Health Benefits of Essential Oils

A Natural Way to Heal

Essential oils have seen a popularity boost in recent years. Social media is full of stories from initial skeptic users who now claim essential oils have healed them.

Long known for their natural healing capabilities, essential oils are now used in health spas and hospitals. ¹

There are many ways to use essential oils; most popular are inhaling the aromatics through a diffuser or massaging oils into the skin. Essential oils are believed to influence physical, emotional, and mental health as well as improving general well-being.

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Claimed to be a holistic healing treatment, are essential oils nature’s way to heal? Here is a list of some of the main health benefits attributed to essential oils.

Reduce Stress and Anxiety

Our modern day lives are busy – deadlines to meet, extended working hours, these hectic lifestyles can leave some people overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious. Stress, anxiety and depression symptoms affect 40 million adults in the USA. ²

Occupational stress is a major contributing factor for heart disease and hypertension. Too much stress on the body causes a weakened immune system and can lead to illness and disease. ³ ⁴

Relaxation techniques are recommended to reduce stress. There are a number of techniques such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing exercises, and progressive relaxation. Many of these techniques are used in stress management and they all have the same principle – to produce the body’s natural relaxation response. ⁵

The calmative and relaxing qualities of essential oils can help elevate your mood and relax mind and body. Research has shown essential oils work alongside existing therapies for reducing anxiety with increased positive results. ⁶

One study used a water vapor with bergamot essential oil which is used for psychological stress and anxiety. Results from a 15-minute exposure of inhaling bergamot oil vapor showed a marked improvement in participant’s mood and lowered cortisol levels. ⁷

Both citrus and lavender essential oils have shown to be effective on immune function, mood, and depression. ⁸ ⁹ ¹⁰

Promote Sleep

Disturbed sleep patterns can be very disruptive to your lifestyle and body – even leading to disease. Your body needs to sleep. It is when your muscles relax and your body rejuvenates its system ready for the next 24 hours. ¹¹

Unbalancing your natural circadian rhythm (24 hour biological clock) can leave you feeling fatigued and less productive in your daily tasks. Mood changes, lethargy, sleep disorders, such as insomnia and general drowsiness are common symptoms of an unbalanced circadian rhythm. ¹²

Insomnia affects 30-35% of adults in the USA. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) “More than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis.” ¹³

Essential oils can help relax the body and mind-triggering sleepiness. Studies on the effectiveness of lavender essential oils sedative and calming properties show it works for treating insomnia and improving sleep quality.

One study with participants inhaling lavender essential oil before bed time showed an increased improvement in sleep quality. Others studies used lavender oil in a diffuser to treat insomnia. Again the outcome showed lavender essential oil as a safe treatment to improve mild to moderate insomnia. ¹⁴ ¹⁵

Relaxation

Aromatherapy uses essential oils in massage application. Massage helps the body enter a rest and relax recovery mode. Aromatherapists promote the addition of essential oils in massage oils increase the benefits of massage. ¹⁶

During a massage treatment, the aroma of the essential oils is inhaled – aiding relaxation of the mind and body, and reducing pulse rate and blood pressure. Topically applied essential oils enter into the muscle tissues improving circulation, reducing inflammation and aiding relaxation of the body tissues. ¹⁷

Specific essential oils have calmative and relaxing properties. Using these essential oils helps to reduce pulse rate, blood pressure and create a calmer more relaxed mood.

One study using rose essential oil by inhalation decreased breathing rate, and participants reported feeling calm and relaxed. This shows the potential uses of rose essential oils relaxing properties in mainstream medicine. ¹⁸

Lavender and Ylang ylang essential oils have also been shown in studies to have relaxing and calming properties when either used in inhalation of the aroma or through skin application as massage. ¹⁹ ²⁰

There are other main essential oils with calmative properties. Frankincense, peppermint, and chamomile deserve a mention. These essential oils are calming and have an instant relaxing effect. These essential oils can be used for bathing by adding a few drops to your bath water.

Helping With Pain

Pain is a common symptom of illness. Essential oils can help ease pain in certain conditions. Their anti-inflammatory properties can be useful in aiding headaches to inflamed tissue injuries.

Marjoram, black pepper, lavender, and peppermint essential oils were used in a cream base and applied daily for neck pain. The study showed significant improvement in neck pain and mobility of participants such the essential oil cream opposed to the control group. This study suggested that the combination of essential oils in this cream should be developed further for aiding neck pain. ²¹

Essential oils seem effective against arthritic pain. Frankincense essential oil’s anti-inflammatory properties show potential to be used in treating inflammatory symptoms of arthritis and potential as a therapy for treating osteoarthritis. ²²

One study used massage with ginger and orange essential oils. The participants were elderly with severe knee pain. The massage with essential oils improved physical function and knee pain intensity was markedly reduced. ²³

Lavender, rose, and clary sage essential oils can help with severe period pains (dysmenorrhea). A study using abdominal massage technique with essential oils showed those participants who received the treatment had significantly less severe menstrual cramps. ²⁴

Lavender, chamomile and peppermint essential oils have also shown to help with reducing pain from headaches, migraines, muscle pain, and earache.

Cleansing

Bacteria and germs are constantly attacking the body’s immune system. Essential oils are great at fighting germs and bacteria. Many essential oils have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties making them potent in fighting infections.

Diffusing with essential oils cleanses the air eradicating germs, viruses, and airborne bacteria. Particularly useful for fighting cold and flu germs and to ease symptoms, such as a stuffy nose.

Substituting household cleaning products with essential oils can clean bacteria, germs and fungi without harsh chemical odors. ²⁵ ²⁶

Essential oils have been shown to fight bacterial infections when applied topically to the skin. In hospitals, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are proving problematic to control.

Studies have shown that antibiotic essential oils are a proven cheaper alternative treatment for controlling MRSA (meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and antimycotic-resistant candida species. The essential oils that work best are tea tree, eucalyptus, thyme, lemon, lemongrass, oregano, and cinnamon oil. Lavender, sandalwood, geranium, grapefruit, peppermint, and clove essential oils all showed great efficiency at multi-resistant strains of bacteria. ²⁷ ²⁸ ²⁹

Conclusion

Although essential oils have health benefits they should never be considered as a replacement for prescribed medications. The popularity of essential oils is leading to a lot of self-care practices without proper knowledge.

Essential oils should be used with caution and safety guidelines followed. Essential oils should be stored safely out of reach from children and pets. Essential oils should not be taken internally they can be toxic.

It is best to consult a qualified aromatherapist who can guide a personalized therapeutic treatment with educated knowledge. ³⁰

Source

This is our guide to essential oils. Check out our other installments:

Essential Oils Guide

How To Use Essential Oils

Where To Buy Essential Oils

Common Treatments With Essential Oils

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Health Benefits of Essential Oils