What are the Health Benefits of Aromatherapy and Essential Oils?

What are Aromatherapy Health Benefits?

Is there really anything to aromatherapy? Has anyone scientifically studied aromatherapy? The answer is yes: there have been studies on aromatherapy, with exciting conclusions.

Aromatherapy is when you use smells to improve your body and mental state. You can actually evoke very specific physical and emotional reactions with scent. This is because the sense of smell is so primal; when you smell something, a very primal space in your brain reacts without you putting  alot of thought into it. This is why we have such strong reactions to smells, especially if they are linked to experiences we’ve had.

One of the most trusted of the aromatherapy studies shows that lavender has a very powerful affect on you physically. The physical effect of lavender is to slow your heart rate and actually lower your blood pressure. Many massage therapists use lavender essential oils in their lotions, oils, and to diffuse in their offices. Many adult-care (senior) facilities use lavender oils and lotions to calm their dementia patients. Another proven scent is geranium; it also relaxes the body is a similar way to lavender.

Another interesting aromatherapy find is that peppermint is quite a potent scent. Peppermint sharpens your mental focus, enabling you to concentrate and feel alert. In one study, kids who chewed peppermint gum while taking tests performed better than students who chewed any other flavor gum.

Another fun aromatherapy scent is grapefruit essential oil, which is said to work as an appetite suppressant. A fun study on age perception and scent determined that men thought women who wore grapefruit essential oils were younger than when those same women were evaluated while wearing other scents.

However, you have to be careful when choosing aromatherapy products. Your body won’t have the same response to a synthetic product as an essential oil. And grade of the essential oil matters; always choose a high grade essential oil for maximum effectiveness. For best results, buy a 100% pure, therapeutic grade essential oil and mix it into lotions and a base oil, such as fractionated coconut oil.

Thyme Essential Oil Conquers Anger

Have you ever gotten angry in a situation? Maybe you said some things you couldn’t take back? Maybe your temper showed your frustration? We’ve all been there. We’ve all experienced that. But what do you do when you’re feeling especially livid? What if you’re at work and you just can’t take a 10 minute time-out break to cool off. What if you’re stuck in traffic and running late for an appointment?

Let me suggest something to you. Instead of telling your boss where to go, or causing an accident due to road rage, simply reach for your Thyme. Thyme essential oil is wonderful at calming you down, relaxing you, soothing the stress, and melting away the anger like butter on a hot summer’s day.

Thyme is a hotter oil, so you want to use Fractionated Coconut Oil (FCO) with it instead of sprinkling it straight onto your skin. It’s best to do a 4 to 1 ratio. 4 drops FCO to one drop of Thyme oil. You can keep a roll on bottle of it in your car or in your purse. Just make sure that if you keep it in the car, your car doesn’t get too hot or it will kill the medicinal properties in the oil.

Next time you’re mad and tempted to take your anger out on someone or something, reach for the Thyme instead. You’ll feel better almost instantly.

Learn more about essential oils and aromatherapy on the Oily Gal Blog: https://oilygal.com