Best Essential Oil Uses for Stressed and Tired Moms

There is just something about motherhood that is completely exhausting. Maybe it’s getting through the day without the house burning down. Or maybe it’s making sure everyone makes it to bedtime sans a serious injury. Or maybe it’s learning to meet the needs of others, while learning to sacrifice your own.

Regardless, motherhood is a big job. And if you are like me, then you might secretly wish you could enjoy vibrant energy throughout the day and manage occasional stress in a better way.

You can! I recently started using essential oils, and it’s resulted in some pretty huge changes. When I first started using essential oils, I was pretty skeptical. Scratch that. I was REALLY skeptical, but if you are looking for something that is completely natural that can help you manage everyday life situations, then essential oils are for you.

Related: 17 Best Essential Oils for Stress

Because if the oils can convince me, they can convince anyone. After using them for a while, I can whole-heartedly say the oils are legit.

For all the stressed and tired moms, there are countless essential oil uses to help you enjoy vibrant energy and less stress throughout your day!

1. Support the immune system. Moms don’t get the luxury of calling in sick, so I love that you can also use thieves essential oil to help support your immune system.

• Use thieves vitality as a dietary supplement to help keep your immune system thriving.
• Create a homemade hand purifying spray by placing 10 drops of thieves (for aroma) and 1 tsp witch hazel in a glass spray bottle, add 2 oz. distilled water. Give it a good shake and use it to wipe down counter tops and cutting boards, clean toddler toys, and wash fruits and vegetables. I just ordered this set of glass bottles from Amazon to help me make more DIY cleaning products and rid my house of chemical cleaners this year!

2. Support healthy sleep. After I became a mom, I became a very light sleeper. For whatever reason, I struggle with occasional sleeplessness during the night. Several essential oils have helped change all that for me. I literally go to sleep and don’t wake up until morning most nights. Healthy sleep habits helped me feel more patient, more focused and boosted my energy during the day. Here are a few things you can try:

• Diffuse peace and calming or lavender in your bedroom before and during sleep.
• Create a homemade sleep spritzer by placing 10 drops lavender and 1 tsp. witch hazel in a glass spray bottle, add 2 oz distilled water. Spritz on your pillow before sleep each night.
• Dilute 1-2 drops of peace and calming or lavender in carrier oil and apply to the back of neck and wrists.
• Dilute 1-2 drops of peace and calming in carrier oil and rub on your shoulders and on the bottoms of your feet to support good sleep.

3. Squash occasional stress. I commonly struggle with winding down at the end of the day, and just learning to relax and chill out. I work from home, in addition to being a full-time stay-at-home mom, so learning to “turn off” is challenging. Essential oils have helped me manage occasional stress and anxious feelings, especially in the evenings. I’m better able to let things go and just relax a bit. Try out one of the suggestions below or check out this list of calming essential oils:

• Mix 2 drops of joy with carrier oil and apply over the heart. This is my favorite way to elevate mood and decrease stress during the day!
• Mix 1 drop valor with 4 drops carrier oil. Apply valor as you would a vapor rub and apply it to the neck, chest and feet or diffuse in your home. This works to decrease both stress and anxious feelings for me personally.
• Mix 1 drop peace and calming with 4 drops carrier oil and massage peace and calming essential oil blend on the reflex points of the feet and back of neck for a soothing and relaxing effect.

4. Support a tired neck. I don’t experience a tired neck often, but when I do, these essential oil uses are really helpful to support this.

• Dilute 1-2 drops of valor in carrier oil and apply directly onto your neck to help support muscles.
• Dilute 1-2 drops of peppermint in carrier oil and apply to back of neck to tension.
• Diffuse or apply 1-2 drops of lavender to back of neck to release tension and stress.

5. Support tired back. Carrying around a toddler on my hip on and off throughout the day often results in a tired back in the evenings. An short essential oil massage truly goes a long way to relax my back.

• Apply 1 drop of valor mixed with 4 drops carrier oil to the base of the spine and to the bottoms of the feet to calm a tired back.
• Dilute 1 drop of PanAway with 4 drops carrier oil and apply to the base of the spine and massage into back muscles.

6. Focus, concentrate, keep minor tension away. This is one of the major reasons I love essential oils. I experience minor tension in my head and essential oils keep my head feeling light as a feather.

• Dilute 1 drop of peppermint oil in 4 drops carrier oil and apply directly to temples and the back of neck for tension.
• Apply 1-2 drops of lavender to temples and back of neck–this has worked well for minor head tension.

7. Relax and wind down. Like I mentioned above, winding down at the end of the day is challenging sometimes. All of the essential oil uses below are great options to increase your ability to relax in the evenings. Remember, just try one method at a time.

• Diffuse or inhale lavender directly to calm your mind, body and spirit after a hard day. It’s a great aid for relaxing and winding down before bedtime.
• Use in a relaxing bath. Place 4-6 drops of peace and calming or lavender essential oil with a ½ cup of Epsom salts and place directly into a warm bath for a relaxing experience. Since oil will not dissolve in water you need to allow the Epsom salt to absorb it first, then place in water to disperse the essential oil evenly into your bath water.
• Use during massage. Mix 1-2 drops peace and calming with carrier oil and massage into muscles. This will allow your muscles to relax and increase the massages effectiveness.
• Use PanAway with a carrier oil and apply to tired muscles. Or place 4 drops with a 1/2 cup of Epsom salts and place directly into a warm bath to eliminate tired muscles.

8. Enjoy a morning or afternoon boost. If you suffer from fatigue or general tiredness, and you are looking to cut back on caffeine, essential oils are a great way to do that.

• Skip the added caffeine and diffuse 3 drops lemon and 3 drops peppermint in the morning.
• Mix 1 drop of peppermint to 4 drops carrier oil and apply to temples (avoiding the eyes) to help increase alertness in the morning or once the afternoon slump kicks in.
• Use awaken essential oil blend. Mix 1 drop with 4 drops carrier oil and apply to wrists.
• Inhale awaken essential oil blend after it’s applied to your wrists or diffuse in the room.

9. Support emotional balance. Feeling emotionally up and down? Essential oils can help elevate your mood and keep you centered throughout the day. Just another awesome way to combat the stress of motherhood.

• Mix 1-2 drops of joy essential oil with carrier oil. Rub on your wrists or over your heart. Or diffuse to improve your spirits. Joy helps elevate mood and emotions, while promoting feelings of peace.

Want to learn how to get started?

Learn how and where we get our essential oils from here!

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