Is lavender essential oil effective for people with Insomnia?

Who would have thought that something so simple could help me so much?

I'm a 100% believer in modern medicine, but I think a little help from alternative medicine will do no harm.

I've heard of Essential Oils, but never gave them a second thought because . . . well, re-read first seven words in above sentence . . . I just think you need to first turn to the "proven" stuff.
That being said, I think I might be changing my mind . . .

A yoga instructor at class recently told me that lavender oil can help you sleep. She said her husband puts a few drops of lavender essential oil on the bottom of one foot and a few drops of serenity essential oil on the other foot, thus being cured of his insomnia! I was given samples of both (pure, without chemicals works the best) and WOW, I slept like a baby. Typically, I need to swallow an Ambien pill to help me sleep and I did not when I used the essential oil! Now, the fact that I'd just done a relaxing yoga class where the instructor gave us all head massages (yummy!), after having us smell lavender oil, may have also had something to do with my deep sleep.


But, I'm telling you, LAVENDER OIL has some sort of positive effect on sleep because I've used it every night since, and I'm sleeping deeper (with or without Ambien, I've tried both). I stopped by the health food store and picked up some lavender essential oil, but I could tell this was not as pure as the stuff I'd gotten at yoga. Pure, or course, is more expensive but VERY worth it. I actually sneezed from the smell of the unpure stuff (I think I put too much on my pillow), and it smelled like alcohol and chemicals.

You have to get the pure stuff from an independent sales consultant and doTerra, I'm told, is the best. That is the brand I used at yoga. Like I said before, I can definitely tell a difference between doTerra and the cheap stuff you buy at the health food store.