Article

Getting a good night’s sleep is more vital to your good health than most people think. And with millions of Americans suffering each and every night, tossing and turning as the clock ticks away hour by hour insomnia has reached epidemic proportions. Leaving many feeling worse than when they went to bed.

The National Institutes of Health suggests that adults need between 7-8 hours of sleep each night.1 However, according to data from the National Health Interview Survey; nearly 30% of adults reported an average of ≤6 hours of sleep per day.2

If you aren’t getting enough sleep there is a very good chance your health is at risk. The negative side effects associated with lack of sleep are well documented in the medical literature and they can pose quite a few problems for your daily life as well.

Dangers Associated With Lack of Sleep

According to The Center for Disease Control…
 “Persons experiencing sleep insufficiency are also more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as from cancer, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity.”3

And chronic diseases like those mentioned above are running rampant in our society. With the lack of sleep also comes immune system compromise leading to more frequent illnesses like colds or the flu which can dramatically affect your overall productivity at home and at work.

Sleep is also vital to your ability to think clearly and learn new things. Not getting enough sleep can impair these processes in many ways. 

First, it impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently.4

And during the night different sleep cycles play critical roles in processing all of your memories and if sleep is affected you won’t have the ability to retain new information whether it be something simple like where you put your keys or a new subject you are studying. 

Weight Gain is another problem caused by lack of sleep. According to a 2004 study, people who sleep less than six hours a day were almost 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.5  In addition, those that slept less also had elevated levels of Ghrelin in their bodies a hormone that stimulates hunger.5

It’s pretty clear that lack of sleep can wreak havoc on your health and in addition to the issues we’ve already discussed here are a few more consequences of not getting enough sleep.6
•    Accidental Death
•    Yawning
•    Hallucinations
•    Moodiness
•    Depression
•    Accident Prone
•    High Blood Pressure
•    Sexual Dysfunction

So How Can You Get a Better Night’s Sleep?
Although we’ve all seen the commercials with the dancing butterfly…reaching for prescription medications or even over the counter sleep aides isn’t really fixing the problem. 
These treatments can become very addictive, creating a dependency on the drugs. Even the top-selling prescriptions tell you on the warning that they are not a long-term solution, yet many people treat them like they are.  
It’s always a good idea to look for natural ways to help you sleep better. Natural remedies work with your body by allowing you to fall asleep faster and easier by helping to facilitate the natural processes of sleep. Below are some things you can begin to incorporate into your sleep routine that may help. 
 

Try them all to see which ones work for you. You may also find a combination of them works even better.
•    Go to bed at the same time each night. Your body does well by adopting a routine. If you make it a habit of going to bed at the same time each night your body will begin to respond.  It also helps if you make it a habit of getting up at the same time each morning as well. 

•    Don’t watch TV in bed, the light and picture can stimulate your brain making it difficult to fall asleep. The same goes for cell phones, computers, and tablets.  According to Charles Czeisler, PhD, MD, from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital "Artificial light exposure between dusk and the time we go to bed at night suppresses release of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, enhances alertness and shifts circadian rhythms to a later hour—making it more difficult to fall asleep."7

•    Listen to relaxing music or nature sounds before bed. Soothing music naturally relaxes your mind and helps you sleep. 8 However, don’t assume that because music helps you sleep that listening to an audio book or something similar would also help, these are not the same. You want instrumental music that calms you, so it’s best to not listen to anything with words.

•    Take a soothing hot bath prior to bed.  And according to Joyce Walsleben, Ph.D. and associate professor at New York University School of Medicine “…by briefly heating up your body before laying down, the steeper drop in temperature by bedtime will help you fall asleep faster, and will “more likely to put you in a deep sleep.”9
While these 4 tips may put you on the road to better sleep there are other things you can do that have been shown to improve sleep. 
For example, essential oils have been used for centuries for a variety of health problems, and can be very effective in helping you get a better night’s sleep. 

5 Essential Oils To Help You Sleep Peacefully Through The Night

The use of essential oils for relaxation is nothing new. And there are several well-known oils that have been shown effective for inducing relaxation and helping people get better more restful sleep. The key to essential oils is to be sure that you are choosing only high-quality oils, oils that have been proven to work and that are safe to use. 

Here are 5 Essential Oils to try…

Lavandin
Lavandin essential oil is the overshadowed relative of the better known lavender essential oil. And while it shares some of the properties of Lavander it has many of its own that make it more suitable as a sleep aid. It relaxes you and improves your overall well-being and also sharpens your mind.10 To help you sleep add 2 drops of Lavandin essential oil to your pillow before going to bed. You can also use lavandin infused sleep masks, candles, and pillows too. 

Roman Chamomile
This essential oil has a light and floral aroma and is known for its calming, soothing, and relaxing properties. You’ve no doubt heard of chamomile tea and it's used in inducing sleep, but studies have shown that inhaling its scent through the use of oils reduces stress-related hormones and helps you relax.11
Sweet Marjoram
Sweet Marjoram essential oil creates a calming and sedative like action. If chronic pain is keeping you from sleeping this oil has also been shown to help ease your pain. 12 Using this oil prior to going to sleep can help relax your nervous system making it easier to fall asleep. 
Vetiver
Vetiver Oil has calming ad balancing effects on the mind. It stimulates the immune system, acts as a sedative for the nervous system and invigorates circulation.13 You can add a few drops of Vetiver oil to tea or a hot drink, use it as a massage oil to invoke relaxation or simply use a few drops in a warm bath to help soothe and calm your body. 
Tangerine
Tangerine essential oil can be used to calm the mind and relieve the symptoms of anxiousness and stress. When you feel the need for some mental calm or relaxation tangerine oil can be safely used. And its sedative properties also make it ideal when you feel the need for a good night’s sleep. Inhaling this oil is the best way to create a peaceful and relaxing slumber. 

Putting It All Together
Following the steps outlined in this article as well as using the recommended essential oil is a great way to naturally improve your sleep. Getting a good night’s rest is vital to your health and these remedies can go a long way in improving your well-being. 
Because of the variation in essential oil quality and the fact that some oils are more effective for some individuals at inducing sleep, the experts at Ovvio Oils have created a sleep inducing blend called Slumber Rest and Recovery Blend. Their blend contains the 5 essential oils we discussed today plus Copaiba, Peru Balsam and Lemon making it the most effective sleep-inducing essential oil blend you can buy and it’s guaranteed to help you get a more restful night’s sleep. 

You can try Slumber for yourself  by going here now. 

Don’t let a lack of sleep sabotage your health, the combination of the tips we gave you in this article and the use of essential oils will have you sleeping like a baby in no time.  

References:
1.    http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssleep/
2.    Schoenborn CA, Adams PF. Health behaviors of adults:United States, 2005–2007. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 10(245). 2010.
3.    Institute of Medicine. Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2006.
4.    http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/10-results-sleep-loss
5.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15602591
6.    http://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body
7.    https://sleepfoundation.org/media-center/press-release/annual-sleep-america-poll-exploring-connections-communications-technology-use-
8.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18426457
9.    https://vanwinkles.com/warm-bath-or-shower-before-bed-good-or-bad-idea
10.    S. Clarke, Essential Chemistry for Aromatherapy, p.137
11.    Paladini AC, Marder M, Viola H, Wolfman C, Wasowski C, Medina JH. Flavonoids and the central nervous system: from forgotten factors to potent anxiolytic compounds. J Pharm Pharmacol. 1999;51:519–526
12.    Buckle J. Use of Aromatherapy as a Complementary Treatment for Chronic Pain. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 1994;5(5).
13.    http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/vetiver-essential-oil.html