The history of aromatherapy and the exploration of its origins are quite fascinating. Although the term aromatherapy was not used until the 20th Century, the use of aromatic botanicals and aromatic oils date back thousands of years. Distillation and the use of essential oils date back nearly one thousand years. In brief, aromatherapy is the use of volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical well-being.
Dopamine is an important brain chemical that influences your mood and feelings of reward and motivation. It helps regulate body movements as well. Serotonin is a chemical that carries messages between nerve cells in the brain and throughout your body. Serotonin plays a key role in such body functions as mood, sleep, digestion, nausea, wound healing, etc...
One study showed that essential oils’ positive effects on mood directly correlated with the stimulation of serotonin and dopamine. Recent studies were in line with these findings, showing that Lavender stimulated dopamine receptors in the olfactory bulb of the brain. Furthermore, Bitter Orange oil was shown to relieve anxiety through its involvement with the serotonin receptor, 5-HT1A. Therefore, promising studies and research agree in large part with essential oils’ ability to stimulate serotonin and dopamine.
Scents travel faster to the brain than both sight and sound. Wow, that is amazing! Aromas can trigger emotional and even physical responses and create vivid memory recalls of people and places. Can you remember a time when a certain smell reminded you of something? Maybe it’s your favorite place, a loved one or even a childhood memory. It can even trigger sadness or a bad experience.
There are certain essential oils that can do that to me. The scent of orange will instantly take me back to those days growing up in Florida. I worked for Benny and Sandy Patton who ran Honey Farm. I loved going to the orange groves to add supers on to hives. The scent of the orange blossoms was so exhilarating! The seductive power of this orange perfume, from orange blossoms, is timeless and irresistible. Who can deny the emphatic potency of this complex aroma with its ability to transport me to a different time and emotion that I had forgotten?
Here are some traditionally used oils for difficult times when your body needs a little extra support to deal with the stress or a better night's sleep.
The Power of Aromas
- Chamomile, Roman provokes a warm, soothing feeling to help alleviate feelings of anxiety. It has a bright, crisp, sweet, fruity, and herbaceous scent.
- Clary Sage helps evoke a soothing, calming, and balancing effect. It has a bitter-sweet floral aroma with a slightly fruity and musky scent.
- Lavender contains powerful calming and relaxing properties which ease stress, tension, and worry. It has an herbaceous, sweet, floral aroma imparting a clean and soothing fragrance generating a serene state of mind.
- Virginia Cedarwood enhances any other essential oils that are used in a blend. It is known for calming the nervous system and is more useful for chronic nervous conditions than acute ones.
- Patchouli is known to eliminate unpleasant odors in the environment and to balance emotions. This sedative scent stimulates the release of pleasure hormones, namely serotonin, and dopamine and improves negative moods by enhancing the feeling of relaxation.
Aromatherapy can also provide some blessed relief to seasonal allergy sufferers!
Most people with allergies are often treated with antihistamines which can trigger side effects comparable to the allergies themselves: drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, and stomach pain. Histamines are organic compounds produced by the body as part of its immune response. So why mess with them!?! It comes as no surprise that artificially interfering with the body’s delicate immune system may sometimes make the sufferer feel worse rather than better. Several essential oils are known to reduce inflammation, clear sinuses, and alleviate itching.
These changes can be added to your daily routine for a better you!
Aromatherapy Diffusers, oil blended Roll-Ons and Inhalers are a healthier, more natural way to deal with allergies in your everyday living.
You can’t take a diffuser everywhere but an aromatherapy roll-on will fit in your pocket, bag, car, even your desk drawer. Even better, an inhaler is the size of a lip balm that keeps it more personal as co-workers or other people may not appreciative of a roll-on in a shared space.
Roll-ons, applied over your pulse points, release balancing and peace-inducing restorative benefits at any moment in a hectic day. I use mine just before bed for a better night's sleep!
Inhalers are pretty awesome! Simply remove the lid, hold the tube up to one nostril, pinch the other nostril closed, puff and inhale. BANG!! Those dopamine receptors go right to the brain helping to relieve anxiety, allergies or just giving you that much needed boost for the day.
Diffusers make your home healthy, smell great and clean the air! And, there are so many oils that can be used so you can literally create the atmosphere you desire by simply turning the diffuser on!
In fact, one of the main reasons I use a diffuser is for its health benefits. A diffuser disperses the oil molecules into the air allowing me to breathe them in. I have several essential oil recipes that I use for stress relief or when I just want to have feel-good kind of day.
During the allergy seasons I use all three of these methods throughout the day to help clear up my sinuses, reduce sneezing, and alleviate watery itchy eyes.
Be good to yourself!
Let The Power of Nature’s Natural Oils fuel your senses to promote grounding and emotional balance and allow the brain and body to relax by calming down emotions in the most natural way.