Which remedy for sleep
Not sleeping is one complaint with a dozen different reasons behind it, and the remedy follows the reason rather than the complaint. A head that will not stop replaying the day is a different problem from waking at three with a dread you cannot name, and both are different again from being too wound up to put the day down. Tick whatever sounds like you and this narrows eight remedies to the two or three that fit.
Common questions
Which Bach flower remedy is best for sleep?
White Chestnut is where most people land, because the commonest reason for lying awake is a head that will not stop, and that is what it has always been used for. It is not automatic though. Aspen fits waking at three with a dread that has no cause, Vervain the nights when you are too wound up to put the day down, Olive the exhaustion that sleep no longer touches, and Hornbeam the tiredness that is really about the morning ahead. Oak is for the people who cannot let themselves stop, and Red Chestnut for the nights you lose to somebody else's trouble.
Is Rescue Sleep different from Rescue Remedy?
By one flower. Rescue Sleep is Nelsons' night version, the same five remedies as the crisis formula with White Chestnut added for the thoughts that will not settle, and the dropper is glycerin based rather than alcohol based. It is sold as Rescue Night in some countries, which trips people up more than it should: same six flowers, different label.
How is this different from the main remedy test?
The main test asks you to pick one of the seven emotional groups first, then works inside whichever you choose. Bad nights do not come from one group. The eight remedies here are drawn from five of the seven, so this skips the sorting and asks what keeps you awake instead.
When in the day do I take it?
Four drops, four times a day, and the last of those goes in while you are getting ready for bed rather than at the moment you turn the light off. If you wake in the night you can take four more. The tradition puts the emphasis on taking it regularly rather than on taking a lot, so a missed dose matters more than a small one.
What if the real problem is worry rather than sleep?
Worth checking, because it changes the answer. If the nights are bad because the days are anxious, the anxiety quiz on this site asks a different set of questions and will get you closer. The two share several remedies, so you may well arrive at the same one from either direction, and that is a good sign rather than a wasted five minutes.
Do you store my answers?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing reaches us. The link you can copy at the end carries the names of the remedies and nothing else about you.
Prefer to read rather than answer?
The seven emotional groups cover the same ground at your own pace, and the full list is searchable by name and by how you feel.