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The Best Lotions and Bath Soaks to Help You Sleep at Night

Amber Sayer
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Whether you deal with a hectic schedule with little time to relax and unwind, have chronic pain, or simply can’t shut your brain off after a stressful day, there are quite a few reasons why it may be difficult to follow and stay asleep. Even if you have the most comfortable mattress and try to eat foods that promote restful sleep, you may still find that you are losing precious time tossing and turning every night instead of enjoying a peaceful, restorative sleep.

If you are struggling to fall and stay asleep, you may want to consider trying a specialized lotion, cream or soak designed to help the body relax and unwind before bed to ease the transition from wakefulness to restful sleep. Much like herbal bedtime teas, these sleep body products are formulated with natural ingredients like lavender, chamomile, and other herbs or essential oils demonstrated to promote sleep. Applying sleep lotions or rubs to the skin or soaking in a bath steeped with calming compounds allows your body to absorb these relaxing compounds through your skin, which is said to ease muscle tension and increase the production of neurotransmitters and hormones that can help you fall asleep. Below, we share our picks for the best body products, lotions, and soaks for a restful night’s sleep.

J.R. Watkins Sleep Creamy Moisturizing Body Wash

J.R. Watkins Sleep Creamy Moisturizing Body Wash, Natural Monoi & Sandalwood.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The J.R. Watkins Sleep Creamy Moisturizing Body Wash makes for the most luxurious, soothing pre-bed shower. This creamy body wash is formulated for sensitive skin, cleansing the skin without stripping away the natural oils. It is infused with relaxing botanicals like lavender, sweet orange, and calendula, which ease tension and calm your mind. Each ingredient in the J.R. Watkins Sleep Creamy Moisturizing Body Wash is chosen with care and purpose. For example, the lavender encourages relaxation, sweet orange relieves tension, jojoba oil and cactus extracts smooth and hydrate skin, chamomile relieves inflammation, oatmeal soothes skin, and calendula supports collagen formation in the skin. The body wash lathers into an aromatic foam and smells as delicious as it feels.

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Badger Lavender & Bergamot Natural Sleep Balm

Badger Lavender & Bergamot Natural Sleep Balm.
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Badger makes an extensive lineup of natural balms formulated to address issues from muscle aches to chapped skin. The Lavender & Bergamot Natural Sleep Balm is a relaxing blend of essential oils to help soothe your body and mind and relax your muscles to create a mental and physical state optimized for sleep to can naturally. The balm can be applied anywhere on your body, from your hands to your lips to your temples or legs. Bergamot essential oil is said to improve mood, rosemary essential oil improves mental clarity and induces a sense of calm, balsam fir is added to help connect your mind to the serene sense of nature, and lavender relaxes and pacifies a worried mind. Together, the essential oils blended in Badger Lavender & Bergamot Natural Sleep Balm make for a pleasant, herbaceous aroma that is quite comforting. The Sleep Balm is certified organic and free from artificial ingredients, fragrances, dyes, parabens, GMOs, synthetic chemicals, or harsh ingredients.

ThisWorks Deep Sleep Bath Soak: Restorative Sleep-Inducing Bath Salts

thisworks deep Sleep Bath soak: Restorative Sleep-Inducing Bath Salts.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Anytime you are looking to indulge in some good, old R&R, grab your favorite book or queue up a chill playlist, draw a bath, and sprinkle in soman ThisWorks Deep Sleep Bath Soak. These seemingly magic gems of sea salt promote restorative sleep by using essential oils like lavender, patchouli, cinnamomum camphora (ho wood), vetivert, lemon, and wild chamomile. The resulting bath is not only a great way to unwind and ease away the stress of the day, but it also smells amazing—and aromatherapy can go a long way toward relaxing your body and mind as well. For best results, sprinkle about a tablespoon of the bath salts into your bath a couple of hours before bed.

J.R. Watkins Sleep Sugar Body Polish

J.R. Watkins Sleep Sugar Body Polish, Monoi & Sandalwood Natural Body Scrub Cleanses & Encourages Restful Sleep, 6 oz.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

J.R. Watkins Sleep Sugar Body Polish is crafted with premium ingredients and leaves your skin feeling baby soft and your mind feeling peaceful and ready for sleep. With fine sugar crystals, the body polish exfoliates the skin and leaves it soft and supple without an oily residue. Infused with mood-boosting oils and calming botanicals like lavender, orange, and jojoba, the J.R. Watkins Sleep Sugar Body Polish feels like treating yourself to an expensive spa treatment in the comfort of your own shower. The scent is particularly pleasant—far less perfume-y than most sleep lotions—with notes of tropical coconut, lily of the valley, sweet orange, and the exquisite Monoi flower. It almost smells like the morning breeze wafting in the fresh Hawaii air. J.R. Watkins has been producing the highest-quality products since 1868, all of which are cruelty-free, paraben-free, silicon-free, and sulfate-free.

