Aromatherapy treats mind and body together. The scent of the essential oils used can have a powerful effect on the emotions while the oils’ chemistry affects the body. There are many essential oils that can be used to help you relax or make it easier to get to sleep there are a few that are particularly good in fulfilling those needs.

Here is a description of each scent that make you sleep better:

1. Lavender – helps sooth and calm nerves, reduces tension, insomnia, headaches, and depression. Effects of lavender: Calming, Therapeutic

2. Bergamot comes from citrus fruit rind. It does its job by relieving stress and enabling the subject to relax. It has a lovely citrus scent that will make you feel refreshed and give you that sense of well-being. Interestingly bergamot is the main ingredient in earl grey tea.

3. Sweet Marjoram – helps treat anxiety, headaches, and insomnia. Effects of Sweet Marjoram : Soothing, Warming

4. Roman Chamomile – help relaxation, reduces excessive anxiety, and treats insomnia

Effects: Soothing, Relaxing

5. Sandalwood – promotes relaxation, beneficial for depression, stress, nervous tension, and insomnia Effects of Sandalwood: Warming, Relaxing

6. Mandarin - has two different types of oil, one green and the other red. It has several advantages one of which is that it is gentle enough that you can use it with children as well as adults. Interesting the scent is closer to that of a bergamot oil and less like the tangerine it’s expected to smell like. Mandarin oil is a very successful treatment for sleep difficulties almost rivaling lavender.

7. Clary Sage – helps sooth, relax, and uplift the spirit.

Effects: Warming

8. Jasmine – helps sooth and relax, very beneficial for depression, insomnia, nervous tension, and stress

Effects of Jasmine: Soothing, Relaxing

9. Rosalina would be a mild and effective change for those not fond of Lavender or just tired of it. Rosalina is sometimes called “Lavender Tea Tree.”

10. Sandalwood does indeed come from wood. To get the right intensity of oil from the trees they must be at least forty years old, but the older the better and a tree eighty years old will produce better oils. Sandalwood is a calming agent; it relieves nervous tension and helps you relax.

Occasional side-effects of Aromatherapy: essential oils are very concentrated and some cause irritation if applied directly to the skin. They should always be diluted in a vegetable carrier oil before being applied to the skin. Contact with the eyes should also be avoided to prevent irritation. Some citrus oils can increase the skin’s sensitivity to light, making it more prone to pigmentation.