A Guide to the 12 Best Essential Oil Diffuser Blends for Sleep and Anxiety (and the Science Behind Them)
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A Guide to the 12 Best Essential Oil Diffuser Blends for Sleep and Anxiety
(and the Science Behind Them)
How I Became a Believer in Essential Oils by Diffusing Essential Oil Blends
**You should always consult with your doctor before before beginning to use essential oils to be sure they won’t interfere with any of your medical conditions (including pregnancy) or prescribed medications. **
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People have been using essential oil blends for sleep and anxiety for millennia. Even the essential oil diffuser machines of the modern age have been in the market for a few decades now.
Common knowledge and science have long- bought into the importance of quality sleep on your mood and health outcomes. Sleep is a form of self-care, just as important as eating nutritious foods. I mean, regular high-quality sleep can even strengthen your immune system.
And yet, in true form, I was on the late train for using essential oils. In fact, I had to reach a place of real desperation to finally appreciate the effects essential oils could have on my sleep and mood.
I didn’t start to take essential oils seriously as a natural remedy until I started my family medicine residency. Residency is the apprenticeship that physicians finish before they get licensed and board-certified to practice independently. And it’s TOUGH!
Imagine what an 80-hour work week and a couple 24-hour shifts do to a person’s mood and sleep cycle. Now imagine keeping that schedule for 3-plus years!?
Pretty early in my first year of residency, I began to notice that I never quite felt well-rested after sleeping. No matter how tired I was at the end of the night, I had trouble getting to sleep because my mind was racing. If I wasn’t replaying the slide show of the past day’s experiences, I was ruminating on my endless to-do list for the next day.
All that changed when my mother gifted me this beautiful essential oil diffuser for my birthday. I tried my first essential oil blend with lavender and sweet orange oil, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
List of 12 Essential Oil Diffuser Blends for Sleep and Anxiety
Sleep diffuser blend #1
Happy Dreams
3 drops of lavender and 3 drops of sweet orange oil
Sleep diffuser blend #2
Double Rose
3 drops rose oil and 3 drops of geranium
Sleep diffuser blend #3
Winter Warmth
2 drops of clary sage, 2 drops frankincense, 2 drops lavender
Sleep diffuser blend #4
Nice and Slow
2 drops rose oil, 2 clary sage, 2 frankincense
Sleep diffuser blend #5
Mornings in the Garden
3 drops geranium, 3 drops of sweet orange
Sleep diffuser blend #6
Super Chill Pill
3 drops geranium, 3 drops of lavender
Sleep diffuser blend #7
Royal Rest
3 drops of lavender and 3 drops of frankincense
Sleep diffuser blend #8
Sweet Dreams
3 drops of lavender and 3 drops of rose oil
Sleep diffuser blend #9
Funky Fresh
1 drop Clary sage, 2 drops of sweet orange, 3 drops of geranium
Sleep diffuser blend #10
Purple Leather
4 drops of lavender and 2 drops of clary sage
Sleep diffuser blend #11
Splendid Bloom
3 drops of geranium and 3 drops of frankincense
Sleep diffuser blend #12
Fresh Rain
3 drops of lavender, 2 drops of sweet orange, 1 drop Clary sage
Why Do People Use Essential Oil Recipes for Sleep and Anxiety?
Poor sleep and anxiety are two sides of the same dysfunctional coin. We’ve all had nights when anxious thoughts keep us from falling asleep or wake us up prematurely. Then, fatigued the next day, we’re in no position to cope with the anxiety and stressors of our daily lives.
The irony is that anxiety is EXHAUSTING. Our bodies know we need sleep to relieve anxiety, and we need to feel less anxious to get better sleep. Yet, achieving either of those futures is easier said than done.
Enter essential oils. If you’ve ever smelled the powerful aroma of a single essential oil, then you can imagine how potent a blend of oils would be.
Which Essential Oils and Essential Oil Blends are Scientifically Proven?
You know I wouldn’t give you information on health and wellness without sharing the Ancient Egyptians recorded the first documented use of aromatic oils as far back as 4500 BC. Chinese and Indian, then Greek civilizations were the next to incorporate essential oils as aromatherapy for medicinal and aesthetic traditions- all before 400 BC!
Essential oils aren’t all hype. There’s a growing body of scientific research that explores the effect that individual essential oils and various blends have on mood and why!
For a number of reasons (some relating to study quality and design), there is some disagreement in the scientific community about just how effective essential oils can be in treating insomnia and anxiety if at all.
But, the general consensus is that for the essential oils that demonstrate repeated benefit and are considered generally safe, there’s not much to lose in giving them a try.
Let’s look at the evidence for ourselves.
The following is a list of common essential oils and the science showing how they can be helpful with our sleep and anxiety.
1) Lavender Oil
Lavender (Lavandula officinalis)
It belongs to the family of: Lamiaceae,
Lavender might be the most commonly used essential oil in aromatherapy.
It contains the following active compounds: camphor, terpinen-4-ol, linalool, linalyl acetate, beta-ocimene and 1, 8-cineole.
The most interesting compounds:
Linalool is the compound most responsible for lavender’s anti-anxiety and anti-insomnia issues. It’s a sedative, which means it calms your mood and makes you feel tired.
Linalyl acetate is interesting because it has anti-pain effects (like a narcotic). So, this compound might be the perfect solution for the weekend warriors out there whose sore muscles and joints keep them awake at night.
Both Linalool and Linalyl acetate activate your parasympathetic system (the opposite of your fight or flight system).
This calming effect could be especially helpful for anxious people.
