How to Get a Better Night's Sleep

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The biggest physical complain I hear from my friends and women in my family is that they aren't getting good quality sleep. Some have kids who wake them up and then it takes forever to go back to sleep. Others can't fall asleep to begin with. Two are going into their last trimester of pregnancy and have to pee all night long.

Lack of good sleep is a "public health epidemic," according to the Centers for Disease Control. A study they conducted in 2009 found that 28% of Americans reported falling asleep unintentionally in the last month. That's a lot of people needing a good night's sleep.

People who consistently sleep less than 7 hours per night report all the following problems:

• Trouble concentrating on things
• Inability to remember things
• No interest in working on hobbies
• Higher risk of car crashes
• Higher risk of job-related errors (things like medical malpractice and manufacturing accidents, as well as clerical and other mistakes)
• Higher incidence of hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, and cancer
• Reduced immune response
• Decreased life expectancy

I know from personal experience that I am less pleasant, less patient, and generally annoyed when I'm too tired. I'm not the mom or the wife I want to be when I'm too tired.

The National Institutes of Health suggests that school-age children need at least 10 hours of sleep daily, teens need 9-10 hours, and adults need 7-8 hours.

I do not personally have trouble falling asleep at night (thanks to narcolepsy and some of my bipolar meds), but my kids used to protest bedtimes with all their energy. Thanks to an oily regimen*, they now go right to sleep. In fact, it's rare that they're still awake 15 minutes after heading into their room – even after an abnormally long or late afternoon nap. It's like magic.

*We rub lavender on their pillows and diffuse 3 drops each lavender and Peace & Calming oils in the bedroom.

13 Tips for Getting a Better Night's Sleep

1. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every night, even on the weekends.
2. Get rid of the screens in your bedroom: TV, phone, and laptop. Anything that is backlit is stimulating to your brain and will prevent you from going to sleep. Books are fine, of course, as are unlit e-readers (like the basic, plain Jane Kindle).
3. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine close to bedtime.
4. Exercise every day.
5. Practice a nightly bedtime ritual – the same set of calming steps you do every night before bed.
6. Combine any one of the following oils with ¼ cup Epsom salts and mix into a warm bath just before bed. Follow with one or more of the following.
7. Diffuse Lavender and Peace & Calming oils from Young Living Essential Oils for about 10 minutes before bedtime and 2-3 hours after. (Both of these oils and a diffuser come in the Premium Starter Kit.)
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8. Rub one drop of Peace & Calming and two drops of lavender oil on the back of your neck (and down your spine if you have someone who can help).
9. Put a drop of Lavender on your palm and rub your pillow with it.
10. Rub Joy on your feet and diffuse it 3 drops of it with 3 drops of Peace & Calming in the bedroom. (Both of these oils and a diffuser come in the Premium Starter Kit.)
11. Rub RutaVaLa oil on the soles of your feet. (This one is not in the Starter Kit, but wholesale members get 24% off additional orders.)
12. Roll Stress Away oil on the back of your neck, up to the backs of your ears. (Stress Away comes in a roller bottle in the Premium Starter Kit.)
13. Apply and/or diffuse Valor, Tranquil, Cedarwood, Valerian, or Citrus Fresh in the bedroom when you go to bed. (Valor and a diffuser come in the Premium Starter Kit.)

Once you find your perfect oil or combination of oils, you can rub them on your body (usually on the soles of your feet, behind your ears, and/or on the insides of your wrists) and diffuse it/them at the same time.

If you aren't crazy about the scent of the oils that work best, you can always rub the oil on your feet and put on a pair of socks. That will dampen the smell for the most part.

The nice thing about Young Living's diffusers is that they have built-in timers. The Home Diffuser runs for 2-3 hours and the Aroma Diffuser can be set to run for 4 hours. If you wake up, you can always re-oil and reset the diffuser.

 What do you do to improve the quality of your sleep?

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The products discussed are not meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Views expressed are from an Independent Distributor, not a medical professional, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Young Living Essential Oils. Views expressed only apply to Young Living Essential Oils (not other essential oil brands). Individual results may vary.