What does it mean to sleep with a basil branch under your pillow?

Commonly used in the kitchen to enhance a tomato sauce or a Mediterranean salad, this aromatic plant also stands out for those who practice it traditional medicine.

Prepared as an infusionbasil It has digestive properties, as it relieves constipation, bloating and acts as a laxative or against lack of appetite.

On the skin, It is usually effective in healing wounds or fighting acne.and also to keep insects away thanks to its penetrating odor.

But many people usually sleep with a sprig of its green leaves under their pillow. This habit It is related to the relaxing effects provided by basil essential oils.

What does it mean to sleep with a basil branch under your pillow?

Beyond traditional medicine, basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), a herbaceous plant originally from India which then spread throughout the Mediterranean and the rest of the world, it has always had a spiritual meaning.

For supporters of Feng ShuiFor example, basil acts, like bay leaf, like a magnet to attract prosperity and success. Its aroma is said to be effective in driving away negative energies and purifying the environment. The Spanish site Clara describes these esoteric properties as well as the places in the house where to place a basil plant.

Easy to grow at home, because the plant It does not exceed half a meter in height, to be effective, again according to Feng Shui, it must be in strategic places. For example, next to the main entrance; in the so-called prosperity area (rear left part of the house) or in the work or study area.

However, Feng Shui says nothing about sleeping with basil leaves under your pillow.. But the truth, as the Hola magazine website points out, is that basil has properties against insomnia. This custom would be linked to the essential oils of the plant (estragole, cineole, eugenol, flavonoids and saponosides) which would have sedative effects if consumed as an infusion.

For those who believe in the esoteric, there is another way to benefit from it. Like a bay leaf, which many people put on a shoe To attract wealth and prosperity, some basil leaves would have properties that would help you sleep better.

In this sense, some recommend putting a little basil on the pillow before sleeping so that it brings tranquility to the soul and acts as an effective weapon against stress. insomnia. The sheets should remain under or inside the pillow.

Of course, while some followers of the simple ritual say that they have to stay there all night, to free themselves essential oils and thus they give tranquility to those who rest, others assure that it is enough for them to remain alone during the day. And when night comes you have to remove them from the pillow.