Do Certain fragrances promote wellness?
Walking into a gas station and smelling the fumes instantly puts a pep in your step, opening the oven to baking cookies and a sudden wave of sadness comes over you. Have you ever experienced an unexplained emotion triggered by a familiar scent? Maybe the gas station brings you back to the tractor rides with your dad and the baking cookies makes you miss your grandma. Scent has incredible power in even the smallest of doses, it can trigger memories, affect moods, soothe stress and worry. Can some fragrances also affect your health and well-being?
The Mind and Body Connection:
Neurologists have identified a strong connection between smell and memory. There is a strong neural pathway between the brain’s anterior olfactory nucleus (AON) and the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain that is responsible for making new memories — which explains, to some degree, why the loss of the sense of smell is one of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
When we smell something, the scent travels up the nose, through to the amygdala (which is responsible for a lot of our emotions), and the hippocampus, before arriving in the thalamus (which processes sensory signals). That means that everything we smell passes by the emotion and memory parts of the brain before we can even smell it.
More recently scientists have begun research in Psycho-Neuro-Endocrine-Immunology (PNEI) which studies the connection between psychological processes and the nervous, endocrine, and the immune symptoms of the body and how stress and emotional states and vice versa. This means, positive moods and emotions elicited by scent inhalation can provide beneficial effects on mental, hormonal, nervous and immune system health through this connection.
Fragrances and their Health and Wellness benefits:
Chamomile: Reduce stress
Clary sage: Promote relaxation
Eucalyptus: Clear sinuses
Ginger: Reduce nausea
Lavender: Better sleep
Lemon: Increase happiness, improve concentration
Peppermint: Boost alertness, reduce headaches
Rosemary: Increase focus
Sweet orange: Reduce anxiety
Ylang-ylang: Decrease stress
Aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that uses natural plant extracts to promote health and well being. The treatment uses aromatic essential oils to improve the health of the mind, body, and spirit, enhancing both physical and emotional health. As more and more evidence is collected, aromatherapy has gained more and more recognition in science and medicine. Essential oils are used in the practice of aromatherapy and some of the resulting benefits include:
Manage pain
Improve sleep quality
Reduce stress, agitation, and anxiety
Soothe sore joints
Treat headaches and migraines
Alleviate side effects of chemotherapy
Ease discomforts of labor
Fight bacteria, virus, or fungus
Improve digestion
Improve hospice and palliative care
Boost immunity
Out of all the 5 senses, scent is the most powerful of them all. Science suggests that even the smallest whiff of a fragrance can be beneficial and have an effect on your mind and body. Even lighting a candle or using a certain body wash can elicit these benefits. Most people have certain fragrances they find themselves drawn to, without really knowing why, and it usually is because it affects you deeper than you know. Find the fragrance that works best for you! Head to a local candle pouring studio and make your own candle with your chosen fragrance that will provide the stress relief and soothing effect you desire!
