Insomnia is a condition in which the affected person experiences difficulty in initiating and/or maintaining sleep. It means that either you are unable to fall asleep when you go to bed or wake up during the night and are unable to get back to sleep.
Sleep disorders may occur due to medical or psychiatric reasons. Insomnia is not a disease, it is just a symptom. Most people suffer from insomnia at some point or the other during their lives. Insomnia can affect people of any age group. Broadly, insomnia it be classified into the following categories depending upon the degree of sleeplessness:
- If the sleep disorder lasts for a week or lesser, it is termed as Transient Insomnia.
- If the condition lasts for less than a month, it is categorized as Acute Insomnia.
- The third and most serious condition is chronic insomnia in which the disorder lasts more than one month.
The major causes of insomnia are anxiety and stress, both of which are very common in today’s fast paced lives. Stress can result in transient insomnia, whereas chronic Insomnia may be due to physical disorders.
Essential oils can be used for the treatment of insomnia. However, if you suffer from acute or chronic insomnia, do consult your doctor, as these conditions suggest deeper underlying problems that need to be addressed by a medical professional. For the treatment of insomnia, the following essential oils are used in aromatherapy:
- Marjoram Oil: It has a very soothing and sedative effect and is widely used for curing insomnia. Simply open the cap of the jar containing the oil and place it besides your bed while going to sleep. Its sedative effect helps in making you fall asleep. It is also useful in curing snoring and breathing disorders.
- Lavender Essential Oil: This is another wonderful essential oil for insomnia treatment. The pleasant aroma of lavender oil is very calming. It has a soothing effect on the nerves and helps in keeping blood pressure normal. Lavender oil has excellent anti depressant properties. Due to these characteristics it finds wide use in treating insomnia.
- Melissa Essential Oil: Melissa oil also has wonderful relaxing properties. It is very useful in treating sleeplessness, especially if it is caused by worry and stress.
- Agarwood Essential Oil: This is a wonderful oil that has a divine sedative aroma. Simply apply a drop of the oil on any object in your bed room before going to sleep and you will experience great relief from stress and experience blissful sleep.