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12 best sleep sprays that help you drift off with ease

If counting sheep doesn’t work, these mists will become your bedtime essential

Tamara Corin
Thursday 11 March 2021 13:47 EST
These blends of essential oils encourage your mind and body to switch off and relax
These blends of essential oils encourage your mind and body to switch off and relax (iStock/The Independent)

Sales of sleep mists are booming and it’s no wonder, considering we’re all living through a pandemic which has seen a huge rise in anxiety, depression and many a sleepless night. In fact, according to a recent study by London’s King’s College, more than half of the UK population have struggled with sleep since lockdown began.

But knowing we need more sleep isn’t enough to help us drift off and worrying about sleep deprivation only serves to make insomnia worse. The idea behind sleep mists is to encourage your mind and body to switch off and relax with the help of powerful blends of essential oils.

Read more: 10 best sleep aids: Pillow sprays, eye masks and weighted blankets to help you drift off

By spraying your bedroom and your linen, and some formulas even encouraging you to spray your body, allows the scent to envelop you and your bedroom, which in turn calms and grounds you into a state of relaxation allowing you to fall asleep with ease.

Lavender is the most used essential oil in sleep mists mainly because of the natural sedative effect it has on our brains. It is also said to reduce our blood pressure which helps the body to produce melatonin – the hormone that promotes restful sleep.

However, if you’re not a fan of the purple herb, don’t brush away a sleep mist too quickly. There’s plenty of choice using alternative powerful blends of botanicals that do the same job.

Here’s our edit of the best sleep mists that will help you unwind and drift you off to sleep.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Tropic so sleepy pillow mist, 70ml

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This is everything a sleep spray should be and more – all at a fair price point too. It’s not overly lavender incensed thanks to the eucalyptus green notes (that help to clear busy minds) and it lingers for hours after you’ve sprayed it. Plus, the fine misting is the perfect weight that won’t soak your linen even if you get a little carried away with the spritzing! This formula will very quickly make your eyelids feel heavy and your blinks slower, before taking you into a deep slumber that was, until now, hard for you to achieve. A must-have for anyone that lies awake at night.

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Crabtree & Evelyn stars in the night room mist, 100ml

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There’s so much we love about this sleep mist. The softness of the scent is comforting but in a fragrant and subtle way. There’s no hint of the usual lavender notes, instead, a calming citrusy and creamy blend of orange blossom, sandalwood and thuya wood help wind down the day and ground you before bedtime. You’ll be hard pushed not to keep spritzing, the smell is addictive, in fact it’s so good you’ll be tempted to wear it as a perfume and buy in bulk.

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ESPA connection pillow mist, 100ml

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This brand-new addition has been created specifically with eight natural essential oils (including ylang ylang, patchouli, sandalwood and jasmine) which are all renowned for their aphrodisiac properties. The woody scent is sensual, warm and comforting and can be sprayed on linen, in the air, even on your body too.

Our testers claimed the smell triggered them, almost as a reminder to switch off and focus their energy on themselves and their partner. Don’t expect a passionate night in your bedroom – every time, but romance is definitely in the air with this sexy scent.

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Aromatherapy Associates deep relax sleep mist, 50ml

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In our eyes, Aromatherapy Associates can do little wrong. Every product they produce does what it says on the tin and more – and this sleep mist continues that tradition on. Born from the success of the cult favourite, deep relax bath and shower oil (£49, Aromatherapyassociates.com), this light mist has the exact same sleep-enhancing scent, just in a different form. Spritz this over your pillow and duvet before you go to bed and you’ll have a tough time trying to stay awake to wish your partner goodnight.

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BeYou sleep pillow mist, 30ml

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Perhaps better known for their game-changing, cramp-busting, period patches (£7.99, Beyouonline.co.uk), this sleep mist shouldn’t be lost in the range. It’s 100 per cent natural, pleasant-smelling and has a long-lasting formula which will turn your bedroom into a fragrant boudoir which will help drift you off to sleep with complete ease.

If you suffer from discomfort from period pain so much so that it keeps you up at night, this is a must-buy to compliment the rest of the unique and hard working range. Our testers were all impressed at how quickly they nodded off and how much easier they woke. No snooze required button here!

