Insomnia affects millions of us every night. Your struggles with sleep may be due to a number of factors, including stress, your diet, your nighttime routine, your sleep environment, and your physical wellness. You can improve the quality of your sleep, which will have a significant impact on your overall health and well-being, with a few simple lifestyle changes and using essential oils to help you relax.

In addition to avoiding stimulants like caffeine and limiting your screen time before going to bed at night, essential oils like cedarwood can help you feel sleepy faster and stay asleep longer. By using cedarwood for aromatherapy at bedtime, you can calm your mind, relax your body, and set the conditions for a peaceful, restful night’s sleep.

What is Cedarwood Oil?

Cedarwood essential oils are extracted from the wood of cedar trees. There are four distinct cedar tree species on the planet, including the Himalayan Cedarwood, the Atlas Cedarwood, the Texan Cedarwood, and the Virginian or Eastern Red Cedarwood. The essential oils known as cedarwood are generally extracted from the common Eastern Red cedar.

Cedarwood oils are believed to be some of the very first essential oils to be distilled, with records showing their use in ancient times to create medicines, incense, and early forms of cosmetics. The resin and bark from cedar trees have been used by Ayurvedic medicine practitioners for centuries to treat all types of ailments and maladies. Cedarwood oils are rich in compounds that have numerous health benefits. These include cedrol, sesquiterpenes, thujopsene, alpha-cedrene, beta-cedrene, and widdrol.

Among its many benefits, cedarwood essential oil is a natural sedative. It can be used to treat insomnia and other forms of sleeplessness. When you smell the scent of cedarwood, your body naturally releases serotonin, which becomes converted in the brain to melatonin, a compound that encourages sleep and a restful mind.

Using Cedarwood Oil for Insomnia

Aromatherapy is an excellent strategy for insomnia. Scents can affect your physical as well as psychological wellness, and using essential oils like cedarwood can help calm and relax you as you prepare for bed at night. The best use for cedarwood essential oil to treat your insomnia is to place a few drops of it into your favorite room diffuser at bedtime. To boost the effectiveness of this oil, try adding a few drops of lavender essential oil, as well. These natural sedatives work well together to promote better sleep.

You can also spray a few drops of cedarwood essential oil mixed with water directly onto your pillow or bed linens. You will inhale the aroma all night as you sleep. You can also mix cedarwood oil with the carrier oil of your choice, then massage this into your body before bedtime.

Other Uses for Cedarwood Essential Oil

In addition to treating insomnia, cedarwood oil is excellent for treating a number of other problems. If you plan to purchase cedarwood oil to help you sleep better, it is good to know its other uses. Cedarwood oil can be used to treat skin conditions like eczema, to help with dry scalp, to promote hair growth, to relieve pain from arthritis, to relieve a cough, to reduce stress, and to fight fungal infections. Including cedarwood essential oil in your natural remedy arsenal means you will be prepared for many issues, not just insomnia.

If you are taking prescription medications, especially for sleep, talk with your doctor before using essential oils at bedtime. Some compounds in oils can interfere with or lower the effectiveness of certain medicines. While aromatherapy is generally safe, if you have known allergies to specific plants, you should test your oils before use at bedtime to ensure no reaction.