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March 2, 2025

Happy Sunday, Reader!

Goodness, it's March already! It's a good luck month!

In today's note, we'll discuss sleep, stress, and why it matters.

Did you know that 60 to 70 million Americans have difficulty sleeping, and 30% to 40% report insomnia? That's around 1 in 5 adults at any given time.

Accompanying issues include sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome (RLS), and even narcolepsy (falling asleep at random times). Sleep disorders occur more often with age, and women are more affected than men in general.

Getting enough consistently good sleep helps you think more clearly and logically, feel great, and improve immune function, among other things. Healthy and consistent sleep enables you to maintain a healthy weight, supports heart health, and improves social interactions.

If that's not enough, great sleep helps children and teens to grow and develop properly, boosts our muscle mass, and lowers the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Wow! That's quite the case for getting consistent, healthy sleep.

Did you know?

Studies show us that even just ONE night of poor sleep makes us:

• 60% more emotionally reactive- most of us cry or get angry when we react---never good things
• 30% more anxious and debilitated by stress
• less enthusiastic
• more negative

So, what can we do about this?

There are a few things, like exercise during the day, breathing techniques, meditation, medicinal herbs (valerian, California poppy, skullcap, passion flower, wood betony, and others), and of course....

Aromatherapy!

Aromatherapy is the quickest and easiest to implement of all the possible helpers I listed above. There's also a pleasure factor (scent) involved. These all make using essential oils for sleep a no-brainer.

Essential oils can help:

• Calm and relax our body and mind
• Provide mild sedation and slow the nervous system
• Lower stress and anxious feelings and worry
• Promote feelings of peace and tranquility
• Create a soothing sleep environment
• Signal our brain that it's time to rest
• Regulate our sleep cycle, even affecting certain hormones such as serotonin
• Reduce any discomforts we feel at night, such as pains and respiratory issues
• Support a healthy pre-bedtime sleep routine

Here are my top essential oils for sleep:

1) Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) induces relaxation of the mind and eases anxiety

2) Clary sage (Salvia sclarea) is terrific paired with lavender as it has a similar chemical make-up, and it has the added bonus of helping with the balance of female hormones

3) Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is my favorite for working with children. Adults often take to it very well, too, and it smells like an apple!

4) Sweet marjoram (Origanum majorana) is a "green" scented essential oil with strong sedative properties. Clinical studies prove it's helpful for those with hypertension, too.

5) Frankincense (Boswellia spp.) is grounding and relaxing to the mind. It strongly promotes peaceful feelings.

6) Spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) has been a great helper for me. Sometimes, if I wake in the middle of the night, I'll inhale it right from the bottle. It has a deep, smoky scent.

7) Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) is calming and uplifts my mood. I find it exceptional during sleep difficulties due to worry.

8) Black spruce (Picea mariana) is high in an ester compound called Bornyl Acetate, which is exceptionally calming to the nervous system. Since it's an evergreen, it also supports the respiratory system, opening up passages.

9) Tangerine/Mandarin (Citrus reticulata) is excellent for bringing calm, peace, and restfulness while also uplifting spirits and mood

10) Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) has a sweet, deep, rich aroma that calms and grounds.

Being a post-menopausal woman myself, I have used the following blend nightly for years and years now to help me sleep peacefully and even get back to sleep if I wake up:

Combine: Equal parts lavender (hormone-balancing), clary sage (hormone-balancing), tangerine (uplifting), and patchouli (soothes and calms). Shake well.

I drop one or two drops into my palms, rub them together, then "cup" them over my nose for several deep and slow inhales. It works like a charm!

Other ways to use aromatherapy at bedtime are in a pillow spray or an inhaler by the bed, topically diluted in unscented lotion on your neck and shoulders before bed, diffusing in your bedroom about 30 minutes before bedtime, and even taking a bath with calming essential oils diluted in some carrier oil.

Enjoy!

Isn't it a blessing that God has given us these fantastic medicinal plants?

"Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing." ---Ezekiel 47:12

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Do you have my free guide: How to Relax Using Herbs and Oils?

This 22-page guide provides helpful information on how to de-stress, reduce worry and anxiety, and sleep better. It includes recipes and remedies you can start making right away. It's been a very popular little guide!

It's been a while since I released this free guide, so if you haven't received yours, now's the time! Just click the link or banner below, and I'll send it to you.

Please use the same email to receive my notes—that way, you won't receive duplicate notes.

And please forward this along to a friend who may need this information, too!

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I hope you have a beautiful and blessed day as we head into March. Spring is nearly here!

Here's a recipe for beautiful Cocoa-Tangerine Lotion Bars that will soothe your late-winter skin, too!

Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

P.S. Don't forget! Sharing is caring, so please forward this note along!

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The Aromatherapy Specialist Certification Program proudly sponsors this note!

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