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The Essence Guide

The sleep blend

Nelsons' answer to bad nights is the crisis formula plus one more remedy: White Chestnut, the one for thoughts that go round on a loop. Sold ready made as Rescue Sleep, and simple to mix yourself from the six singles.

The six inside, and why each is there

Each one covers a different face of the same situation, and the blend is all of them together. Read any of them in full to see how much of it is yours, and buy them singly if you would rather mix your own.

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When people reach for it

  • You lie awake replaying a conversation from three days ago
  • You fall asleep fine, then wake at three and the thinking starts
  • You are tired all evening and wide awake the moment you get into bed
  • Tomorrow is a big day and your head has decided to hold a rehearsal

How to take it

From the ready made bottle, four drops on the tongue as you turn out the light, and again if you wake in the night. It is not a sedative, so there is nothing to sleep off in the morning and no known way to take too much.

To mix your own, put two drops of each of the six into a 30ml bottle of spring water and take four drops four times a day, with the last dose at lights out. That is the blend as it stands. If only one or two of the six sound like your nights, mix just those, since a smaller bottle that matches you does more than the full recipe taken on principle.

The mixing guide walks through the whole method, bottle sizes and all.

The ready made makes

Rescue Sleep is Nelsons' night version of the crisis formula, the same five remedies with White Chestnut added, sold as a dropper, a spray and dissolving melts. The same product goes by Rescue Night in some countries, which causes more confusion than it should: same six flowers, different label.

  • Rescue SleepNelsons, sold as Rescue Night in some countries

Common questions

What is in Rescue Sleep?

Six remedies: the five from the crisis formula (Rock Rose, Impatiens, Clematis, Star of Bethlehem and Cherry Plum) plus White Chestnut, the remedy for thoughts that circle. The dropper's base is vegetable glycerin and water, so unlike the classic drops there is no alcohol involved.

Which remedy does the heavy lifting?

White Chestnut, for most people. The looping, replaying, round again head is the single most common reason people lie awake, and it is the one remedy in the bottle chosen specifically for night. If your sleeplessness is mostly loop, White Chestnut on its own is a perfectly good place to start.

What if my nights look different?

Then build your own bottle instead, because the formula does not cover every kind of bad night. Waking with dread and nothing to pin it on points to Aspen. A mind still running at full speed after a wound up day points to Vervain. Worries that wait politely until the house goes quiet point to Agrimony. Two drops of each into a mixing bottle alongside White Chestnut, and you have a sleep blend that is actually yours.

Will it make me drowsy in the morning?

No. The remedies are not sedatives and do not knock you out. The tradition is that they work on what is keeping you awake rather than on sleep itself, which is why there is no groggy morning after and nothing to time carefully.

Is it the same as Rescue Night?

Yes. Rescue Sleep and Rescue Night are the same six remedy product under different labels for different countries. If a bottle you bought abroad says Night and the one at your pharmacy says Sleep, nothing has changed but the sticker.

A blend is one answer for everyone

If what you are carrying is a pattern rather than a situation, a remedy chosen for how you actually feel will fit better. The quiz narrows the 38 in about a minute.

Rescue Sleep, Rescue Night and Rescue Remedy are registered trademarks of Bach Flower Remedies Ltd, part of the Nelsons group. This site is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Nelsons.