5 Easy to Make DIY Sleep Spray Recipes

The smell of patchouli brings me back to my childhood. The rich, earthy scent reminds me of my grandmother’s house. She wore Y by Yves Saint-Laurent perfume, a fragrance that combined floral scents of honeysuckle and gardenia, with base notes of sandalwood, and patchouli. Sadly, Y perfume for women has been discontinued, but on the rare occasions I cross paths with someone wearing it, or something similar, it immediately brings back the sound of her voice and the feelings of love and belonging I always felt in my grandparents’ home. 

Our sense of smell is closely linked with memory, probably more so than any of our other senses. In fact, studies have shown that odor serves as a stronger trigger than any other sensory cue for recalling personally meaningful memories.

According to a 2021 study published in Progress in Neurobiology, the power of scent in triggering memories comes from the connection between the olfactory system and the hippocampus in the brain. It is our oldest sensory system, and the one located deepest in our brains. “Smell and emotion intertwine and can be saved in the brain’s software for years,” says psychiatrist Leela Magavi, MD, and so “scents that soothed children can continue to alleviate stress and anxiety for the entirety of adulthood.” It stands to follow that your favorite scent can help quiet your mind and lull you to sleep with fond memories.

Pillow mists and sleep sprays are a great way to trigger our olfactory glands and conjure feelings and memories of wellbeing. In addition to bringing back memories, certain scents, such as cedarwood, cause our bodies to produce melatonin (a hormone which promotes restful sleep), while other smells, like lavender and marjoram, calm our nerves and  therefore help us fall asleep more quickly.

Basic Materials for DIY Sleep Sprays

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To make linen sprays you’ll need to buy the following:

Essential oils –  Lavender, Vetiver, Frankincense, Roman Chamomile, Ylang Ylang, Marjoram, Cedarwood, Wild Orange and Pettigrain all have calming and sleep-inducing qualities. You can start with just one type or buy them all if you’re feeling flush. Read on for a list of their properties.

Witch Hazel –  Thayers Original Witch Hazel is often used to dilute and blend the essential oil in the spray, act as a preservative and help the scent molecules to disperse in the air. Vodka (the higher the proof the better) or high proof alcohol work, too. I used vodka left over from our last soirée.

Spray glass bottles – I like Nevlers 2oz Misting Glass Bottles (pack of 24).  They’re available in amber and cobalt, and they come with rewritable labels, a funnel and a brush. Why not just use plastic spray bottles you ask? Colored glass keeps UV rays from breaking down essential oils, it looks good and it’s better for the environment.

Water – Some recipes call for distilled water, but tap water is fine. Just boil it to get rid of any impurities.

Please note that while essential oils are natural, that doesn’t make them safe to use willy nilly. Exercise caution before using any essential oils, including lavender, which is generally considered one of the “safer” oils. Make sure to look for high-quality, 100% pure essential oils. Higher quality oils usually list both the common and botanical name of the plant the oil is derived from. Also, there’s no regulated grading system for essential oils so don’t automatically buy something just because the label says “therapeutic grade”.

Best Essential Oils for Sleep

If you’re wondering which essential oil is best for you, a big part of it will come down to which scent you prefer.  As for the effect of the various oils, the list below gives a brief description of the most popular essential oils used in sleep sprays and pillow mists.

Lavender:  Lavender is well-known for its relaxing and calming effects on the body.

Vetiver: Vetiver essential oil is distilled from the roots of the grass from Haiti. It is rich and very grounding.

Frankincense: When your mind won’t turn itself off at bedtime, it’s perfect for balancing emotions, supporting healthy sleep, calming your mind and supporting your body’s natural response to healing.

Roman Chamomile:  This oil is perfect for restlessness and anxious feelings. It has a light, floral scent and it’s wonderful for creating a peaceful atmosphere in your bedroom.

Ylang Ylang: This flower has been used to cover the beds of newlywed couples on their wedding night. That’s because this powerful oil helps to balance male and female energies, supports focus and restores peace.

Marjoram: Known as the “herb of happiness” to the Romans and “joy of the mountains” to the Greeks. This oil is extremely soothing and relaxes the nerves.

Cedarwood:  This oil is the most cost effective, and it works beautifully. Cedarwood essential oil supports healthy function of the pineal gland, which releases melatonin…the body’s natural sleepy hormones. This oil has a unique woodsy scent. If you aren’t keen on the smell, mix it with lavender and apply to the bottoms of feet.

Sweet Orange: Even though this essential oil is uplifting, it affects the serotonin levels in your body. When we’re happy we are relaxed. Its scent is a nice, light odor perfect for sprays meant for the little people in your life.

