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Can Aromatherapy Help Depression?

Essential oils have been used in therapeutic ways for thousands of years. They offer numerous healing benefits. There's is a lot of buzz around aromatherapy, especially in the natural wellness and holistic medicine communities.

Some people even say that this practice -- which involves putting concentrated oils from plants into the air with misters or special candles or applying the oils topically -- can help with anxiety disorders and depression. But what does science say?

How Does Aromatherapy Work?

Many people who believe that aromatherapy works to decrease symptoms of depression, anxiety, and related issues, believe that it works in a very superficial way: essential oils make us feel better because they smell good.

A 2013 article published in China, however, proposes that aromatherapy may work by stimulating serotonin pathways in the brain. Serotonin itself is an important messenger molecule in the body that helps us to feel relaxed and is an important part of many mood regulating medications.

While this is an engaging theory, the easiest way to measure mood is still with psychological assessments and questionnaires rather than by checking the levels of these messenger molecules.

All of the following studies used these methods, which some people consider to be unreliable and anecdotal. But feeling better is feeling better, right?

Aromatherapy And Post-Partum Depression

A 2012 pilot study on aromatherapy to treat post-partum depression published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice reported that aromatherapy did show benefits for women suffering post-partum depression. Interestingly, the study found that aromatherapy did not seem to have any impact on a control group of non-depressed women.

While the results of this study are promising, it was a pilot study. The control group was rather small, and the study only lasted four weeks.

While that leaves room for skepticism, the article did not report any issues with the treatment, so there's no known risk in trying this treatment if you're interested.

Aromatherapy And The Elderly

A Japanese study conducted in 2014 and with a participant pool of around eighty may be more convincing.

This study, published in the journal Biomed Research International, was conducted among elderly participants living in a community who underwent an aromatherapy session for four weeks.

The article reports that participants who underwent the aromatherapy program had decreased levels of stress, depression, anxiety, and pain compared to a control group. The study also reported that all of the participants continued to use aromatherapy treatments after the conclusion of the study.

Aromatherapy Massage

It might not take more than four weeks, or even four weeks, to prove that aromatherapy helps with depression. A 2009 study conducted in Japan reported that women who received aromatherapy massages for depression while undergoing treatment for cancer were found to have better scores on mood assessments both after a single thirty-minute session. Their scores continued to increase after eight subsequent sessions.

This study may have lasted longer than the 2012 study, but it was even smaller with only 12 participants. Skeptical readers of this article may also like to know that the study was not picked up by any major scientific or medical journals. Also, like the 2012 study, however, this study found that there was no harm in giving this treatment a shot.

A similar study conducted two years earlier involving just over fifty participants and conducted in Korea had similar findings.

This study of menopausal women also used aromatherapy via massage in weekly sessions over eight months and found that the treatment had positive effects.

The authors of this study were more careful to point out a potential problem which applies to the previous study as well, and which some wary readers may have noticed: It is possible that the massage and not the aromatherapy was providing the relief experienced by participants.

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Antiseptic and Anti Viral Essential Oils

When most people think of essential oils they think of aroma therapy, but when you think of how many plants there are and what properties they have, it makes a lot of sense that some essential oils do more than just smell good. Some essential oils can also help our bodies to keep away or fight off infections.

Antiseptic Essential Oils

Antiseptics are agents that kill bacteria. While some bacteria is healthy, other bacteria causes illnesses. Antibiotics, which are similar but not identical to other forms of antiseptics, have been widely used in recent history to fight off harmful bacteria, but antibiotics can also be harmful to good bacteria, and harmful bacteria has been adapting to survive antibiotic treatments.

According to a 2015 article in The Atlantic, most of the serious clinical studies that have been done on essential oils for antiseptic purposes have been searching for potential ingredients in hand sanitizers that will be efficient in medical settings where bacteria have become immune to other common lines of defense.

The article lists a number of plant extracts that research has found promising, including

• thyme
• clove
• lemongrass
• lavender
• basil
• chili peppers
• and cinnamon.

