The market for pillow sprays and pillow mists has grown quickly over the last few years. If you have a hard time winding down at bedtime, a sleep spray can help you relax and sleep more soundly. Each pillow spray has a different blend of essential oils, to help prepare your mind and body for sleep.
The science of pillow sprays
The available science around this is quite limited. Pay attention at the back please..
The most relevant study I’ve found is by Sabiniewicz, Zimmerman et al and was published in 2022. It was called ‘effects of odours on sleep quality in 139 healthy participants’ and was carried out in Germany.
Researchers gave volunteers a variety of nose clips which smelt of things like orange, a floral smell and a perfume. They also gave them a nose clip without any smell.
They found ‘no consistent effect on sleep’ that could be put down to the smelly nose clips. However, they did conclude that ‘the individual pleasantness of odours enhanced the positive assessment of sleep quality’. They added that ‘the subjective perception of an odour’s hedonic value appears to be crucial for sleep quality’.
A good summary of the study was provided by the British Psychological Society who said that ‘this new work does suggest that how much you like a smell is what matters, rather than the odour itself.‘ It was also pointed out that wearing a nose clip might not actually be the most comfortable way to sleep.
The same source also said that ‘Some researchers have suggested that certain scents (including lavender and citrus odours) may act via the central nervous system to exert a direct relaxing or mood-boosting effect‘.
So, choose a smell you like rather than worrying too much about which one has the right scientific blend to send you to sleep.
The two things to look for when you’re buying a pillow spray.
- Take a look at the scents used in the spray. As mentioned above, it seems to be important that you like the smell rather than just enduring it in the hope that it will aid relaxation. Lavender is a popular ingredient. It is usually mixed with other essential oils, so choose a spray which combines Lavender and Sandalwood if that’s what appeals to you.
- Some sprays are called pillow sprays and are therefore safe to spray on your bed. Others are designed to spray around your bedroom and shouldn’t make contact with your bed. You’ll need to bear that in mind when choosing.
So if counting sheep doesn’t work for you, have a look at five of the best pillow sprays we’ve picked out, based on customer reviews, specification and value for money in 2023.
1. This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray - £15.75 for 75ml
Perhaps the most well known of all of the sleep sprays is This Works Deep Pillow Spray. According to their own website, about nine million have been sold.
This is a pillow spray so can be used on your bed.
Glamour Magazine gave it an award in 2022 and called it their ‘wellness winner’.
The mix of oils in this one is Lavender, Chamomile and Vetivert. I though Vertivert played for Chelsea but apparently it is a herb that smells a bit like ‘dry grass on a warm day’ (that’s according to a candle company).
The ingredients are described as being 99% natural, vegan and cruelty free. The data from their own studies are certainly a ringing endorsement. They claim that ‘97% of panel users slept better’. Take note that this is a figure from the company’s own marketing.
You can also purchase bath soak, shower gel and body lotion in the same range.
The This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray scores 4.4/5 from over 19,000 reviews on Amazon. It is mid priced compared to the others in our list. The bottle size is relatively large.
Our Value Rating: **** (see notes at foot of page)
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2. Neom Perfect Night’s Sleep Pillow Mist – £19.90 for 30ml
This Sleep spray from Neon gets outstanding customer reviews with an average of 4.6/5 on Amazon from 1200 ratings.
It’s another big seller which uses lavender. You can expect a smell a bit like freshly cut lavender.
Alongside that are 13 other ‘essential oils’ including Jasmine. An essential oil is one which is extracted from a plant. They are made by ‘steaming or pressing various parts of a flower…to capture the compounds which produce fragrance’ according to John Hopkins Medicine t
You can also buy the same smelly stuff in bath foam, body butter and candles.
The mist version sprays directly onto the pillow.
It’s not cheap but it only uses 100% natural fragrances. You can buy a mini 5ml size if you just want to give it a go without splashing out for the full 30ml bottle.
Our Value Rating: ****
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3. Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax Sleep Mist – £31.90 for 50ml
The Aromatherapy Associate spray is another one which uses the Vetivert herb. Other ingredients include chamomile, which is a daisy like flower and Sandalwood, which is a smelly tree.
It is the most expensive on our list but the bottle size is more generous than some at 50ml.
Reviews on Amazon and Boots are positive with an average of 4.3/5 on both sites. The spray can be used on your body, sheets and pillows (although you might just choose one at that price). They also sell a bath and shower oil and a body lotion in the same range.
It is vegan and free from synthetic fragrances, SLS and petro-chemicals.
Our Value Rating: ***
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4. Tisserand Aromatherapy Sleep Better Pillow Mist – £7.75 for 100ml
The Tisserand Pillow Mist is significantly cheaper than most others on our list, so you might conclude that it’s worth a punt.
It uses Lavender, Jasmine and Sandalwood – so many of the same ingredients as the pricier products. It uses 100% pure essential oils and is a vegan product.
You can spray it directly onto the pillow. Other products in the same range include a roller ball. This is nothing to do with the 1975 film but is a scent which you roll onto your skin. You can also buy it as a bath and shower wash and as a diffuser oil.
It scores 4.4/5 from over 3000 reviews on Amazon. It gets similarly positive scores on its own website and from Boots.
Our Value Rating: *****
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5. The White Company Sleep Soothing Pillow Mist – £22 for 125ml
Finally a mention for the pillow mist from the White Company’s Calm Scent collection. This is a good choice if you want to buy from a familiar brand name.
It uses Lavender, Clary Sage and Chamomile. Clary Sage is not the name of a celebrity’s daughter but is in fact a purple coloured herb from the Mediterranean.
It suggests that you use the mist on bed linen and bathrobes.
Also in the range is a ‘pulse point oil’, candle, diffuser, bath soak and body lotion.
You can buy a duo set that includes a mini sleep soothing pillow mist 50ml and a 10ml pulse point.
It scores 5/5 from reviewers but this is based on a much smaller number of customers than those sold on Amazon. It is another vegan pillow mist.
Our Value Rating: ****
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About our value rating
‘Our Value Rating’ is our subjective opinion of what you are getting for your money. We compare the price when we checked with the specification of the pillow spray and rival pillow sprays. We factor in the ingredients, price, customer reviews and other factors to reach our conclusions.
If you see a five star rating, it means we think it is ‘exceptionally good value’. We tend to give out a maximum of one or two of these ratings in each of our guides. Four star ratings mean that we think a product is ‘very good value’ whilst three star products are ‘good value’ in our opinion. Two star and one star products are not usually included in our guides as we think they only offer ‘reasonably good value’ and ‘poor value’ respectively.
Need a pillow? Check out our guide to the best pillows