaxing oils and use when you’re on the go. Apply behind your ears, and at the back of your neck. You may also wish to roll onto the insides of your wrists. Basically, apply on pulse points to enjoy the best calming effect.
- Add a few drops onto a cotton round and place inside your pillow case to promote peaceful sleep.
- Blend calming oils directly in your aromatherapy diffuser, and use it around your home.
- Mixing your oil blend with water into a room spray or body mist.
- Craft your own bath salts with relaxing oils and run yourself a warm bath to relieve stress and anxiety.
Best Calming Essential Oil Blends
Sometimes, it’s nice to combine the benefit of several essential oils together.
Reducing stress is a complex endeavor. When oils work together in a blend, it may help address the complexities and nuances of the situation.
Dreamtime
Dreamtime is one of Rocky Mountain Oils‘ essential oil blends that combines the sleep-enhancing powers of Sandalwood, Jasmine, Patchouli, Ginger Root and Petitgrain Bigarade essential oils.
It helps you let go of daily stressors, eases feelings of anxiety and calms and balances the emotions.
- Diffuse at night before going to bed to help relieve stressors so that your mind can sleep and focus on your dreams.
- Massage into your temples, behind the ears, or on the back of the neck to ease your mind before bed. Be sure to dilute the blend with your favorite carrier oil.
- Add a couple of drops to your pillow or beneath your nose before bed to experience Dreamtime’s calming aroma.
Stress Relief
Edens Garden essential oils offers a wonderful oil blend for relaxation, named Stress Relief. The blend contains Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis), Bergamot (Citrus bergamia), Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin), Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), and Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata) essential oils.
You can get Stress Relief as a single synergy blend here, or included in the popular De-Stress set, which you can buy in either a 3-pack or 6-pack of relaxing essential oils. The blends in the 3-pack are: Anxiety Ease, Relaxation, Stress Relief; plus Joy, Quiet Time & Tranquility if you go for the 6-pack.
Peace & Calming
Young Living‘s Peace & Calming is a popular essential oil blend with a sweet, calming aroma. It is a proprietary blend of Blue Tansy, Orange, Tangerine, Patchouli, and Ylang Ylang essential oils.
I always have good success finding reasonable prices for YL oils on Amazon. Against popular belief, it is totally fine to buy Young Living essential oils on Amazon. Many independent distributors would prefer you shop through them, so they can make a commission. But there are reputable sellers who simply use Amazon as a vehicle to distribute their totally legitimate oils.
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Joy
REVIVE’s Joy essential oil blend bring a joyful, uplifting aroma to your room. It is a blend of Bergamot peel, Lemon peel, Tangerine peel oil, Ylang Ylang flower, Coriander seed, Palmarosa herb, Geranium leaf, Jasmine flower extract, Roman Chamomile flower, Rose flower essential oils.
Precautions
Essential oils are toxic substances and should not be ingested at any time.
Here are ways of safely using essential oils to get effective results:
- Dilute essential oils before application on the body with a carrier oil such as coconut oil, sweet almond oil, or grape seed oil. This helps you avoid undesirable skin reactions.
- Do a patch test on part of your body. There could be allergic reactions or irritations to the skin. Stop use immediately if you have a reaction.
- Follow the instructions on the bottle labels before using the oil. Some oils are not recommended for children, when pregnant, or for other reasons. Please read the fine print.
- Don’t shower for 20 minutes after massaging the oil into your skin. This lets the oil absorb and yield best results.
- Always seek professional medical advice if you’re struggling with severe anxiety or depression symptoms. This article is not meant to replace professional medical advice.
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed this introduction to calming essential oils. Human well-being is a complex topic. We all feel stressed and unable to perform sometimes. There are many aspects to feeling good, balanced, calm and at peace. Aromatherapy and essential oils are just one small holistic support to our well-being.
Anytime you’re shopping for essential oils, it is important to buy from a reputable essential oil company. You can only expect a good outcome of your efforts if you purchase a quality oil. To help you get started, here are the best starter kits you can buy on Amazon.
K. Bell
Please could you be more specific with which oils you are using in each recipe. For some oils, there are several varieties of plant, like Chamomile. There are 4 types of Chamomile that I am currently aware of – Roman, German, Moroccan and Cape. In the case of lavender, there are more than 400. Sometimes it is the flowers that are used to obtain oil, sometimes it is the leaves and/or stems, or even a combination of all 3. So, that being said, which chamomile do you use for your recipe for calming above? Thanks!
Emma Carter
Hello K.! Very valid question you have, thank you. Medicinally speaking, all varieties of Chamomile are emotionally and mentally calming. Personally, my favorite variety of Chamomile is German Chamomile, though it is a little more pricey than Roman. If you have either variety of Chamomile at home, use that one for my recipes. If you’re shopping for a new bottle of oil, I can recommend German Chamomile.
Moksha E
Very nice information.