Another prominent player in sleepytime tea blends, valerian is widely recognized for its calming, sedative effect. Beyond helping you feel grounded and tranquil enough to drift off to sleep, valerian essential oil might also improve the quality of your sleep.

It doesn’t smell as pleasant as other oils. If you’re diffusing it, combining it with a scent like lavender or vanilla can help mask it. Otherwise, you can get it in pill form or as part of a blend of tea. Whichever way you choose to use it, valerian will help you fall asleep if that’s a struggle for you.

Best essential oils for sleep

• Lavender. Lavender works to calm anxiety and offers sedative effects.
• Chamomile. Chamomile is known to be calming, reducing stress.
• Bergamot.
• Clary Sage.
• Valerian.
• Sandalwood.
• Ylang ylang.
• Jasmine.

Dosage and Preparation It is usually best to take a dose 30 minutes or two hours before bedtime. Valerian essential oil is mainly used for aromatherapy and is not intended for internal use. Even food-grade essential oils used for flavoring should never be taken by mouth.

How to use: Add a few drops of valerian oil to an aromatherapy diffuser and inhale. Valerian may make you sleepy or relaxed. Best used for: In addition to its uses for sleep and anxiety, valerian can also be used to help with headache, trembling, and heart palpitations.

Valerian essential oil is often used for relaxation in topical blends or aromatherapy, and blends well with lavender, pine, or rosemary.

The HMPC concluded that, on the basis of its long-standing use, valerian essential oil can be used for relief of mild symptoms of mental stress and to aid sleep. Valerian essential oil medicines should be used only in adults and adolescents over the age of 12 years.

Though not guaranteed, anxiety and insomnia sufferers may benefit from taking valerian root extract daily. It also may result in fewer side effects than traditional medications for anxiety or insomnia, making it a suitable potential treatment for many people.

For insomnia, valerian may be taken 1 to 2 hours before bedtime, or up to 3 times in the course of the day, with the last dose near bedtime. It may take a few weeks before the effects are felt.

Various compounds present in valerian are metabolized through different mechanisms and at different rates, further complicating its use. However, it is apparent that clinical effects generally wear off after about 4–6 hours.