Getting a good night's sleep is crucial to your long-term health, not to mention the benefit of being awake enough to live your life each day. People plagued with sleep problems will go to almost any lengths to find relief, including taking potentially dangerous or habit-forming sleeping pills. What you really need is some sort of natural sleep help, something that will help you get a deeper, more restful sleep without forcing you to resort to drugs.

Luckily, researchers have discovered that there are natural substances that can help you get a good night's sleep. In 2005, research published in the journal Chronobiology International stated that lavender essential oil, can act as a gentle sedative, making it easier to fall asleep and promoting deeper sleep. The results of the study showed that the people who inhaled the scent of lavender:

• Spent a higher percentage of their sleep time in deep sleep
• Decreased the amount of time they spent in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep
• Felt more rested and energized in the morning

To sum up the results of the study, when men and women were exposed to lavender oil at bedtime, they slept better and felt the benefits of better sleep the next day. These results are similar to those in a 2002 study, where people inhaled jasmine as they slept, making the combination of the two doubly promising as a way to help you get a deep, restful sleep without having to resort to potentially dangerous or addictive sleeping pills.

Are you wondering how you can gain the benefits of lavender and jasmine in your bedroom? Well, one easy way to do it would be to apply an oil containing them before you go to bed. Simply applying a few drops of oil to your chest or shoulders would allow you to inhale the healthful scents throughout the night, giving you the natural sleep help you need without any fuss or bother.