Can Lavender help your family sleep and other lovely benefits for wellbeing?

Is the aromatherapy oil lavender useful for helping you and your little ones sleep and what are the other benefits it beholds?

Lavender is most commonly used to help sleep. A 2015 study found that women in the post-partum period who slept with the scent of lavender had better sleep quality. A few drops of lavender oil on your pillow or on a hanky underneath it would do the trick. Lavender can also be bought in pillow sprays and we are currently developing our own at Mama Jewels.

True natural Lavender works as an anxiolytic (an anxiety reliever) and as a sedative, to increase relaxation and calm, and help encourage sleep. Lavender interacts with the neurotransmitter GABA to help quiet the brain and nervous system activity, reducing agitation, anger, aggression, and restlessness.

Here at Mama Jewels, we love lavender and you will find it in several of our products such as the Organic Lavender baby soap and the Lavender Bump and Baby massage oil. Today I wanted to tell you why we love it so much.

Lavender is a fragrant plant and is probably the most popular aromatherapy scent. It’s used in perfumes, oils, soaps, potpourri, face and body lotions, candles and many other things besides.

The lavender plant is native to the mountainous areas of the Mediterranean. The use of lavender has a very long history and it was used in the time of the ancient Egyptians. The ancient Romans used lavender for it’s antiseptic and healing qualities but also to deter insects. When the Romans came to Britain, they brought the herb with them, but it wasn’t grown in the UK until the 1600’s. Now we can find Lavender plants everywhere, although I don’t know about you, but I find them very difficult to grow. They seem to thrive in the dry soils of Norfolk, but definitely not in my garden in Nottinghamshire, I think it might be that the ground is too wet!

Lavender can be used fresh, dried or as an oil but is most commonly as an oil. The aromatherapy fragrance of lavender has been shown to help calm nerves and reduce feelings of anxiety and depression.

Lavender oil in its pure state is one of the only aromatherapy oils that can be safely used neat on the skin.

LOVELY LAVENDER CONTAINING GIFTS FOR YOU AND YOUR LITTLE ONES

The fragrance of lavender has been found to have a positive effect on mood, stress, anxiety and depression. It’s also been found to help with premenstrual symptoms. A relaxing bath with our lavender heart bath bombs would be a good way to get in a good mood.

Lavender oil has been found to repel mosquitoes and is said to deter flies, moths, ticks and fleas. This is very useful in the summer to safely keep away pesky insects. We are hoping that our pillow spray will also be suitable for this in the future.

Lavender is known to have antibacterial and antiseptic properties, which can help heal minor burns, grazes and insect bites. My Mum, who was a qualified Aromatherapist used to swear by Lavender for burns and all cuts and grazes, she’d be sending me messages on Whatsapp to check I’d smothered the kids in neat lavender.

We love to use lavender in our skincare products because it is thought to purify the skin and it adds a moisturising component.

Lavender can be bought dried, or it is very easy to find lavender essential oil. If you feel like growing your own, it is a very low-maintenance and drought-resistant plant. There are several varieties of lavender and it would be possible to pick one that is suitable for your garden. It can also be grown in pots and containers. As well as having a lovely scent, it attracts bees and butterflies and is a useful addition to any garden. Oh and finally you even make lavender tea by steeping the flower heads in hot water for a few minutes and leaving to cool before drinking.

Do you have any other really cool uses for Lavender that we haven’t mentioned? Wed love to hear about them!