Petitgrain: Pettigrain’s relaxing effect helps overcome depression and other problems such as anxiety, stress, anger, and fear. It uplifts the mood and induces positive thinking. has a soothing and relaxing effect on the nerves and protects them from the adverse effects of shock, anger, anxiety, and fear.

1. Lavender Linen Spray Recipe

Lavender helps with nervousness, anxiety and sleeplessness. It doesn’t knock you out like taking a sleeping pill would, but it helps take the edge off. I like Martha Stewart’s Soothing Lavender Sleep Spray recipe. It makes 16 oz – which is a lot of sleep spray – so I recommend halving it or make the full recipe and fill a bunch of little bottles and put one in every room.

2. Relaxing Room Spray Recipe

For a room spray, a combination of your favorite essential oils can make a huge difference on the “feel” or vibe of a room. Refresh a room that’s been vacant for a while, a guest bedroom where guests will be staying or simply to infuse the room with feelings of peace and comfort.   Shake the bottle well before lightly misting bed linen, curtains and room before relaxation practices such as journaling, meditation, gentle yoga or going to sleep.

I like Freutcake’s Relaxing Room Spray. I make it without the lemon essential oil.

3. Homemade Sleep Spray with Lavender, Cedarwood and Vetiver

I found this recipe on the Happy Money Saver dot com.  Making your own sleep spray is not only fun, but it will save you money.  A pre-made bottle of room spray will run you anywhere from $7.00 to $30.00 for a 2oz bottle, while the cost of a homemade 4oz bottle is $2.74 or $3.66 if you factor in the cost of the glass bottle. And most importantly, you’ll  have the advantage of knowing exactly what you’re spraying on your pillows and around your home.  

Find Karrie’s recipe at the Happy Money Saver.

4. Relaxing Sleep Spray for Kids

If you’re making any kind of sleep or room spray for a child’s room, cut the amount of drops of essential oils you use in half.  Babies have a very sensitive sense of smell when they’re born and it continues to develop until they are 8 years old. An overpowering smell – even a good one – could have the opposite effect and make your little ones feel off-balance and anxious.

This DIY All-Natural Sleep Spray for Kids recipe is from Jessica at Living Well Mom. Her site is a treasure trove of natural living, kids activities and easy recipes.

Sweet Dreams Pillow Spray

In this post from One Essential Community, the author offers up 12 different essential combinations for DIY Sleep Sprays. To a half cup of liquid (Vodka, Witch Hazel or distilled water) you add ONE of the following combinations. Listed are my Top 5.

4 drops lavender essential oil + 3 drops orange essential oil + 3 drops cedarwood essential oil

5 drops Roman chamomile essential oil + 3 drops bergamot essential oil + 2 drops frankincense essential oil

4 drops lavender essential oil + 3 drops sandalwood essential oil + 3 drops cedarwood essential oil

5 drops patchouli essential oil + 5 drops sandalwood essential oil

3 drops patchouli essential oil + 4 drops orange essential oil + 1 drop frankincense essential oil + 2 drops sandalwood essential oil

Are Room Sprays Safe for Pets?

First off, it’s important to note that cats and dogs are much more sensitive to scents than their humans. What you consider a light, barely there scent, can be overwhelming and harmful to an animal. Essential oils can cause some very real negative effects on your beloved pet.

Lavender oil, for instance, is considered dangerous for cats. Even with a very light concentration and high-dilution of lavender oil, make sure to only use lavender spray on items that your cat doesn’t frequent.  Never, ever apply lavender oil directly to a cat or its fur. Exposure could lead to serious liver damage, liver failure, respiratory failure, seizures and even death.

If you still want to use lavender-scented sprays in your home, make sure your cat has a lavender-free area it can escape to. Don’t spray the stuff all over your house.

According to the Cabbagetown Pet Clinic, Cinnamon oil, Citrus oil, Clove oil, Eucalyptus oil, oil of Sweet Birch, Pennyroyal oil, Peppermint oil, Pine oils, Tea Tree oil and Wintergreen are also poisonous to cats. On the other hand, Lavender oil is not toxic for dogs.  That said, many of the oils that adversely affect cats, are also toxic to dogs. Those include Pennyroyal oil, Pine oil, Tea tree oil, Wintergreen oil, Cinnamon oil, Citrus oil, Peppermint oil, Sweet Birch oil and Ylang Ylang.

So, what’s left? Vetiver, Frankincense, Roman Chamomile, Marjoram, Cedarwood, and Pettigrain oil should be fine. Just go easy on the essential oils. This is definitely a good time to take a “less is more” approach. And to be on the safe side, talk to your veterinarian before you use any essential oils near your pets.

Have you tried any of the above recipes? What’d you think? Have a favorite? Drop me a line. I’d love to know.