9 Best Calming Essential Oils for Anxiety, Stress and Sleep

Aromatherapy with specific calming essential oils is one of the most common natural remedies for anxiety. Stress-reducing essential oils may help on their own or be a great addition to any other anti-anxiety approaches you are using. Research backs up the use of aromatherapy for relieving stress, anxiety, PTSD, depression, and helping with sleep.

Read on to learn which essential oils made my Top Nine for stress, anxiety, and sleep. 

[Post updated for 2026.]

What's in This Article

Note: The information in this article should not be taken as medical advice. It is always advisable to consult with your personal medical professionals when considering natural remedies. 

What is Aromatherapy?

If you’re curious why scent can influence stress responses so quickly, I explain the brain–smell connection in more detail here. 🟢➜ How Aromatherapy Scents Affect the Brain and Mood

Can Essential Oil Aromatherapy Help With Anxiety?

"Aromatherapy is the most commonly used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for treating anxiety symptoms around the world."

—A Systematic Review on the Anxiolytic Effects of Aromatherapy in People with Anxiety Symptoms

Best Calming Essential Oils for Relieving Anxiety, Stress, and Insomnia

Which essential oil is best for you is a personal choice and will depend in large part on how much you enjoy the scent and safety concerns connected to your individual situation. 

Cost is another consideration when choosing an oil. Some essential oils are more expensive than others to produce because they are rare, difficult to extract, or it takes a lot of the plant to create high-quality oils.

For example, it takes:

• 20-30 pounds of rose petals to create 5 ml (.17 ounces) of rose essential oil, and 

• 10 pounds of orange blossoms to produce 5 ml of neroli oil.

A little goes a long way with essential oils. You use just a few drops at a time. Still, you may want to try less expensive options first.

Important: Essential oil safety varies by age, health status, pregnancy, and pet exposure. For general safety principles and links to detailed guidance for children, pets, and pregnancy, 🟢➜ Aromatherapy Essential Oil Safety Tips: What You Need to Know.

9 Top Essential Oils for Calming Anxiety and Stress, and Improving Sleep

Here's my list of nine essential oils that research tells us have calming effects. The first six oils are relatively inexpensive—$10 to $20 per bottle of high-quality oil. The final three are more costly.

Clicking on links on each anti-anxiety essential oil will take you to that oil in the Edens Garden or Nirvana Nurture brands. (These oils meet the quality assurance standards described in my Essential Oil Buyer’s Guide: What to Look for in Aromatherapy Oils post.)

1. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
2. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)
3. Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis)
4. Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens)
5. Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) (furocoumarin-free (FCF))
6. Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata).
7. Melissa, AKA Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) 
8. Neroli, AKA Bitter orange blossom (Citrus aurantium)
9. Rose (Rosa centifolia, Rosa damascena)

If you’re interested in the research behind these calming oils, I summarize key human and animal studies here. 🟢➜ The Research Behind Calming Essential Oils for Anxiety, Stress, and Sleep 

The safety notes and medication considerations below can help you pick one of the calming scents to enjoy and make part of a simple routine — a few deep breaths at the end of the day, a short diffuser session while you unwind, or paired with a grounding activity like journaling or stretching.

Blended Calming Aromatherapy Oils 

Some brands produce mixtures of essential oils for anxiety and stress relief. 

Here are some examples of undiluted calming blends:

De-Stress by Nirvana Nurture includes 5 essences on my anti-anxiety list: Bergamot, Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Sweet Orange, and Geranium oils

Edens Garden Anxiety Ease Essential Oil Synergy Blend has 3 from my list: Sweet Orange, Ylang Ylang, and Lemongrass. 

Safety Notes About the Stress-Relieving Essential Oils List

Essential oils can be a wonderful addition to your wellness routine, offering natural support for relaxation and stress relief. However, their concentrated nature requires careful handling to ensure safety for you, your loved ones, and even your pets.

Safe usage of essential oils includes proper dilution with carrier oils before applying them to the skin and choosing the right oils for your specific needs.

🟢➜ I get into the details in my Aromatherapy Essential Oil Safety Tips: What You Need to Know post. Be sure to check it out if the oils will be used on or around children, pregnant or breastfeeding moms, other vulnerable adults, or pets. 

Note about Bergamot oil: My safety tips post explains why you need to look for bergamot essential oils labeled as bergaptene-free (BF) or furanocoumarin-free (FCF) or other product information that assures the furanocoumarin is removed. The Edens Garden Bergamot oil linked in my recommended oils list mentions that it is "furocoumarin-free (FCF)."

I offer lots of oil options so you can choose ones that are a good fit for you. 

Anti-Anxiety Essential Oil Medication Interactions

While essential oils offer incredible benefits for relaxation, stress relief, and better sleep, it’s important to recognize how they may interact with certain medications.

Since these essential oils have a calming effect, they have the potential of increasing the impact of:

• High blood pressure medication
• Sedatives
• Sleep aids
• Anti-depressants

Here are some additional examples of how some of the listed calming essential oils may influence pharmaceutical medications:

Geranium, and Lemon Balm may amplify the blood sugar-lowering effects of diabetes medications, increasing the risk of hypoglycemia.

Bergamot may increase the effects of statins.

Lemon balm may interfere with medication for thyroid disease. 

Using essential oils mindfully helps you maximize their calming benefits while avoiding potential risks. Keep medication interactions in mind to ensure safe and effective use. And consult your personal medical professionals to check on possible interactions if you are taking pharmaceutical drugs or have medical conditions.   

Anxiety Books, Workbooks, and Recordings for Stress Relief

Anxiety has long been one of my counseling specialties. I've helped hundreds of clients relieve everything from a worn-out, stressed feeling to general anxiety to fear of flying. I've also dealt with anxiety myself. 

My particular mix of academic study of the topic, work experience, and personal experience gives me unique insight into what anxiety feels like, what it’s all about, and how to reduce it.

Along the way, I've published self-help/therapist-help books, workbooks, PDF printables and fillable forms, and anxiety-relieving hypnosis recordings so that more people like you can benefit from what I've learned.

🟢➜ To explore these anxiety-relief resources, click the graphic below.

Note: I may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this post, but they do not impact your cost. The links are placed for your convenience. 

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