Ever since my first son arrived with his powerful lungs and energetic personality, me and sleep have not been best friends. Not by choice, of course, but our nights have gone something like this for the last 8+ years: fall asleep, wake up because some needs help going to the bathroom, fall back asleep, wake up because baby needs to nurse/have a diaper change/cry, go back to sleep, wake up because someone had a bad dream, go back to sleep, wake up because “how is it morning already.”
Now with five children, getting good sleep hasn’t gotten any easier. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade one sleep-deprived second of having our five little ones, but I did want to find ways to promote better sleep for everyone in the family. (Since long philosophical discussions with newborns about the importance of sleep for health haven’t worked to date.)
A Natural Remedy for Better Sleep…
One thing that I’ve been using for the last year or so that has made a noticeable difference in our sleep quality is a homemade natural sleep spray.
It has a variety of natural ingredients that help promote restful sleep and the fact that it has “sleepytime” in the name doesn’t hurt either (placebo works 30+ percent of the time, but if that helps me sleep, I’ll take it!)
All joking aside, I really have noticed a difference with my own sleep quality and in how long/deep my children sleep since using this.
Healthy Ingredients to Promote Better Sleep
The ingredients for this recipe evolved over time and I’ve finally found the combination that seems to work best for us. It is:
- Magnesium Oil – I’ve written about my own magnesium deficiency before and how using magnesium on my skin (transdermally) helped a lot. Magnesium oil is often very helpful for promoting sleep but can cause tingling on the skin, especially if a person is deficient, so it wasn’t the best all-over remedy for children. The solution I found was to apply a small amount to the feet only before bed and put socks on the kids. The feet are tougher and didn’t seem to tingle like the rest of the body did, and this helped improve sleep. Also, I don’t like giving children isolated nutrients internally, so this was a way for them to absorb what they needed without getting too much. You can buy pre-made magnesium oil (easier) or make your own magnesium oil at home (cheaper). Also, since I always get asked- yes, I realize it is not actually an “oil” but it is called magnesium oil because it feels like an oil when you apply it.
- Lavender Essential Oil – Lavender is considered a calming herb and it helps promote restful sleep. I only use it diluted in recipes like this and even a small amount can have a potent effect on children, so I’m careful not to use much. (I buy my essential oils in bulk from here)
- Chamomile Essential Oil – Another calming herb. Chamomile tea is often suggested before bed or during times of stress to help calm and promote sleep. In essential oil form, it is extremely potent and helpful for promoting sleep. (I buy my essential oils in bulk from here)
I’ve also found that for drier skin, using a homemade magnesium body butter recipe like this one and adding lavender and chamomile essential oils is an effective way to get the same result while moisturizing skin. This version is also less likely to sting at all.
Foot Spray Ingredients Needed
- 4 ounces of magnesium oil (buy it here or make your own with this recipe)
- 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil (or more if desired) I get mine here
- 10 drops Roman Chamomile Essential oil (or more if desired) I get mine here
Foot Spray Instructions
- Pour all ingredients into a 4 ounce or larger glass spray bottle and shake gently to mix.
- A bigger spray bottle can be used if desired and the recipe can be doubled or tripled.
- Will yield 24-48 applications (or more) depending on how much is used each time.
Other Sleep Tips
I’ve found that optimizing sleep environment also goes a long way toward improving sleep. Here are some things that worked for us:
- Ditching the nightlight for our children
- Practical tips to improve sleep naturally
- Guide to getting great sleep checklist
- Why sleep is the most important thing you can do for your health
How do you sleep? Ever tried natural remedies to help you sleep more easily? Share them below!
I am. Erykah allergic to lavender what are some other essential oils that help with sleep?
What can I use in place of Lavender oil? I have a reaction to it
Thank you in advance for your time.
Those conversations never worked on mine as newborns either… 😉 This sounds interesting – another one of your recipes I’m going to have to try!! I tried your coconut milk shampoo last night for the first time and so far I really like it!
Would this spray be okay to use for a 4 week old baby?
Thanks
Can you use German Chamomile instead of Roman Chamomile?
I usually just use straight lavender, either on the soles of the feet or in a diffuser and I’ve found that helps me out a lot. I try to take epsom salt baths for magnesium, but this is a great way to get it in and not use so much water (we’re in a drought here!).
I have been using magnesium gel on my boys’ feet for several months now, followed by a foot salve with cinnamon, lemon, lavender and frankincense (all ideas/recipes that I got from your website and tweaked to my personal preferences…). That combined with warm milk with a few drops of chamomile tincture (store bought for now, but starting my own this weekend) and honey seems to help us all get a better night’s sleep. I also add epsom salt to their bath each night to help their bodies settle. Both boys inevitably end up on either side of me by morning, but that is my favourite part of the day! Having two boys on the autism spectrum has been challenging, but the knowledge I have been gaining from your website has been helping me to create wonderful routines and healthy choices that really seem to be helping us cope with everything in a whole new way. Thank you!
Currently I apply your magnesium body butter to my kids’ feet and then for the youngest, I rub a roller bottle with chamomile and fractionated coconut oil on her feet and for my oldest, I rub a roller bottle with lavender, chamomile, vetiver, and fractionated coconut oil on her feet. Do you think this sleep spray would be more or equally effective?
I love this idea! I have never tried natural remedies for sleeping, but I am sure this will be a big help when my first child arrives in November. I make sure to eat my last meal four hours prior to sleeping (which also reduces my acid reflux due to pregnancy). I also play soothing music if I am having a hard time turning my mind on “silent”, or read something uplifting. All of these work well for me! I also stay away from all forms of caffeine throughout the day, otherwise I am doomed…
The tip that has made the biggest difference to me is to stop eating 4 hours before bedtime.
About 6 months ago I started having trouble staying asleep. I would wake up 10-15 times a night and became desperate for relief. I thought it may be perimenopause or my keto diet, but nothing seemed to help. I happened to be reading through the comments on a research article and one guy said to stop eating at least 4 hours before bedtime. It has worked like a dream! I rarely wake up during the night now, even when my husband gets up to go to work at 2am.
In thinking about why that started, I realized that when we started country dance lessons, we were frequently rushed for time because of my husband’s work schedule. So we were eating dinner at 9 or 10pm. Now we eat no later than 6pm, including dessert.
Also, since adopting a keto lifestyle, I rarely have trouble falling asleep, usually in less than 10 minutes.
Fixing my sleep issues has made a HUGE difference in my quality of life. There’s nothing you can do about kids and sleep, if it’s not an illness or bad dream it’s teenagers missing curfew, but they grow up before you know it. We’re greatly enjoying our empty nest and are happy to be healthy enough to do it.