Sleepytime BPAL

[Alice Aforethought]

I wake feeling rested, but later my lovely tells me that he has woken eight or nine times that night with me garbling, sometimes shouting and swearing, and sitting up in bed.

 

Has anyone used a sleep oil, or another of the Lab's, to help with this problem? Advice would be appreciated.

[antimony]

I can't help. I know I mumble in my sleep, but my boyfriend sleeps like a corpse, so I never wake him up, and it's never been an issue. The only thing he does in his sleep is get amorous with me - and I don't mind that....

 

But I did try Baku last night, and I slept a lot more deeply than usual. I was almost as corpse-like as my boy. I'd give Baku a try.

[SoapyRN]

I bought an imp of Somnus and love it. I combine that with Chypre, nearly completely lavendar and think it relaxes me, but doesn't knock me out. I am a HORRIBLE insomniac.

Lovely blend, btw.

 

[lixolux]

im seconding the Baku reccommendation - just sniffing it puts me in an intense state of relaxation, and my dreams are definatly a lot less weird!

 

eta: now i cannot sleep without baku! what will i do at the end of the imp??????

Edited November 25, 2004 by lixolux

[Penance]

I second the Somnus suggestion. I tend to talk and twitch (and I'm not talking little twitches, I'm talking full body, knock you out of bed twitches) in my sleep and Somnus knocks me out cold.

[Eoywin]

I have nightmares all the time, but I got a freebie imp of baku with one of my swaps...

 

I've used it the last couple of nights, and I haven't had any nightmares! I'm going to use it until the imp is gone. I so need a big bottle of it.

[Neko]

I need no help getting to sleep, I do just fine with that on my own. However, I am absolutely terrible at staying asleep! I tend to wake up several times a night, and I often have trouble getting back to bed (particularly if I wake up anywhere between 4:00am and 6:00am). I'm not as active a sleeper as I used to be (I used to move in a clockwise rotation around the bed, jerk around, sit up, talk, even sing) but I still have my wild nights... I'm particularly known for laughing in my sleep (I know I do this because my damn boyfriend wakes me up every single time to ask me what was so funny). I wonder if this night time activity has anything to do with my inability to stay asleep. Of course, all of this is affecting how rested I feel in the morning.

 

So, what will keep me out cold the entire night through?

[Penance]

All I can say is one word: Somnus.

 

For me, it's eliminated all the old tossing and turning and crazy dreams and made me feel rested when I wake up (something I have a huge problem with). I'm not only the spokesperson, I'm a customer.

[Ishtar]

Pixie-Elf, I can vouch for Temple of Dreams to help you make sense of your dreams. The Lab sent it to me as an extra imp with my last order.

I admit that I was a little skeptical at first, but since I started using it, I haven't had a single nightmare or any rambly, absurdly long dreams. Admittedly, I have only used Temple for a few days, so hopefully the effects will last, but it is already a huge improvement over the two or three nightmares a night that have been plaguing me for the last year.

 

Also, I send you a big hug and lots of love in dealing with your sleep apnea. My dad had the same condition and he was constantly exhausted. It would take him several hours after waking up to be able to function normally. He would fall asleep at the dinner table or while driving. I know that it made his life difficult and I sincerely hope that yours is not affected too badly

 

Neko, I would agree that it is probably stress that is disrupting your sleep. I would use whatever oil best alleviates stress for you (for me it is The World). Maybe consider one of the Voodoo blends? I know that you are probably quite busy, but maybe you could try to fit into your schedule a short workout (in the morning) or 30 mn of yoga before going to bed. Exercise and meditation do really help a lot when dealing with stress and sleep issues. Good luck!

[PennyPretty]

I did a search of the forum for my problem and didn't find anything similar, but I hope I'm not repeating an old thread.

 

A little history. I am 35 and never been in a really long term serious relationship, so basically I have been sleeping by myself for the last 35 years. I have always found it hard to fall asleep if someone else was in the room. I now have a very serious boyfriend of 7 months and we spend 4-5 nights a week together (and are seriously considering marriage). The problem is I have a terrible time falling asleep when he is there. I thought I would have gotten used to having him in the bed by now, but I haven't. I think this is because I was so used to sleeping by myself, that having someone else in the room makes me self-conscious. I find I can't turn my brain off, random thoughts just run through my head all night and I only get a light, fitful sleep. This is making me cranky and also makes me not want to spend the night with the BF. So does anyone have any recommendations for one of the sleep oils (or other blends) that might help "turn my brain off" so I can enjoy sleeping with the BF?

 

Thanks!!

~PennyPretty

[antimony]

In my opinion, Baku is the best of the sleep blend. It's super-relaxing.

 

In this case, though, I don't think you necessarily need one of the sleep blends. I think you should pick an oil that smells laid back and sticks close to the skin as your bed-time oil that you wear every night, if he's there or not. Something that feels like a cocoon of scent that marks your space.

 

I would sugest:

Alice

Sudha Segara

Grog

White Rabbit

Bliss

Aizen-Myoo

Dana O'Shee

Water of Notre Dame

[starrykitten]

I'd also say to put on something you really really like. That way you can sniff it and sniff it instead of thinking too hard!

 

The Caterpillar could be a good one too. Or Velvet.

