Is your baby not sleeping through the night? These essential oils for baby sleep might help to get them a sound sleep.
Even with a long list of benefits, essential oils are not backed up with a lot of research when it comes to babies. However, people who use it, swear by the benefits of essential oils to help babies sleep. Get to know how and when to use these miracle essential oils for baby sleep to give them a relaxing night.
Essential Oils for Baby Sleep
Calming, soothing, and relaxing in properties, essential oils can prove to be very beneficial for your babies, especially to relieve colic symptoms and encourage sound sleep. However, understanding the dilution ratio, application methods, and effects of the essential oil is extremely important. There are some general precautions you should follow when using essential oils for babies. These include ensuring the oils are diluted (since the natural form is very potent), introducing them through aromatherapy (using diffusers), using authentic oils without any chemicals, and not using them on babies younger than three months of age. Get your safety guide and all the other details you might want to know about using essential oils for your baby here.
Essential Oils for Baby Sleep
Understanding why your baby is not able to sleep is vital to help them. Therefore, let’s understand how essential oil helps resolve issues that would lead to a sound sleep. Here is a list of oils that can help you to put your baby to a better night’s sleep.
1. Lavender Essential Oil
Essential oils have been known to treat stomach aches and gastric issues in adults. Studies suggest that lavender essential oil can treat colic symptoms in infants as well. In addition to that, the essential oil has soothing properties that calm down the baby and reduce anxiety caused by skin irritations or colic symptoms. Therefore, diluted lavender oil massage relaxes a fussy baby and can help him/her sleep better.
2. Mandarin Essential Oil
Mandarin essential oil has similar soothing properties as lavender. It is also among the essential oils that can be used for very young infants, making it an effective sleep remedy for babies.
3. Chamomile Essential Oil
A useful option for adults, chamomile essential oil, is also a safe alternative that can provide the same sedative and relaxing effects to infants, especially Roman chamomile oil. An effective sleep remedy, adding a few drops of this essential oil in your baby’s warm bath before bed can help them with a sound sleep. You can also use Roman chamomile oil in a diffuser for similar results.
How to Use the Essential Oils for Baby Sleep
1. Massage
A gentle massage of diluted essential oil with warm sunflower oil (carrier oil) is an excellent way to introduce the essential oil benefits to your baby. Start the massage from the foot, with just enough pressure to move skin gently. For the torso, make small circles with fingertips and spread your hands in outward motion like gently flattening a book.
2. In a Bath
Just add a few drops of the essential oil to a warm bath. Give your baby a soothing bath; however, keep away the water from the baby’s face.
3. In a Bedtime Diffuser
In addition to providing a soothing color to the room for your baby, bedtime diffusers can help your baby sleep better. Even as aromatherapy works wonders for the babies, there are a few severe precautions you have to follow with diffusers. Make sure the nursery has proper ventilation. Also, make sure you are not using the diffusers every day or all night long.
Note: Keep the oils away from the baby and make sure they are not ingested in any way. That can pose some serious harmful effects on the baby’s health. Speak to your baby’s doctor if in doubt.
