Botanicals to have the best night’s sleep

The power of sleep should never be underestimated. It is incredibly important for rest, recovery, healing and regenerating– and it can affect your mood and mental health like nothing else.

When it comes to your brain health, sleep is essential. These periods of deep rest allow memories to be processed, helping us function better in our work and social lives, and improving the quality of our mood.

Sleep also plays a huge part in the way our bodies feel. If you are an avid athlete or gym-goer, you know how important rest is for recovery and muscle regeneration– and whenever you are feeling under the weather, sleep is one of the most critical things you can do to heal.

However, drifting off into a peaceful night’s sleep can be easier said than done. If you suffer from anxiety, insomnia or racing thoughts, it can be so frustrating lying awake for hours on end– and it can have a debilitating effect on your mood the next day. If you are looking for a natural way to encourage sleep, ease anxiety and promote relaxation, plants might just have the answer.

The best botanicals to use for sleep

Lavender

Lavender is possibly the most well-known botanical for aiding sleep– and there is a good reason why! This powerful oil is a popular aromatherapy choice for relaxation, with its anxiolytic effects helping to reduce anxiety. Lavender oil helps to increase the time you spend in deep slow-wave sleep, crucial for feeling well-rested.

Nutmeg

This warming spice is known to have a range of healing properties, including aiding in nerve relaxation. Nutmeg helps with serotonin release, inducing sleep– which is why in Ayurvedic medicine, it is recommended to take nutmeg with honey, tea or milk before bedtime.

Ylang Ylang

This yellow, star-shaped flower has a sedative effect, helping to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure rates and heart rate. By slowing the body down, ylang ylang can aid with deep rest and relaxation.

Bergamot

Unusually for a citrus fruit, bergamot helps to achieve a relaxed state rather than an energised one. Similar to ylang ylang, bergamot also helps to slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure ready for a good night’s sleep.

Sandalwood

This rich woody scent can help to ease anxiety symptoms. Sandalwood can have sedative effects, and help to increase amounts of non-REM sleep throughout the night.

Cedarwood

Another earthy woody scent, cedarwood can help to trigger serotonin release. This helps to ease anxiety, encouraging a restful state with its sedative qualities.

How to use botanicals for sleep

You can use one or a blend of the above in your daily routines to help you wind down before bedtime.

There are several ways you can weave them into your life and personal rituals, but here are a few of our favourites:

• Find a herbal tea blend that incorporates sleep-promoting botanicals, and sip a cup an hour before you wind down.
• Light a natural candle in your favourite botanical scent as part of your daily relaxation ritual, to help clear your mind in preparation for sleep.
• Use a sleep spray blend to spritz onto your pillows, blankets or bedding and deeply inhale as you lie down.
• Find botanical bath salts or essential oil bath blends. Run a relaxing warm bath using these and read a book or meditate before sleep.
• Place a botanical reed diffuser in your bedroom, living room or bathroom to promote relaxation throughout the day, helping to calm anxious moods and aid relaxation.

If you feel inspired to weave botanical products into your daily routines and create relaxing atmospheres in your home, you can browse our luxury natural candles and reed diffusers here.

You can also learn more about individual botanicals’ history, biology and cultural significance in our extensive Botanicals library.