What Are the Best Candle Scents for the Bedroom?
Candles are not only used for keeping the lights on when the power goes out. You can use candles for so much more, like spicing up the bedroom or adding a sleepy ambience to your room. Not only to your bedroom but to the rest of your home as well. The right-smelling candle can have a drastic effect on your mood and the mood of the room you are in. You cannot debate the power of fragrance.
And while you can buy electronic fragrances that you plug into the wall, incense that you burn, and a slew of other mood-inducing smell technologies, the candle is always going to be the best. The candle is a classic. Not only can a low-burning candle emit a scent that lulls you to sleep, but its calm light can be very soothing and extremely romantic under the right circumstances.
People tend to be wary of candles in the bedroom, mostly because they can be a fire hazard. Keep this in mind before you fall asleep with a candle at your bedside. It is highly unlikely to catch the drapes on fire from inside its holder, but you still don’t want to fall asleep with a candle burning.
In any case, let’s take a look at the best scents to improve the mood and atmosphere of your bedroom.
Geranium
This is one of the most popular scents for people who suffer from insomnia. While there are other scents that promote easy sleeping, geranium smells very similar to rose (which itself is very peaceful) and can help people fall asleep when they are burdened by too much stress. In fact, geranium is a natural sedative. Getting a geranium-scented candle in the bedroom can help you fall asleep.
Peppermint
I already know what you’re thinking, that peppermint smells too minty for the bedroom. And while peppermint is definitely far from the soothing smell of lilac or geranium, it does have a surprising affect on the mind.
Rather than help you fall asleep, peppermint can help you clear your mind and feel more awake. This is a great morning sent for your bedroom when getting ready in the morning. If you want to start the day off right with a clear mind, I highly suggest a peppermint candle for the early morning.
Vanilla
Vanilla is extremely soothing in the bedroom. It has a calming affect that we often associate with cooking and the kitchen. What better way to fall asleep than with the sugary scent of vanilla rousing dreams of cookies and muffins?
This is also a good afternoon scent to get you in a cooking mood. If you find yourself busy in your bedroom on most afternoons, try a vanilla candle to relax and get your brain thinking about a delicious dinner.
Cedarwood
A cedarwood candle is great if you spend a lot of evenings reading or relaxing in your bedroom rather than in the kitchen or in the living room. This is especially true if your bedroom is decorated warmly with dark browns and reds, as the cedarwood smell will make you feel even cozier, as if you were living in a quaint wood cabin.
Cedar wood can help you fall asleep because it induces such a feeling of relaxation and comfort. I highly recommend keeping one of these candles handy around the house.
Bergamot
Bergamot is one of those odd smells that not many people are familiar with. It smells a little citrusy, but rather than wake you up in the morning a bedroom permeated by bergamot can help reduce your anxiety. This is an absolute miracle after a hard day of work when you need to get rid of all the anxiety that had plagued you during the day.
When feeling emotionally distraught, going home to a bedroom that smells like bergamot can reduce negative thoughts and feelings and promote a happier state of mind. Obviously, this can be crucial when needing to sleep.
Lemon or Orange
Lemon and orange fragrances are pretty similar. Both smells are bright and cheery, which make them excellent morning aromas. A lemon candle or an orange candle once your morning alarm has gone off can do wonders for your mood throughout the day. There is nothing more important than starting the day in a good mood, and lemon and orange smells can accommodate that.
I would not recommend lemon or orange for nighttime, as it just does not feel right. You may find them most useful on rainy or gloomy days when you need an extra pick me up before dragging your butt out of bed.
Jasmine
Jasmine is one of the most popular scents for laundry detergent. You may have noticed all of the jasmine-scented detergents at your local grocery store. This is because jasmine is one of the softest and sweetest scents in the natural world.
Not only is jasmine extremely calming to smell, which is why the scent of fresh laundry has such a relaxing way about it, but it also helps with a few other appealing things. For example, Jasmine can induce sleep, which makes it extra appealing for the bedroom. And, jasmine is also something of an aphrodisiac.
Lavender
I have saved the best for last. Lavender is the number one bedroom fragrance. There is no other smell on earth that can put a person to sleep quite like lavender. Not only will lavender have you falling asleep in minutes, but it can also help reduce your anxiety levels while you prepare for bed.
Lavender is proven clinically to slow your body down in preparation to sleep. Just the smell of lavender literally lulls people into a deep relaxation so that they can pass out once their head hits the pillow.
If all of that isn’t enough for you, the smell of lavender itself is lightly floral and generally nice to have in your nose when in your bedroom.