[Julilla Regina]

Usually the inability to fall asleep with someone new in the bed diminishes after time. Is he a tosser and turner, or is there a lot of movement in your bed? My SO tosses and turns, and it used to really wake me up and piss me off until we got a new mattress. That might be something to think about. Also, for me, spooning is terrible. I have to be away and not touching parts of him when I sleep. I don't know how cuddlers do it. It gets too hot and uncomfortable for me to do that for more than a few minutes.

 

As far as BPAL goes, I love Nanshe. I sleep hard when I wear that to bed.

[Ina Garten Davita]

You might find this thread interesting.

 

Bedtime BPAL

[antimony]

My boyfriend and I are both cuddlers, but... Both my sister and her husband, and my mom and dad have decided on the same solution to not being cudlers... both couples have queen beds, and instead of using queen size blankets, they have two sets of twin size covers. I know my dad has a light comforter, and my mom has a much heavier one. I know it sounds kindof odd, but they're coming up on their 40th wedding anniversary and still sleep together in the same room/bed, so they must be doing something right.

 

So that this is not a total hijack, you probably want to pick one scent and use it both when you sleep alone and with your boyfriend so that it becomes associated in your mind with sleepng.

[elspeth]

I know that there are blends like Somnus that are said to aid sleep. Is there one that can possibly help me out. I spend hours awake because I just can't seem to fall asleep. I was looking for something with lavender as a focal possibly but not something that will induce a headache. What would you suggest?

[gingersnapp]

Quietude. It's a Panacea, so it's a little more expensive, but it is the only oil that has given me a solid night of sleep. I've tried Somnus and a few of the other sleep blends, but not as much luck as with my beloved Quietude.

[marzstar]

there is a TAL called Peace that I have

it's not on the site though you can order one if you ask

there's a lot of lavender in it.

i love it for sleep.

also the TAL White Light clears my energy to help sleep too.

 

last night before retiring i bonded with milk moon. something about smelling milky, reminded me of a comforting mother-y smell as well as just felt calming and nurturing and warming.

you know all the association with warm glass of milk before bed.

 

many of the lunar oils i find good for sleeptime too.

good luck.

i've been striggling with sleep my whole life

bpal has been helping

i like to experiment

i slather on tons before going to bed

and when i do i always have amazing and vivid dreams

[carolinachiquita]

I really love any of the somnium blends for helping me sleep (I am a nightmare sleeper usually but these really help me ... Don't know or care if its a placebo effect ... It works for me!!)

 

For uninterrupted sleep you cant beat somnus, for some vivid dreams Nanshe or Oneiroi or Temple of Dreams and for a safe snuggly feeling Baku.

 

I adore them all!

[Eoywin]

I use peppermint to ward off headaches, and either Somnus or Sleepy moon to help me get to sleep.

 

I also keep Baku on my bedside table, in case I have a nasty nightmare.

[Electra]

Somnus actually gave me raging insomnia every single time I tried it (and I tried it a bunch of times). Go figure, right?

 

I love Temple of Dreams. LOVE. I also like Safari at night, though I don't know if it actually helped me fall asleep - it's just very soothing. It's a soft, found, woodsy lavender. Gorgeous.

 

I still want to try Quietude as well.

[Jettcat]

A favorite comfort scent seems to help. I have a friend having some health problems and I surrendered my imp of Bliss. She lightly scents her hair with it before going to bed and it seems to help with her appetite problems as well.

[Torrilin]

Stupid question time...

 

Does lavender make you feel sleepy? If yes, then most of the previous recs will probably work for you. If no, it might be better to try something else. The Bedtime BPAL thread has some really good ideas.

 

Next stupid question... Are you keeping track of which scents give you headaches? That can be really helpful for narrowing down the suggestions you get. No point in trying something if you *know* you'll react badly to it.

 

It's not at all uncommon to dream and not remember it. Also, if you're seriously sleep deprived, you won't spend much time in REM sleep, which is when you do your dreaming. Plus, it's pretty common for people to only remember dreams when they're woken up during the dream. So that leaves dreams interrupted by alarm clocks, or dreams so scary that they wake you up. Both cases can easily lead to not *wanting* to remember dreams, and if you put active effort into forgetting, well... You're not going to remember.

 

So... Spend some time thinking about how you feel when you *do* fall asleep sucessfully, and try to remember that feeling. It'll help you identify if a scent is helping you reach that state. Don't just depend on scent tho, look for mental activities that help, rituals you can develop, etc. For me, falling asleep feels like I'm floating in deep water, and I get rather dizzy. It can be very disorienting, and if I panic about that, I won't fall asleep. In fact, panic can lead to feeling like I've fallen a long way, or like I'm starting to drown. Most unpleasant. If I relax into the sensations tho, I fall asleep.

 

The exact stuff that works for me probably won't work for you. But you will find things that do work. It does take a bit of self examination and discipline tho . Once you've found a set of tools that let you fall asleep reliably, then you can work on learning to remember dreams.

 

Kalli

[Magda]

While I love Somnus and Oneiroi, the one scent that puts me to sleep every single time I wear it is Laudanum. Actually, I shouldn't say that it puts me to sleep--it puts me in a coma. The first time I tried it was in the middle of the day after lots of coffee, I put it on and zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

[biggerkrissy]

i'm desperately awaiting my first sniff of somnus, but i'm wondering if anyone can recommend others who make oils that are sure to help put me to sleep.