Dr. Teal’s Sleep Lotion 

Dr Teal's Sleep Lotion 3 Fl Oz with Melatonin & essential Oils.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Dr. Teal’s may be best known for their Epsom salts, but the Sleep Lotion, which is infused with melatonin and essential oils, is a great way to reap the same type of soothing benefits without needing to lounge in a bathtub. This lightweight lotion has a hydrating, skin-softening base of shea butter, cocoa butter, and vitamin E layered with relaxing lavender, chamomile, and sleepy melatonin to gently promote sleep. The lotion can be used anywhere on the body before bed and is cruelty-free and dermatologist tested.

Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Black Chamomile Sleep Body Lotion

Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Black Chamomile Sleep Body Lotion.
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Bath & Body Works is well known for richly scented lotions, creams, and body products, allowing you to smell like anything from a tropical coconut to sweet sugar cookies. They also have newer aromatherapy product lines that incorporate specific essential oils and scents thought to confer different health or mood benefits. One of our favorites is the Aromatherapy Black Chamomile Sleep Body Lotion. A lot of popular sleep lotions and creams have notably floral scents due to the fact that lavender and chamomile are two of the more effective herbs for relaxation and sleep. While there is nothing wrong with using a floral-scented product, if you’re looking for a more masculine aroma, this is the sleep lotion to try. Bergamot oil is used to elevate your mood and support a sense of physical and mental wellbeing, while chamomile oil calms the body and mind to encourage a state of sleep. The lotion is infused with black charcoal extract to detoxify your skin, and shea butter and vitamin E to nourish and moisturize your skin.

Dr. Teal’s Melatonin Sleep Soak 

Dr. Teal's Melatonin Sleep Soak with Essential Oil Blend Pure Epsom Salt Soaking Solution.
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Epsom salt baths have long been lauded as an effective way to soothe muscle tension and ease aches. Dr. Teal’s Melatonin Sleep Soak adds relaxing essential oils with the therapeutic minerals for a sleep-inducing bedtime bath. The soak has melatonin, a hormone that helps govern the sleep-wake cycle, along with calming lavender and chamomile. A 20-minute soak before bed can help reduce tension and promote healthy sleep in a non-habit-forming manner. It should be noted that the bath is quite fragrant, so if you are sensitive to floral smells, it may not be the best choice for you.

Wild Thera Goodnite Balm

Wild Thera Goodnite Balm.
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Wild Thera Goodnite Balm is a potent little tin of sleep-supportive salve. Made from natural ingredients like cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, almond oil, beeswax, and vitamin E, the balm softens and moisturizes your skin, while simultaneously promoting sleep with relaxing chamomile, catnip, lemon balm, passionflower, rosemary, and valerian—a botanical known to induce drowsiness. Just before bed, simply rub a little of the balm on your temples, forehead, and upper lip to be gently guided into sleep. Wild Thera Goodnite Balm is made in the USA and is free from GMOs, chemicals, and parabens.

Ancient Minerals Goodnight Lotion

Ancient Minerals Goodnight Lotion.
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Ancient Minerals Goodnight Lotion is a powerful topical sleep aid that harnesses the sleep-supportive effects of melatonin. When used anywhere on your skin about 30 minutes before bed, this soothing lotion can help you feel drowsy without feeling drugged. It also contains magnesium chloride, a mineral that eases muscle tension and has been shown to be well absorbed and bioactive through the skin. The magnesium sourced in the lotion is genuine Zechstein magnesium extracted in its 100% raw, natural state for the utmost purity. There are 25mg of elemental magnesium and MSM, and 3mg of melatonin per mL of this sleep lotion. Lastly, Ancient Minerals Goodnight Lotion is blended with hyaluronic acid for skin strength and health, and nourishing oils like jojoba, olive, and coconut, and contains shea butter and orange oil for a smooth texture and pleasant scent.

ASUTRA Soak the Day Away Dead Sea Bath Salts

ASUTRA Soak the Day Away Dead Sea Bath Salts.
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The ASUTRA Soak the Day Away Dead Sea Bath Salts are a perfect way to steep your whole body in relaxing salts, minerals, and essential oils said to be healing and calming. The bath salts are spa-quality, with no artificial ingredients, perfumes, preservatives, parabens, alcohol, dyes, animal products, or petroleum. Natural and organic vitamin E and aloe vera are added to nourish and hydrate your skin while you soak. Infused with a soothing and sleepy blend of lavender, rosemary, and ylang-ylang essential oils, this natural sleep remedy is surprisingly effective and soothing. Lavender is thought to calm anxiety and improve your mood, while rosemary essential oil reduces skin puffiness and the appearance of age spots. ASUTRA even has a 100% satisfaction guarantee such that if you don’t find the bath salts to be a therapeutic elixir to ease away the stress of the day and lull you into a tranquil state before bed, they will refund your money.

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Amber Sayer
Amber Sayer
Former Digital Trends Contributor

Amber Sayer is a fitness, nutrition, and wellness writer and editor, and was previously a Fitness Editor at Byrdie. She contributes to Women's Running and freelances for various fitness blogs. As a certified personal trainer for 12 years, Amber enjoys staying active and helping others do so as well. In her free time, she likes running, cycling, cooking, and tackling any type of puzzle.

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