Your Guide to Falling Asleep Faster and Staying Asleep Longer
If you're tossing and turning at night, waking up at 3 a.m. for no clear reason, or lying in bed with a racing mind, you're not alone. As a Certified Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach and the founder of Wild & Rooted Skincare, I’ve seen first hand how stress, overstimulation, and even the wrong skincare can disrupt our rest. True rest isn’t just about closing your eyes. It’s about creating the right conditions for your mind and body to feel safe enough to let go.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to support better sleep? A nightly ritual rooted in aromatherapy.
Why Am I Waking Up at 3 a.m.?
Let’s start with one of the most common questions I hear: “Why do I wake up at 3 a.m. and can’t go back to sleep?”
According to traditional Chinese medicine and circadian biology, waking at 3 a.m. can indicate an imbalance in the liver, which is associated with emotional processing and detoxification. On a physical level, it might be linked to blood sugar fluctuations, stress hormones (like cortisol), or an overstimulated nervous system. Your body is communicating that it hasn’t fully shifted into rest-and-repair mode.
This is where a calming nightly routine using aromatherapy, nutrition, nervous system support an putting your phone down makes a difference.
What Your Body Is Telling You
When you wake at 3 a.m., your body may be saying:
- "I’m processing stress or emotions from the day.”
- "My cortisol is too high.”
- "I 'm overstimulated from too much news, information and social media.”
- "My environment isn’t signalling safety or calm.”
Rather than fighting with your body or relying on quick fixes, you can support it with a gentle, holistic sleep ritual. One that nourishes your skin and tells your nervous system: you’re safe.
The Role of Aromatherapy in Sleep
Essential oils like lavender and neroli have powerful effects on the body and mind. They’re not just scents; they are plant-based signals to your brain.
Lavender has been shown in clinical studies to:
- Reduce anxiety and heart rate
- Lower cortisol levels
- Improve sleep quality
Neroli oil is often overlooked, but it:
- Eases symptoms of stress and grief
- Soothes the mind without sedating it
- Helps promote emotional regulation
When these oils are combined in a nourishing skincare formula, like our Wild Lavender Body Butter, they deliver more than moisture. They offer medicine for the mind and skin.
Here are some studies linked to the benefits of lavender if you wish to do some further reading Lavender and the Nervous System - PMC, Effect of Inhaled Lavender and Sleep Hygiene on Self-Reported Sleep Issues: A Randomized Controlled Trial - PMC
That's me below in the English countryside studying the different types of lavender to add to our products.
Introducing: Wild Lavender Body Butter
At Wild & Rooted Skincare, we formulate products to work with your body, not against it. Our Wild Lavender Body Butter blends:
- Lavender + Neroli essential oils – calming, anti-inflammatory, and sleep-enhancing
- Unrefined butters and oils – like shea, mango, and grapeseed that mimic your skin’s natural sebum
- Sea buckthorn and vitamin E – to repair the skin barrier while you sleep
When you massage this butter into your chest, feet, or shoulders before bed, you’re not just applying a product. You’re initiating a signal to your nervous system: rest now.
Creating a Nightly Ritual That Supports Sleep
Here’s how to build your own ritual around our Wild Lavender Body Butter:
- Set the mood: Dim the lights. Turn off screens. Light a candle or play calming music.
- Apply the butter mindfully: Warm a small amount in your palms, inhale deeply, then massage into your skin—neck, chest, feet, or anywhere you hold tension.
- Breathe deeply: Take five slow breaths, inhaling the scent. Let your breath be the bridge between your body and mind.
- Reflect or release: Write in a journal or stretch gently anything that allows your system to shift into rest mode.
Repeat this nightly. With time, your body will associate these steps with safety and sleep.
What Else Can Help You Fall Asleep?
As a Certified Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach, I always recommend combining external rituals with internal support:
- Balance your blood sugar at dinner—pair carbs with protein and healthy fats.
- Limit caffeine after 2 p.m.
- Power down devices 60–90 minutes before bed (this one can be a biggie!).
- Create a consistent bedtime (yes, even on weekends).
What to Drink Before Bed to Help Sleep
Certain warm, nourishing drinks can calm the nervous system and signal your body that it’s time to wind down:
- Chamomile tea – a classic that supports relaxation
- Tart cherry juice – naturally rich in melatonin
- Golden milk (turmeric + warm milk) – soothing and anti-inflammatory
- Ashwagandha or reishi mushroom teas – adaptogens that calm without sedation
Avoid sugary drinks, caffeine, and alcohol close to bedtime, as they can spike cortisol or disrupt your sleep cycle.
How to Overcome a Restless Night
If you do wake up in the middle of the night:
- Don’t panic. Take it as information, not failure.
- Don't scroll on your phone. Best to get out of bed and read a book for example or
- Breathe deeply. Inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8.
- Reapply Wild Lavender Body Butter to pulse points.
- Repeat your ritual: gentle stretches, calming affirmations, a sip of herbal tea.
You are allowed to return to sleep without judgment. Your body wants to rest—it just needs a little help remembering how.
Why Sleep Is a Skin Issue Too
Poor sleep doesn’t just leave you tired it shows up on your skin.
Chronic sleep deprivation can:
- Increase inflammation
- Slow skin repair
- Worsen conditions like eczema and acne
When your skin and nervous system are both in stress mode, they feed off each other. That’s why Wild Lavender is formulated to interrupt that cycle.
It doesn’t just lock in moisture it signals safety through scent and touch.
Final Thoughts: A Holistic Path to Rest
Good sleep isn’t necessarily always found in a pill it’s created in the small, repeatable actions you take each night. It’s found in the butter you massage into tired shoulders, in the scent that reminds your brain to slow down, in the ritual that makes your body feel safe enough to soften.
Wild Lavender Body Butter is more than skincare. It’s a nightly love letter to your nervous system. It’s a rhythm, a ritual, a return to rest.
So tonight, instead of chasing sleep, invite it. Through scent, touch, and intention.
You deserve to rest. Your body knows how sometimes, it just needs a little help remembering.