Modern life is demanding, and getting good rest at the end of the day is critical for facing the next morning. However, racing thoughts, digital distractions, and other nighttime disruptions can make it hard to get to sleep. That’s why many people are turning towards meditation practices to calm the mind and body at night, making bedtime a more soothing process.
One of the most powerful assets in the bedtime meditator’s toolbox is incense. The right blend of notes can relax the mind and prime the body for sleep, while also providing a calming nightly ritual. This guide showcases the six best incense blends for sleep available today.
How We Ranked These Incense Blends
To track down the best of the best in sleep incense, an independent research team evaluated top incense blends on a set of five criteria. The team then assigned each blend a weighted 100-point score from those rankings, showing the general value and quality of each option.
- Ingredient Quality and Craftsmanship (35%): How well-made is the incense? Is it composed of high-quality ingredients instead of synthetic fragrances?
- Sleep Scent Focus (25%): Are the notes of the incense specifically chosen to be calming?
- Burn Time (15%): How long does each incense stick burn? Will a stick provide scent over a long period of time to carry the user to sleep?
- Routine and Ritual Fit (15%): How well does the incense fit into everyday meditation rituals and bedtime routines?
- Cost Per Unit (10%): How much does each individual stick of incense cost the user?
Best Incense Sticks for Sleep
1. Othership Down Blend Natural Incense: Overall Best Incense Stick for Sleep
The Othership Natural Incense Down Blend is the overall best incense stick for sleep. The incense’s blend is specifically designed by Othership for winding down at bedtime, with soothing notes like cedar, vetiver, and spruce to calm and balance before bed. The blend is 100% natural, and the incense is hand-dipped in small batches to ensure quality and consistency. This also ensures a smooth, even, and long-lasting burn, helping users set a relaxing tone in their space long before getting into bed.
Othership’s Down blend is perfect for evening wind-downs, but can also be used during meditation, yoga, or journaling. Their in-house production ensures each incense stick is well-blended and properly formed. With its specially-formulated sleep-focused fragrance, the Down blend is the overall best choice for relaxing and recentering at the end of a long day.
- Notes: Black spruce, eastern red cedar, atlas cedar, vetiver, patchouli, blood orange, western red cedar
- Uses Per Package: 11 sticks
- Price: $17.77 ($15.82 with subscription)
- Uses: Meditation, yoga, nighttime wind-downs
2. Othership Signature Scent Natural Incense: Best for Nervous System Regulation
The Othership Signature Scent incense blend is the best option for calming a racing mind before bed. The fragrance blend is composed of three different types of cedarwood, which provides an earthy, grounding effect that recenters and composes a scattered mind. This scent is perfect for regulating the mind and body before bed, while also serving as a perfect companion for meditation and breathwork. Like all Othership incense, the Signature Scent is hand-rolled in-shop to ensure quality and an even burn.
- Notes: Eastern red cedar, western red cedar, northern white cedar
- Uses Per Package: 11 sticks
- Price: $17.77 ($15.82 with subscription)
- Uses: Nervous system realignment, regulation, recentering
3. Othership Sanctuary Incense Gift Set: Best for Scent Variety
The Othership Sanctuary Incense Gift Set is the best option for fragrance variety, for users who want to incorporate incense into their daily routine beyond bedtime. The gift set features Othership’s Up, Down, All Around, Signature, and Sojourn sets, arming incense lovers with a blend for every stage of the day. It also provides the best value for buying Othership incense, and contains two bright blends that provide the perfect daytime companion to meditation- and incense-guided sleep.
- Blends: Up, Down, All Around, Signature, and Sojourn
- Uses Per Package: 5 packs of 11 sticks
- Price: $82.22 ($73.18 with subscription)
- Uses: Varied scent blends can be used throughout daily routine
4. In Time 10pm Rest Incense: Best for Bedtime Experience
The In Time 10pm Rest Incense blend is the best option for value and a guided bedtime experience. This blend ships with access to a curated nighttime playlist that matches the sleep-focused incense blend, guiding users to a custom-made, multi-sensory pre-sleep experience. This blend also offers the best per-unit value, with a single package containing 30 units. This blend is based on lavender and honey, which are often used in aromatherapy to promote sleep, and also includes frankincense to relax the mind. Between the tailored playlist and the hand-dipped, ethically-sourced incense sticks, the 10pm Rest incense blend is a worthy pick for all bedtime experience enthusiasts.
- Notes: Lavender, honey, frankincense
- Uses Per Package: 30 sticks
- Price: $26.00
- Uses: Unwinding and relaxing before sleep
5. Othership Sojourn Scent Premium Incense: Best All-Round Incense Blend
Othership’s Sojourn Scent Premium Incense is the best all-round incense blend. The scent includes geranium and petitgrain, which soothe and balance emotions, along with western red cedar to ground, recenter, and stabilize. These relaxing elements are accompanied by uplifting orange, making the Sojourn scent a high-quality choice for both bedtime and the morning routine. Sojourn also provides a strong background for breathwork, cleaning, or creative work, and is a great choice for general use throughout the home at all hours of the day.
- Notes: Geranium, petitgrain, orange, western red cedar
- Uses Per Package: 11 sticks
- Price: $17.77 ($15.82 with subscription)
- Uses: Meditation, yoga, relaxing, winding down at bedtime
6. Soul Space Sleep Incense: Best No-Ash Sleep Incense Blend
Soul Space Sleep Incense is the best no-ash incense blend for sleep. Soul Space offers an interesting alternative to traditional incense; rather than being compressed into sticks, their blends are delivered in loose packages. To release the scent, users scoop a teaspoon of incense onto a steel mesh above a tea candle; the fire from the candle warms the incense without directly burning it, making for a gentler, low-smoke incense experience. Flame is still involved, but without directly lighting the incense, the experience is significantly lower-maintenance, making it a good choice for creating a calming atmosphere before bed without too much effort. The blend uses prominent sleep aromatherapy elements and is a great choice for the end of the day.
- Notes: Lavender, vanilla, honey
- Uses Per Package: Approximately 20
- Price: $25.00
- Uses: Softening and quieting a space before bedtime
Spin-Off Rankings by Use Case
Best Incense Blend for Value
The Best Sleep Incense Blend for You
Whether you’re a beginner to the world of incense or a seasoned meditator, Othership incense has you covered at bedtime and beyond. Othership’s hand-dipped incense is perfect for easing into bedtime, and also works as a companion for breathwork, yoga, journaling, or any kind of self-care ritual. The Down nighttime blend, Signature Scent Natural Cedar incense, Sanctuary gift set, and Sojourn premium blend are all great choices for winding down after a long day.
Browse Othership’s full incense lineup, along with a wide range of on-site spa experiences, on their website.