Improving Health & Wellness with Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy draws upon the healing powers of the flowers, stems, bark, seeds, leaves, roots, or peels of plants. It also encompasses a practice known as aromatic medicine, which centers on the belief that scent can strongly affect the mind. Historical use of essential oils dates back to ancient civilizations including the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks.

A new understanding of scent's crucial role in our physical and emotional wellbeing is transforming how we think about, nurture, and use our sense of smell.
Today, evidence-based studies around scent's powerful impact on our wellbeing are being released fast and furiously. At the same time, new aromas are being discovered, new scent-based applications and products announced, and new innovations in the ways we harness the power of scent are being found.

No matter where you are, you are likely being subtly (and not so subtly) influenced by scent. It is believed that an astonishing 75 percent of the emotions we generate on a daily basis are affected by smell, and, because of this, it is believed we are 100 times more likely to remember something we smell over something we see, hear or touch.

The brain/scent connection is being explored in every aspect of our lives-from the personal scents we choose to a growing conscious awareness of aroma's powerful impact on our daily activities to the building of medical evidence that supports scent's surprising power to heal.

Scent's ability to transport us to other places is used to great effect in multisensory experiences in spas that are designed to chill us out and calm us down. From experience showers to multisensory pods to float tanks, spas are deploying scent to trigger subtle changes in our bodies, such as lowering heart rate and blood pressure, improving breath, and triggering positive memories for stress reduction.

Perhaps one of the most widely known effects that aromatherapy brings is a calming effect within the mind and body. Upon the use of particular essential oils in aromatherapy, the brain signals the release of certain hormones in the body as a way to stimulate a calming effect.
The University of Maryland Medical Center has found that aromatherapy helps relieve pain, improve mood, and promote a sense of relaxation. Aromatherapy has also been found to relieve anxiety, stress, and depression.

Surprisingly, it seems that serotonin, endorphin, and noradrenaline are all signaled for release in the body with the use of calming essential oils. Serotonin and endorphin are two compounds that serve a similar function to that of certain opioids, thus explaining the calming effect that you could experience with regular use.

Some of the most common essential oils are listed below:

For fear and anxiety: Frankincense, lavender and rose

For pain: Ginger, dwarf pine

Soothe nausea, headache and vomiting: Ginger, peppermint or lemon

For peace, calm and mood boost: Orange blossom

To increase flexibility and range of motion: Rosemary

To fight bacterial/fungal infections: Tea tree

For Stress: Neroli oil

Lots of love,

Soph & Ellie x

Sources:
📖 "2019 Wellness Trends, from the Global Wellness Summit"
Wellness today, healthline, webmd