Do you ever feel like you need a little boost to your mood? Maybe you want to feel more relaxed or maybe more energized. Or maybe you're looking for a bit of relief from the symptoms of a cold or the stress of daily work.
If any of this sounds familiar, Aromatherapy may be a good solution for you! Aromatherapy is all about harnessing the power of scents to help improve your mood, energy level, and health. It's based on the idea that scents can trigger emotional responses in our brains and responses from other systems in our bodies.
The word "Aromatherapy" was coined in 1928 by French chemist René Maurice Gattefossé, who used the term to describe how the oils could be used for healing purposes, however, the practice of Aromatherapy has been around for thousands of years. For example, ancient Egyptians used aromatic oils in their mummification process and personal hygiene, religious ceremonies, and cosmetics.
Others have also long used essential oils for therapeutic purposes: Ancient Greeks used them for bathing and massage; ancient Romans used them in their public baths, and Native Americans used them in steam baths and smudge pots.
Today we find Aromatherapy in various settings, including hospitals and homes. Aromatherapists can be found using essential oils to treat patients' physical conditions (such as asthma) or mental health issues (such as stress and depression). All over the world, people incorporate aromatherapy into their daily lives by using essential oils to help them relax or unwind at the end of a long day.
How to use Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is a perfect way to improve your mood, help yourself relax, or enjoy the sweet smell of essential oils. It's easy to get started with aromatherapy. Here are five ways you can use it:
Diffuser: Diffusers spread the scent of essential oils into the air. If you want to lift your mood or help yourself sleep, try using a diffuser in your room.
Bath or foot soak: Adding essential oils to your bath water can help you relax and feel refreshed simultaneously! Next time you need to soak away the day's worries, try it for yourself.
Inhalant: You can drop some essential oil on a handkerchief or tissue and smell it whenever you need some uplifted spirits or relaxation!
Massage (in a carrier oil): Massage therapy is another form of alternative medicine that helps relieve pain and muscle tension and improve circulation. Use a pre-blended massage oils.
Topically: On your skin (but only after diluting). Some people find that applying diluted essential oils directly to their skin helps treat pain and other symptoms, including headache, inflammation, nausea, and depression.
Benefits of using Aromatherapy Oils
Physical Benefits of Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy Oils for Headaches
The next time you feel a headache coming on, you might want to reach for some essential oils instead of your go-to bottle of over-the-counter pain pills.
Many essential oils can be used to treat headaches, including tension headaches, which are caused by stress or muscle tension; sinus headaches, which accompany a cold or flu and are due to inflammation in the sinuses; and migraines, which are often triggered by stress or hormonal changes in women and teenagers.
The best essential oils for treating headaches include lavender oil, peppermint oil, or rosemary oil. Lavender oil is one of the most popular aromatherapy scents because it has a calming effect that helps calm the nerves and alleviate stress; it can also help with insomnia. Peppermint oil smells like mint candy and provides quick relief from headache pain, while rosemary oil is ideal for migraines because it increases oxygen flow to the brain.
Improve Digestion
In addition to being the perfect way to relax, treat anxiety and depression, and soothe your skin, aromatherapy oils can also help you deal with digestive issues like constipation, upset stomachs, IBS, and other bowel diseases.
Peppermint essential oil is one of the best for helping with digestion. It helps with gas, cramps, and indigestion. To relieve these symptoms, you can inhale peppermint oil from a diffuser or dab some on your temples or back of the neck. It also helps with appetite loss from motion sickness or morning sickness during pregnancy.
Lemon balm essential oil is another great oil for digestion. It can help reduce bloating by acting as a mild antispasmodic that soothes the muscles in your stomach and reduces gas formation. It is also antibacterial, which helps prevent food poisoning and other stomach infections caused by bacteria.
If you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), lavender essential oil could be a new best friend. It helps reduce anxiety which is one of the main causes of IBS attacks.
Respiratory
With Aromatherapy, respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, and colds can also be treated.
Treatment usually involves respiratory massage and inhalation of essential oils. For respiratory massage, essential oils are massaged over the chest, back, and throat to help relieve congestion. On the other hand, for inhalation, a few drops of essential oil are added to a bowl of steaming water, and the patient inhales the vapor for about 10 minutes.
Asthma is not a simple disease affecting only your lungs. It has been found that psychological factors such as stress may worsen your asthma symptoms too. This is why many people find complementary therapies such as aromatherapy useful in treating their asthma symptoms because these therapies can help them relax and reduce stress.
Skin conditions:
Essential oils can be used to treat skin conditions such as acne, boils, wounds, and scarring. Various medical studies have shown that aromatherapy effectively treats certain skin problems. However, if a wound or boil becomes infected, see your doctor for treatment.
Acne.
If you're an acne sufferer, you've probably tried many things to clear it up: from the latest blue light therapy gadget to the most ancient remedy in your grandma's book. But if you haven't tried herbal remedies, you should consider giving them a shot!
Acne affects many people of all ages and has many causes, including hormonal imbalance and stress. Essential oils that help treat acne include tea tree oil, which has antibacterial properties; lavender oil, which helps reduce inflammation; geranium oil, which helps to balance hormones; and peppermint oil, which helps to reduce stress redness.
Boils:
Yep, you read that right. We're going to be talking about boils. And you know what? That's okay. It's 2022, and it's time for us to get real about some things—and let's face it, boils are a real thing that happens to all of us from time to time. But don't worry: we've got you covered.
Essential oils are one of the easiest ways to treat a boil because they're so easy to use. Add a few drops of tea tree oil or lavender oil (or both!) to your favorite carrier oil, and rub the mixture onto the affected area several times a day until the boil disappears.
Some people think that clogged pores in the skin cause boil. The truth is that they're caused by bacteria that live on the surface of your skin and enter through small scrapes or cuts on the skin's surface. Sometimes they even develop because an ingrown hair has become infected!
So next time you feel a bump under your skin and start wondering if it might be a boil—don't stress! Just grab some essential oils and get ready to bid farewell to your boil!
Skin irritations
If you're dealing with skin irritations like eczema, dermatitis, or psoriasis and are looking for a natural way to relieve them, we've got some good news for you: aromatherapy oils can help!
That's because essential oils are anti-inflammatory, which means they can reduce the redness and swelling associated with these conditions. They can also reduce the itchiness that often comes with them.
You may also be interested in using aromatherapy oils as part of your daily skincare routine since they're known to be anti-aging and will help keep your skin looking youthful and healthy.
Boost Immunity
Are you tired of having to cancel plans, stay home from work, or even miss out on important events because your immune system is too weak?
Using essential oils is a great way to help boost your immune system and keep your body strong enough to fight off infections and disease. In fact, studies have shown that certain essential oils can decrease white blood cell count in patients with weakened immune systems.
This makes it easy for viruses and bacteria to take root in their bodies and cause illness.
By using essential oils, you are creating an environment in your body that is inhospitable to these pathogens, making it harder for them to cause illness. So next time you feel like something might be coming on, try diffusing some tea tree oil into your room or rubbing lemon balm onto your chest before bed.
Mental and Emotional Benefits of Aromatherapy
Improves sleep
It's a well-known fact that sleep is critical to your overall health and wellness, and not just because it's super fun. A good night's sleep helps you focus and improve your memory, strengthens your immune system, promotes a healthy weight, boosts your mood, and even improves your sex life.
So yeah. Sleep is pretty important. But the World Health Organization estimates that around 50 to 70 million US adults suffer from a sleep disorder, so… maybe some of us should be trying a little harder?