Clove, Rosemary, chili peppers, and lavender were also listed among essential oils found to have antimicrobial effects in a 2010 meta-analysis published in The Journal of Applied Bioscience, as were essential oils made from…

• juniper
• olives
• peppermint
• fennel
• lemon leaves
• and lime leaves.

Scientists aren't entirely sure yet how or why essential oils can kill bacteria, but some have proposed that chemicals in the essential oils can damage the cell walls of the bacteria. This would also explain why essential oils included as ingredients in more conventional antiseptics tend to be more efficient than essential oils by themselves.

Anti-Viral Essential Oils

Bacteria and viruses both make you sick, but they aren't the same; they work in different ways and require different treatments and deterrents. For example, if the theory that essential oils kill bacteria by damaging their cell walls is correct, essential oils could not fight viruses the same way because viruses do not have cell walls. Fortunately, a number of potentially beneficial anti-viral essential oils have also been identified.

The same 2010 meta-analysis cited above included sandalwood oil, tea tree oil, thyme, and ginger as essential oils with anti-viral properties. A 2015 study published in the journal Acute Medicine reported that eucalyptus showed promising anti-viral traits as well, particularly in a mouthwash for combating herpes simplex.

Cinnamon, bergamot, thyme, and eucalyptus were also found to have promising anti-viral properties in both the liquid and the vapor state in a 2014 article published in The American Journal of Essential Oils and Natural Products. This article particularly looked at combatting the influenza virus which leads to the common "flu" but which can also turn deadly.

Other Areas Of Research

Recent research has also explored essential oils as being beneficial antifungal, and even anticancer agents.

By far the most interest in essential oils has been involving their potential benefit in combatting depression and anxiety disorders.

Other Ways To Get The Benefits

Many of these studies included other essential oils that are not widely available commercially, and so they have not been included in this article.

Many of the essential oils discussed in this article, in addition to being readily available commercially, come from edible plants. While essential oils can often not be ingested, eating the plants that they are derived from can provide some significant effect as well.

Essential oils are concentrated and potent substances, so eating the foods that produce them may not have as strong or as immediate an effect as using essential oils. However, eating the foods rather than just the oils involves taking in nutrients that are not always included in essential oils. For example, many of the essential oils listed above come from plants that also include antioxidants and other important nutrients.

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10 MOST POPULAR AND WIDELY USED ESSENTIAL OILS

The power of essential oils and the benefits of aromatherapy have garnered a lot of attention from naturopaths and skeptics alike over the past decade or so, and that interest has prompted numerous studies to be done on which oils have the most beneficial properties and for what conditions do certain oils seem to have the most desired effect.

Following is a list of the ten most used essential oils and of what conditions these special oils have healing properties against.

Bear in mind, however, that this list is a compilation of merely a few of the essential oils that are available, and that there are many, many more plants whose oils are beneficial to your health and wellness.

