Who ever has enough sleep? It’s never deep enough, and we don’t fall asleep fast enough or stay asleep long enough.
“Lifestyle” advice is abundant: Watch the intake of caffeine, alcohol and heavy foods; keep your smart phone off your bedside table; consider taking up meditation.
For those of us who don’t want a pharmaceutical fix, beauty companies are offering their own sleep aids. Whether or not they manage to make you sleep like a baby, spraying an aromatherapy-infused elixir on your pillow or dabbing an oil behind the ears is a calming ritual.
“Not only is it giving you time to wind down, but it’s a little treat before bed,” said Katie Hess, the founder of the “flower alchemy” company Lotus Wei. Worst case: Your pillow will smell great.
Lotus Wei
Quiet Mind Mist
$40, lotuswei.com.
Lotus Wei, based in Phoenix, has a Quiet Mind line of products — oil, serum, perfume — targeting “mental chatter, restless sleep, physical tension, overanalyzing.” “I tell people if you generally sleep pretty well, you can get by using it before you go to bed and sleep like a rock,” Hess said.
“If you wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning, keep it near your bed.” After I woke up at 1:45 a.m., wide awake, a few spritzes of the mist on a pillow and I was back to sleep by 2.
Tata Harper
Aromatic Bedtime Treatment
$60, tataharperskincare.com.
At just 5 milliliters, Aromatic Bedtime Treatment is tiny but goes a long way. “The best way to use it is through inhalation,” Harper said. “We recommend people roll a bit in their hands and then take five to eight deep breaths.” The lavender, sage, ylang-ylang, melissa and camomile blend is said to work as a natural sedative. It’s one of her best-selling essential oils, Harper said.
Portland Apothecary
Dream
$32, portlandapothecary.com.
Portland Apothecary, based in Oregon, isn’t content to get you to sleep; it wants you to have vivid dreams, too. Its Dream oil is made with mugwort and blue tansy, which give it the soothing color of the sea. It’s a roll-on, which makes for easy travel. Generous swipes on my neck and wrist on a trans-Atlantic flight, and 10 minutes later, the potion worked its magic, inducing a lengthy dream about Hugh Jackman.
— The New York Times News Service
Watch the intake of caffeine, alcohol and heavy foods; keep your smart phone off your bedside table
