Promoting Sleep with Aromatherapy Massage

By Nyssa Hanger, MA, LMT, RYT
July 12, 2016

Promoting Sleep with Aromatherapy Massage

By Nyssa Hanger, MA, LMT, RYT
July 12, 2016

One of the most common contributing factors to stress that I see in my massage practice is inadequate sleep. When our clients are not getting enough sleep, they are missing out on major recharging opportunities for their body and mind.

One side effect of not enough sleep is being tired during the day. As an aromatherapy educator, I find that many students are often quick to choose stimulant essential oils like Basil (Ocimum basilicum), Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis), or Peppermint (Mentha piperita) to help with this issue. I always remind them that fatigue is a symptom of poor sleep and to not forget that in holistic aromatherapy we want to work toward treating the root of the issue, not just the individual symptoms. The trick with treating fatigue is not in shortcutting the natural remedy of sleep by using more stimulating scents during the day, but in finding ways to help the body get what it really needs through the night.

Massage on its own is can encourage a healthy sleep cycle, but when we add the element of aromatherapy, we can enhance the ability for our treatment to help our clients get better sleep. Sedative essential oils are my number one choice to use during a massage; most of my massage blends feature sedative oils. At the top of my list is Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), as I'm sure many aromatherapy and massage therapists would agree. Lavender has long been the go-to essential oil for relaxation and sedation both inside and outside the treatment room. It is almost universally appealing, is one of the safest oils, and has several other medicinal benefits like being anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-spasmodic.

For me, lavender also elicits an emotional response, as well as its therapeutic properties. Growing up with a mother who is both a massage and aromatherapist, I knew the scent of lavender well even as a young girl. It was what we used most often in my nightly baths and occasional massages. My first aromatherapy massage came when I had chicken pox and my mom used a lavender massage blend to soothe the bites. After a few more aromatherapy massages with lavender, it became the soothing scent of being cared for and loved. These experiences have helped shape my affinity for this oil to this day. This type of learned association with a scent is something we can create for our clients that could help them to get a better night's rest.

Not only do essential oils help with calming the mind and promoting sleep through their own individual properties, but they can also be utilized to create a treatment for home as well. Smell and memory are wired in the brain in a way that allows us to "pair" a state of mind with a scent and then use that scent later to recall the state. This is what is called a learned-odor response. When we use a scent in the treatment room with our clients, we are helping to establish a connection between the feelings of comfort, care, and relaxation with the scents that are present during the treatment.

When I am working with clients who want to use massage and aromatherapy to help promote better sleep, I will first decide on a blend to use during the session. As I stated previously, lavender is a great place to start but the best is to combine lavender with several other scents to create a unique blend. If I only used lavender, then there is a chance that the client's memory will pull up other memories of lavender instead of the particular response I am working to create. The more unique the scent, the greater chance we can create a strong response.

Here are some of my favorite oils to consider for personalized sleep blends:

  • Sweet Marjoram (Origanum marjorana) - I find marjoram to be a more powerful sedative than lavender, but as a part of the oregano family, it has more of a herbaceous aroma. Blended with lavender, it can be quite an effective sedative with a soft and pleasant scent.
  • Sandalwood (Santalum album) - This is a very deep scent which also blends well with lavender and might be most helpful with clients that need grounding or have a particularly hard time shutting off the mind.
  • German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita or chamomilia) - The deep scent of this floral oil accompanies its dark blue color and brings great anti-inflammatory properties to a sedative blend.
  • Roman Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis or Chamaemelum nobile) - Though both Chamomiles share similar properties, this one tends to be more anti-spasmodic. Blended together, they make a wonderful all-purpose massage blend that is also sedating.
  • Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea) - This bright and sometimes strong scent can be helpful when clients suffer from depression. It is also one I turn to for female clients that suffer issues with menstruation.
  • Petitgrain (Citrus aurantium) - Extracted from the leaves of orange trees, this oil is a great alternative to its much more expensive sister from the orange blossom, called neroli (Citrus aurantium). It has a similar effect to lavender partly due to sharing a major chemical constituent, linalool.

My favorite blend to start with for sleep is a 1-to-1 ratio of lavender and marjoram. It is simple and seems to work well for many of my clients. For particularly challenging cases or when a client requests a different or more personalized blend, I will turn to several of the oils listed above. The client is typically present at the time of blending and many clients feel honored to have their own special blend made for them. First, we create a blend with the essential oils we've chosen and then dilute in our carrier oil of choice. My usual carrier is fractionated coconut oil, but many other options are also available like jojoba or almond oil. We will use this blend during their session and design the massage with relaxing techniques such as effleurage, gentle movements, and perhaps energy work.

The client then receives some of the blend to take home and they are encouraged to use it before bedtime. I remind the client that it would be best if it is also coupled with other techniques that help to promote sleep. Things like reducing or avoiding caffeine and/or sugar close to bedtime, shutting down electronic devices, and ending the night with gentle stretching, light reading and a mindful relaxation practice can help as well. Maybe even enjoy the blend in a warm bath before bed.

It might take several sessions to deepen the connection between the scent and relaxation depending on the client, their compliance, and the particulars of their condition. But don't be surprised if your clients get attached to their sleepy time scent; I've had many report that they use it every night. Clients are so grateful to get help in addressing one of their most basic needs, sleep, and love to be able to a take a piece of their massage session home in their own aromatherapy blend.