•  LAVENDER:
• The scientific name for this pretty purple plant is Lavandula, and it grows easily in most parts of the world. It is used generously in the perfume industry because of its pleasant fragrance, but its therapeutic properties are that of calming, destressing, relieving anxiety, and combatting insomnia.
•  CLARY SAGE:
• Also known as Salvia Sclarea, the oil from this flower is reputed to have analgesic properties, specifically in terms of female pain such as menstrual cramps or labor pains.
•  PEPPERMINT:
• Although the oil from the plant Mentha x Piperita can be somewhat caustic in its super concentrated form, this oil will work wonders as an anti-emetic when saturated into cotton ball that then can be inhaled. A few drops of this oil in a hot bath will also soothe sore muscles. Peppermint is also a powerful insect repellant, and if lined around kitchen surfaces will create a boundary over which no ant dares cross.
•  TEA TREE:
• The oil from the plant Melaleuca Alternifolia is renowned for its antiseptic properties as it has been found to effective as an antifungal, antiviral, and antimicrobial agent. It can also be added to any shampoo to relieve dry scalp and dandruff.
•  ROSEMARY:
• Not only is the plant Rosmarinus Officinalis wonderfully versatile in culinary applications, but it also yields an essential oil that is fantastic for dry, itchy scalp and dandruff, but also has been used effectively as a bronchodilator and an expectorant for congested lungs.
• LEMONGRASS:
• Like Rosemary, the plant Cymbopogon Citratus also has many uses in the culinary arts; however, its essential oil is highly effective as a sanitary agent and can be used as an antiseptic. It also is a powerful insect repellant.
•  LEMON:
• The oil from the fruit Citrus x Lemon is generally considered to be “uplifting” in that it has rejuvenating, energy inducing, and immune supporting properties. It is also highly effective as a non-toxic alternative in household cleansers.
•  ROSE:
• While obviously famed for its aesthetic beauty, the plant Rosa Damascena is considered by many to be the “Queen of Essential Oils” and is widely used for its anxiolytic, rejuvenating, stress relieving and even pain relief properties. The essential oil derived from roses also has been proven as an effective anti-inflammatory agent and can be helpful for joint pain and other arthritic conditions.
•  YLANG YLANG:
• The plant Cananga Odorata primarily grows in Asian countries and is popular as an aphrodisiac and for its uplifting and anti-depressant properties.
•  ROMAN CHAMOMILE:
• We’ve all heard that drinking chamomile tea in the evening can help alleviate insomnia and restlessness, and the oil from the plant Chamamelum Nobile can be utilized for its sedative properties, as well it has been found to be enormously effective in alleviating PMS symptoms and other discomforts associated with menstruation. Chamomile, in any of its forms is incredibly soothing and calming.

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Aromatherapy For Better Sleep

Are you tossing and turning at night? Do you have a hard time relaxing and calming yourself when it’s time for bed? If so, aromatherapy maybe the answer.

Aromatherapy is the practice of using certain fragrances and oils that have been reputed to have some type of therapeutic effect or medicinal properties, and it has been used as both a primary treatment and a secondary auxiliary therapy.

One of the benefits of aromatherapy that has been extensively studied is the effectiveness of this type of therapy in terms of improving the quality and duration of one’s sleep, particularly in patients who suffer from hyper-anxiety disorders or insomnia.

It has been widely concluded, even by those who are skeptical of these types of alternative treatments, that regardless of whether or not aromatherapy proves effective, it certainly does no harm or has the potential for any ill effects at all.

Consider the following facts concerning aromatherapy and sleep:

A 2015 study in Turkey that involved using lavender essential oil via inhalation method on 60 ICU patients (the study was prompted because the patients in the ICU were having really terrible sleep issues, and the researchers wanted to try whatever they could to alleviate the insomnia for these patients and ICU patients everywhere).

The clinical finding (based on the patient’s responses to two separate standardized tests that determine sleep quality) that the 2% lavender essential oil solution delivered via inhalation absolutely had a positive, measurable, and marked effect on these patient’s ability to rest adequately, and furthermore, many of these patients were experiencing simultaneous cardiac issues which the anxiolytic effect of the lavender oil seemed to depreciate as well. By relieving some of the anxiety and stress from which these patients were suffering, the lavender oil improved their ability to rest and their conditions in general.

Although aromatherapy would not be recommended as the primary treatment for severe, chronic, medical sleep disorders, it most certainly should be considered as an adjunct or auxiliary treatment, and if no serious sleep disorder exists, then aromatherapy likely will be adequate in terms of alleviating mild cases of stress induced insomnia.

