Chasing the Monsters Away

Whether it's your little love’s active mind (which means the talking and questions will not quit long enough for the eyes to shut) or fear of a bad dream, try making a Sleepy Time Spray to help your little one sleep. You can make your own or work with a qualified aromatherapist to create a blend that is just right for your family.

When fear is behind the bedtime delays, relaxing and soothing your little one is key. Fear causes a rush of adrenaline, blood vessels contract, senses sharpen, muscles contract – ‘fight or flight’ is not conducive with ‘lay still and relax’.

Spraying your child as well as his or her pillows and sheets a few times before bed will help for a number of reasons:

-Essential oils have physiological effects on our bodies. Choosing oils that are soothing, relaxing, sedative and calming to the mind will counterbalance the physical response to the fear.

-Believing in something has a significant amount of power – if our brains believe we can do it, then mountains do in fact move.

-Routines provide stability, which can calm and soothe anxiety and fear.

Creating a Sleep Spray

Our first spray intended for bedtime was a bit of a fail. Instead of their spray, the boys liked Mommy’s spray much better. Mommy's spray was simply Sweet Grass Hydrosol with a handful of Sandalwood drops. A close runner up was the Attitude Adjuster Spray I created to discourage bad moods (especially while the entire family was confined in small spaces together).

My point, is that whatever you create will likely have multiple applications and uses in your household.

Start your blending process with your intentions. For us, it is to:

Relax

Soothe

Trigger happy memories of snuggly sleep routines

Provide closure and the end to the questions or story telling

There are so many oils that will have the above effect, so you have a lot of room for personal preferences. The last time we blended, all I did was suggest some oils, the amounts of drops and the boys did the rest. Ohh, and I was in charge of set up and clean up of course.

Here are some oils to consider*– Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), Myrrh, Neroli, Orange, Roman Chamomile, Sandalwood, Spikenard, Vetiver and Ylang Ylang

Remember Creating a Smoother Bedtime post has good suggestions about routines and other essential oil blends to help with bedtime.

Making your blend

With or without your child’s supervision (aka their input and help), gather your supplies

For our recent blends, we used:

1oz spray bottle (1 per child can be a good idea)

1oz Sweet Grass hydrosol (water is a great substitute)

½ -1 tsp aloe vera  (this is needed if you want to spray on your body - oils should not be applied to the skin without a carrier oil)

2 drops of Lavender

2 drops of Ylang Ylang

1 drop of Neroli/Petigrain

1 drop of Myrrh

Shake it well before every use.

At bedtime, try one spray around the face area (ask your little one to close his/her eyes first), a spray for each pillow and sometimes a spray for the stuffed friends sharing the bed.

FYI – this works for adults too! When brains are whirling and refuse to shut down, spray your face and neck as well as your linens. Climb back into bed, take a deep breaths and let the relaxation take over.

Wishing everyone Sweet dreams!

*It is important to use high quality oils.

I highly recommend only buying oils from a distributor that provides the GC/MS. This is the scientific analysis/report that categorizes the chemical components in the oil – ensuring that it is natural, not synthetic as well as that your oils was not diluted or the crop wasn’t sprayed with any pesticides or fertilizers.

Creating a smoother bedtime

Bedtime with little ones can be challenging at best. If bad dreams and worries are added to the mix, then it’s almost unbearable. The more tired all in the family become, the shorter the tempers and more frustrated all involved become.

Here are some relatively simple things to try. I say ‘relatively’ because not much feels easy when it comes to being tired and frustrated and the crying and whining keeps escalating. Been there!

Keep a routine. Remember, that while young children cannot tell time, their bodies benefit from routine and repetition. Follow the same pattern every night (even on the weekends) and timing of the activities. If dinner is at 6:00 keep it as close to 6:00 as possible every night especially while you are establishing your routine.

Suggestion - Try working backward from bedtime. If bedtime is 7:30, here is a sample nighttime routine:

Snuggles & bed

7:10 - Story time

7:05 - Brush teeth

6:45 - Bath time

Dinner clean up

6:00 - Dinner

Play & fun time

5:30 - Home from school & work

Obviously, no person's life is ever exactly on schedule, and this is a guide that leaves room for more time to deal with crying and arguing because ‘Yes, you have to have your hair washed’ and the naked child that is running around refusing pjs.

Adding essential oils to your regular routine. When you need extra help to soothe and settle down try adding in essential oils. You can add a few drops of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) to the bath and/or to the lotion.

Make it yourself        

Add a drop of Lavender to a palm full of body wash

Add a drop of Ylang Ylang to a palm full of unscented lotion and rub down after bath time.

Using “sleepy spray" or a linen spray. Right before bed, spray your little love’s face (eyes closed) and/or pillows. After a while the smell itself will trigger thoughts and memories of being sleepy and snuggled into bed. Soon, your kids will be reminding you that it is time for their Sleepy Spray. The ingredients themselves will have a physiological effect helping the body relax.

This is great to use in the middle of the night if bad dreams send them running your way. Spray more on your child and on the pillows. Good smell for us, yucky smell for monsters and bad dreams.

Make it yourself        

Choose oils that are sedative – i.e. Lavender, Ylang Ylang or Sandalwood

RECIPE suggestion

1oz spray bottle

1 oz water (or Lavender hydrosol)

5-6 drops of Lavender

Buying oils or products from the store

Quality products with essential oils can be found commercially. Just be careful and be wary. Just because the packaging says ‘essential oils’ does not always mean that they truly have natural essential oils. Look at the list of ingredients. When there is a long list and it is primarily comprised of chemical names, put it down and look for something else. Another thing to be wary of is when it says ‘fragrance oils’ because those are typically synthetically created and while they smell good, they will not have a physiological effect on the body.

**Unless you are working with a trusted medical professional or aromatherapist, it’s best to use essential oils on toddlers and older children, not infants and babies. With infants and babies, you can still spray the linens and into the air. Another good idea is putting the lotion with essential oils (i.e. lavender) on mom or dad and then snuggle with your baby. Everyone involved settles down and relaxes.

Wishing you a calmer bedtime full of snuggles and sleepy children!