Tricks to help you sleep better

Aromatherapy and use of essential oils has manifold benefits but studies have shown topmost successful benefits are in enhancing your mood, relieving stress and calming you down. Lavender essential oil is one of the most studied essential oils in terms of its relaxing effects. One study found that lavender oil aromatherapy calmed the nervous system—lowering blood pressure, heart rate, and skin temperature as well as changing brain waves to a more relaxed state. 

Lavender can also help with mild insomnia and provide better quality of sleep. Lavender aromatherapy massage has also been found to help reduce anxiety and depression in women with postpartum depression. 

It is also backed by research that shows that the scent of lavender eases anxiety and insomnia. In a study done at Britain's University of Southampton, researchers tracked the sleep patterns of 10 adults. For a week, half of the participants slept in a room where lavender essential oil was diffused in the air throughout the night; the rest snoozed in a similar room where a placebo--sweet almond oil--was released. After a week, the groups switched rooms. At the end of the study, the volunteers ranked the quality of their sleep 20% better on average when in the lavender-scented room.

Psychologists at Wesleyan University asked 31 men and women to sniff lavender essential oil one night--and then distilled water the next--for four 2-minute periods just before bedtime. The researchers monitored their sleep cycles with brain scans. On the night they whiffed the herb, subjects slept more soundly; they also felt more energetic the next morning.

The researchers found that lavender increased slow-wave sleep, the very deep slumber in which the heartbeat slows and muscles relax. During this phase, the brain is thought to organize memory, as well. Lavender could be your best friend in getting a good night's sleep. 

Sprinkle a few drops of Lavender essential oil on a piece of tissue and tuck it under your pillow. Better still use an aromatherapy diffuser with the lavender essential oil.