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L’Occitane relaxing pillow mist, 100ml

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Just one spritz of this sleep spray will transport you to French lavender fields that this mist has travelled from. Packed with a blend of essential oils of lavender, bergamot, mandarin, sweet orange and geranium, they work to calm all your senses and encourage relaxation time. Though, we recommend you spray this on your pillow 15 minutes before you enter your bedroom to let the smell settle on your linen to prevent it being overbearing. Our tester found the pleasant smell lingered in her room for days rather than hours, so two bursts is plenty to get you in sleep mode.

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Bloom & Blossom all night long calming sleep spray, 75ml

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Many parents already rely on the child’s version of this spray to get their little ones to sleep, but now there’s an adult formulation that looks after grown-ups too. This plastic blue bottle may not look very serious, but with one pump of this spray you can feel the strength of this potion get straight to work.

A welcome change to a lavender mist, this cocktail of frankincense, rose flower water (said to help with positivity), and linden blossom delivers a powerful burst of soothing ingredients that will help you drift off. This is a super strong-smelling mist though so use sparingly. But if you want to go the whole hog, they also have a shower oil and a body oil in the same scent that compliment the sleep spray. The combination of the three will send you off to sleep in no-time.

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This Works deep sleep pillow spray, 75ml

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This multi award-winning sleep spray has been helping women, men and children (you can use this from three months onwards) for years. Its blend of lavender, camomile and vetiver oil encourage calm and settling emotions – perfect for lulling busy minds to sleep. Our testers said they not only fell asleep quicker than usual, but they came to rely on it as part of their sleep routine and they awoke more refreshed in the morning too. It’s even safe to use on pets, perfect for settling young pups into new surroundings or just generally keeping everyone relaxed.

  1.  £19 from Boots.com
Prices may vary
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Sanctuary spa wellness sleep mist, 100ml

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Best known for their spa oasis which ran for 37 years in London’s Covent Garden, this sleep mist allows you to create a spa-like experience in your own home. Described as “calmness in a bottle”, it features jasmine, patchouli, frankincense and ylang ylang essential oil (which is known for being a mood enhancer and antidepressant). It has a creamy and soft addictive smell that meant our testers were spritzing more than necessary.

Unlike the other sleep mists on this list, this can be sprayed over your body and face, not just your pillow leaving you with calm, hydrated and protected skin and a beautiful smelling bedroom too. Win, win! It also has a built-in blue light protection which is vital for everyone that spends hours in front of a screen. (That will be everyone during lockdown then!)

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Sun.Day of London botanical sleepy mist, 50ml

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This UK-based brand handcrafts their mists in small batches, so we guarantee you’ll get first-grade formulas and results. Created with 12 sleep-inducing aromatherapy, pure essential oils it smell so natural and fresh without being heady. In fact, on first spritz, it smells a little like liquorice.

It comes in two sizes (50ml or 100ml) which makes it travel-friendly and the brown glass bottles lend a nice unisex feel to the mist. In fact, one of our testers said her husband insisted it sat on his bedside table rather than hers.

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Wild Planet Aromatherapy deep slumber pillow mist, 50ml

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If you’re looking for a natural alternative to traditional synthetic aromas, this British-born small brand is the name to know. This unwinding formula is a soothing blend of lavender, mandarin and vetiver that creates a romantic aroma that smells clean and clear, just like its ingredients, and gets you yawning in no time.

The mist is infused with purple amethyst stones (which sit at the bottom of the glass bottle) that help cleanse and calm the mind and combat insomnia, which kept our testers mesmerised. A standout detail if ever we saw one.

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REN clean skincare & now to sleep pillow spray, 75ml

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Unlike many other pillow sprays, frankincense takes centre stage in this formula as opposed to the usual lavender. This is a good option if you’re a worrier or have a busy mind that you can’t calm before bed. Known to reduce anxiety and stress, frankincense has been used for thousands of years for its calming properties.

But note, our testers found the droplets from the spray a little bigger in size than other pillow mists, so ensure you spray your linen from a distance, the last thing you want is a wet pillow!

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The verdict: Sleep mists

Although all of these sleep mists helped our testers switch off at night, Tropic’s so sleepy pillow mist received the top reviews for its natural and unobtrusive scent, it’s pretty glass packaging and fair price.

If, however, lavender isn’t your thing, but you still need a helping hand to send you to the land of nod, then Crabtree & Evelyn’s star in the night sleep mist is a game changer. It smells incredible, lingers for hours and can double up as a room mist, even a toilet spray. Plus, it’s in a handy 100ml plastic bottle which is perfectly sized for your overnight bag.

Never miss a wink with the best mattresses, including memory foam, pocket sprung and hybrid options

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