There are a variety of ways via which the oil can be delivered, and all are reputed to have similar results in terms of efficacy. Some of the ways through which the oil can be delivered to you overnight are: 

• Soaking a cotton ball and placing next to bed
• Placing 10 – 15 drops of oil in hot Epsom or sea salt water in a bowl by the bed
• Spraying an essential oil diluted solution on linens, pillows and blankets
• Electronic (and other forms of) diffusers

The Best Calming Oils

The preferred oils that are typically used for the purposes of improving the quality of one’s sleep are (and incidentally, although not surprisingly, all of these oils have a naturally pleasant fragrance and are readily available through health food stores everywhere and through a wide variety of online stores):

• Lavender
• Valerian
• Clary Sage
• Sweet Marjoram
• Roman Chamomile
• Bergamot
• Ylang Ylang
• Sandalwood

The overall general consensus among health practitioners in both the disciplines of standard western medicine and homeopathic / naturopathic alike is that there does appear to be validated data concerning the effectiveness and benefits of aromatherapy on certain conditions. Primarily those conditions which are closely related to stress such as cardiovascular disease and insomnia.

Either way, there does not appear to be any evidence that there are any contraindications or harm to using aromatherapy and so at the very least, you get a nice pleasant scent, and the chances of employing aromatherapy in the hopes that it will improve your sleep is most likely to pay off and be worth the effort.

How To Use Essential Oils: A Guide For Beginners

Essential oils are therapeutic grade oils extracted from various botanicals, like plants. Essential oils have been used for therapeutic reasons for thousands of years. They offer many benefits, each dependent on the plant they are derived from.

So, you’ve heard about the many great benefits that essential oils could have for you; congratulations, you’re well on your way to a better you. Now, you just need to figure out the best application process for you.

This varies based on the type of oil, what it’s being used to treat, and the tools you have available to you. In this article, we’ll walk you through the many different essential oil applications to help you figure out how to use your essential oils to get the most out of them.

Aromatically
Essential oils can be “absorbed into the bloodstream when inhaled,” which is done through the blood vessels located in the lungs. A diffuser is a good option for aromatically absorbing essential oils. You can diffuse any of your essential oils and receive their many benefits like reduced stress, improved mood, better focus, and much more. You can also place some drops

Ingestion
Ingestion is another good option for absorbing your essential oils, however, you must be sure to do your research first. Certain essential oils, like oregano and clove, shouldn’t be taken orally like this for more than a week and should be diluted before ingestion, but oils like lemon and peppermint are fine to be taken as one to three drops in water.

Homemade Items
It’s becoming fairly trendy to make your own items containing essential oils to reap their benefits in your own way. For example, you could make candles or bar soap containing a combination of essential oils and other good things and reap the benefits when you use the soap, absorbing the oils in your skin, or burn the candle and inhale. You could also make shampoos, toothpastes, household cleaners, body butters, bug spray, lip balm, and more.

Topically
Essential oils can be absorbed through the skin and enter the bloodstream for you to reap their many healing benefits. You can either rub the essential oils yourself on the affected area or, if you’d prefer, there are many lotions, body washes, and shampoos made with essential oils in them that you could use as well.

You could also put essential oils in your bath by dropping them on a sponge and placing the sponge in the bath water with you. Be sure to only use the essential oils as indicated by the bottle, as over using could become a problem.

Almost all essential oils must be diluted with a carrier oil, such as Jojoba, avocado, almond or walnut before applying them to the skin.

If you’re applying essential oils topically, you should test first, by applying a small amount of the diluted oil on your wrist to test for any adverse reaction. This is especially important for those with highly sensitive skin.

Benefits of Essential Oils
Essential oils have a world of various benefits they can offer their users. For instance, lavender oil can help to relax you, peppermint oil can help you focus, and rosemary oil can help to minimize hair loss.

There are a wide variety of essential oils that offer several healing benefits each. Each essential oil is different, however, and has unique properties; many have specific ways they need to be applied or taken and certain limitations. You need to do your research before consuming the essential oils.

Essential oils can offer many healing benefits that can improve the health and appearance of your skin and hair, your digestion, treat your pain, help with inflammation, and even reduce the frequency and intensity of your headaches.

There are many ways from which you can choose to apply or take your essential oils. As we’ve shown, this choice depends on the type of essential oil your using and the benefit you’re hoping to receive from it.