Scientific evidence:
Sleep
In one small randomized controlled trial of college students, inhaled lavender had multiple positive effects on sleep. Compared to a placebo of water, inhaling lavender before bed:
1) improved sleep quality
2) improved the sensation of being refreshed the next morning
3) cut down on daytime fatigue
Some evidence suggests that lavender might have a weeks-long effect. Even two weeks after the trial ended, the group that had previously used lavender reported higher sleep quality than the control group.
Anxiety
One study found that a lavender massage relieved pregnant women’s anxiety during their labor. The researchers used an essential oil blend including lavender (plus clary sage, citrus aurantium, and frankincense).
They compared this lavender massage to a massage with non-aromatic carrier oils (control group). Ultimately, they found that women receiving the lavender massage in the first stage of labor had significantly less anxiety in the last stage of labor compared to the control group
2) Geranium Oil: Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens)
It belongs to the family of: Geraniaceae
It contains the following active compounds: citronellol + nerol and geraniol
The most interesting compounds:
Citronellol is the compound in candles that wards away mosquitoes.
Scientific evidence:
Sleep
There’s not much scientific evidence for the effect of geranium on sleep in humans.
Anxiety
In one randomized trial of 100 pregnant women in the earliest stage of labor, inhaled geranium oil significantly reduced anxiety compared to the placebo (water).
Another study compared the anti-anxiety effect of geranium essential oil with orange peel (sweet orange) essential oil- again on 50 women who were in the first stage of labor.
Both geranium and orange peel lowered anxiety within a whopping 20 minutes of inhalation! But, the geranium oil was more effective than the orange oil.
3) Sweet Orange Oil/Orange Peel Essential Oil:
Sweet Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis)
It belongs to the family of: Rutaceae
It contains the following active compounds: Limonene, myrcene, and alpha-pinene, linalool, octanal, and decanal
The most interesting compounds:
Limonene creates a sweet and citrusy smell that could have an awakening effect for some people
Scientific evidence:
Sleep
Sweet orange oil isn’t well-studied for its effects on sleep.
Anxiety
Sweet orange oil has a significant effect on cutting anxiety. In a study of 100 pregnant women undergoing labor, inhaled sweet orange oil significantly reduced anxiety more than the placebo (distilled water)- although the placebo was effective as well.
In another study of 72 men and women, sweet orange oil that was diffused throughout a dental office’s waiting room lowered anxiety compared to the controls, who sat in the waiting room without added aromas. Women in this study seemed to have a better outcome than men.
Sweet orange has some weight behind it, but it’s still batting in the farm leagues when it comes to anxiety. Just a reminder that in the study we discussed earlier with women in labor, sweet orange’s anti-anxiety effect was outperformed by geranium.
4) Rose Oil
Rose Oil (Rosa)
Damask rose is one of the most important species of Rosaceae family.
It belongs to the family of: Rosaceae
Rose oil is developed from rose bushes or vines.
It contains the following active compounds: sytrinol and 2-phenyl ethyl alcohol
The most interesting compounds:
sytrinol and 2-phenyl ethyl alcohol in roses are thought to give rose oil its anti-anxiety capacity.
Scientific evidence:
Sleep
Rose oil hasn’t been studied much in relation to insomnia in humans, but an aqueous formation of rose extract had a hypnotic effect on mice, causing them to sleep sooner- like a Xanax or barbiturate.
Anxiety
There isn’t much evidence of rose oil’s singular effect on anxiety. One study of 48 pregnant women in labor showed that massage with an essential oil blend that included damask rose oil (plus clary sage, geranium, and jasmine) did not have a significant effect on the women’s anxiety levels. https://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO200310103484406.page
5) Clary Sage:
Clary sage (Salvia sclarea)
It belongs to the family of: Lamiaceae
Clary sage oil comes from the clary sage plant (different from the sage herb in your cabinet).
It contains the following active compounds: linalool, linalyl acetate, alpha-terpineol, germacrene D, and geranyl
The most interesting compounds:
Clary sage shares lavender’s sedative and anti-anxiety compounds (linalool and linalyl acetate)
Scientific evidence:
Sleep
There isn’t much scientific evidence examining the effect of clary sage on insomnia in humans. But, remember that two of its active compounds (linalool and linalyl acetate) are also the sleep-inducing compounds in lavender. By activating your parasympathetic system, these chemicals jumpstart the body functions that prepare you for sleep.
Anxiety
Clary sage was included in the rose oil and lavender massage blend) plus bitter orange, and frankincense) that reduced anxiety for pregnant women undergoing labor.
6) Frankincense (olibanum)
Frankincense is distilled from the bark of the Boswelia tree
It belongs to the family of:
It contains the following active compounds:
alpha-pinene, Limonene, alpha-Thujene, and beta-Pinene
The most interesting compounds:
Limonene is a terpene compound that is thought to fight anxiety based on mouse research
Scientific evidence:
Sleep
The effect of frankincense on sleep has been studied primarily using essential oil blends- frankincense plus other oils. In one prospective study of cancer patients, people using an inhaled blend of frankincense, lavender and mandarin orange oil reported improvement in their sleep quality. We can’t rule out placebo effect because there was no control group for comparison.
Anxiety
Like sleep, Frankincense’s independent effect on anxiety is not very well-studied. But, maybe it’s a useful helper. Remember the lavender massage study we’ve discussed a couple times? When frankincense lowered the anxiety levels of pregnant women in labor when it was combined in an essential oil massage blend along with lavender, clary sage and citrus aurantium.
Review: The Essential Oils I Swear by for Sleep and Anxiety
Now, there are 6 essential oils I swear by for relieving anxiety and helping me get a good night’s sleep (based on a combination of personal experience and science).
There are the A-list stars with plenty of scientific support: Lavender and Geranium
Next are the B-listers: Sweet orange oil and its orange cousins.
Last but not least are the supporting characters: Rose Oil, Clary Sage, Frankincense