Stop Insomnia: 3 Essential Oil Lifestyle™ Methods for Better Sleep. . .and Healthier Skin

Key Takeaways

  • The Sleep-Skin Connection: Poor sleep and emotional stressors (like anxiety and fear) actively damage skin health. Resolving insomnia requires holistic solutions that target both physical and mental tension.

  • Oils for the "Rest & Digest" State: Essential oils like fennel, anise seed, tarragon, Virginia cedarwood, and marjoram actively raise parasympathetic activity, turning off a busy mind and easing the body into sleep mode.

  • Nervous System & Grounding Support: Classic relaxing oils (lavender, clary sage, Roman chamomile) ease the central nervous system, while wood and root-derived oils (vetiver, ginger, atlas cedarwood, sandalwood) ground the mind and reduce physical agitation.

  • Lifestyle Integration: Combat sleep disruptions dynamically by giving yourself a before-bed massage with targeted blends, diffusing oils in the bedroom, or inhaling directly from a bottle/tissue accompanied by focused deep breathing if you wake up in the middle of the night.

  • Nighttime Skincare Infusions: You can leverage your evening beauty routine to fight insomnia by adding a couple of drops of restful essential oil blends (like Calm & Easy or Autopilot) directly into your night creams, face serums, or body butters.

Sleep is a health providing necessity for emotional and physical wellness, along with maintaining skin vitality. Insomnia is an all too common problem and often complicated to resolve. The remedy requires holistic solutions, most importantly to determine whether the cause is controllable, such as food, environmental or lifestyle related. Frequent culprits that cause sleeping issues are stress, anxiety, fear, busy mind and emotional related conditions. Emotional tensions are also damaging to skin health, which is intensified with lack of sleep. Here are suggestions for improved sleep and healthier skin. It’s not just what essential oils you use, it’s also how you use them.

Calm and rest essential oils

Fennel, anise seed and tarragon are potent essential oils for raising parasympathetic activity (that’s the required “rest and digest” state necessary for sleep).  These oils calm a busy mind that raises sympathetic activity, the body’s active waking state. Virginia cedarwood and marjoram also raise the body’s rest mode.  

Calming nervous tension helps the body and mind relax. Easing the central nervous system is the most common approach for sleep using essential oil like clary sage, lavender, Roman chamomile and other relaxing choices. Mandarin petitgrain is an ideal insomnia oil due to the increased relaxation activity of its unique nitrogen containing compound. 

Being grounded or rooted helps promote restful sleep. Essential oils from roots such as vetiver or ginger, and woods like atlas cedarwood, copaiba and sandalwood are generally good for feeling well-balanced with less agitation.

Lifestyle methods


Essential oil lifestyle methods used in conjunction with the oils is highly effective at reducing or eliminating insomnia. A good technique is a before-bed massage with relaxing oils that naturally diffuse while the massage brings tranquility to the body. Diffusing essential oils is a fragrantly pleasing method that assists in preparing for sleep. Difficulty getting back to sleep when waking in the middle of the night can be remedied with a couple of drops of an insomnia blend sniffed from a tissue, on the pillow or smelled direct from the bottle. Couple this with focused deep breathing to ease a busy mind.

EASE TENSION AND ENCOURAGE SLEEP WITH SKIN CARE

Another excellent way to fight insomnia is by using restful calming essential oils in your evening skin care regimen. The application of creams and lotions can be a soothing and relaxing practice while inhaling the stress-relieving properties of the essential oils. You can personalize your skin care by adding the oils or blends that work best for you into a cream, serum and cleansing base.

Four essential oil lifestyle methods for better sleep and stopping insomnia.

  1. Give a calming self massage before bed

    1. add 3 drops Calm & Easyto 1 teaspoon of Organic Body & Face Massage. Massage arms and legs

  2. Inhale essential oils to reduce anxiety, fear and tension; Promoting the body’s “rest” (parasympathetic) function

    1. inhale from tissue or diffuse Serious InsomniaorAutopilot

  3. Breathe to soothe a busy mind or if waking during the night

    1. use calming focused breathing while inhaling Serious Insomnia or Autopilot

  4. Night time skin application to promote sleep

    1. add Calm & Easy or Autopilot to Natural Scent Face Cream as your night cream or Berry Fusion as a serum (2 drops per teaspoon)

    2. add 4 drops Serious Insomnia to 1 tablespoon ofShea Butter Plus for nourishing body cream.

Scent & memory

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Jimm Harrison

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    Jimm Harrison

    Jimm Harrison has spent more than thirty years working with essential oils and sensory wellness. He founded and led the Essential Oil Certificate Program at Bastyr University, wrote a textbook for beauty and wellness professionals, and has designed scent experiences for spas, resorts, and wellness destinations around the world.

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