Aromatherapy Benefits
Each essential oil contains as much as 100 chemical components, which together exert a strong effect on the whole person. Depending on which component is predominating in an oil, the oils act differently. For example, some oils are relaxing, some soothes you down, some relieves your pain, etc. Then there are oils such as lemon and lavender, which adapt to what your body needs, and adapt to that situation. (These are called "adaptogenic"). The mechanism in which these essential oils act on us is not very well understood. What is understood is that they affect our mind and emotions. They leave no harmful residues. They enter into the body either by absorption or inhalation.
A fragrance company in Japan conducted studies to determine the effects of smell on people. They have pumped different fragrances in an area where a number of keyboard entry operators were stationed and monitored the number of mistakes made as a function of the smell in the air. The results were as follows:
- When exposed to lavender oil fragrance (a relaxant), the keyboard typing errors dropped 20 percent.
- When exposed to jasmine (an uplifting fragrance), the errors dropped 33 percent.
Which Problems can Aromatherapy Help?
Aromatherapy is particularly effective for stress, anxiety, and psychosomatic induced problems, muscular and rheumatic pains, digestive disorders and women's problems, such as PMS, menopausal complaints and postnatal depression. Here is a summary of the results from clinical studies:
Aromatherapy for Behavior
Considerable evidence exists that fragrant compounds and aromatherapy have a profound effect on our mind and behavior. Animal studies have found that hyperexcited mice (as a result of consuming a large quantity of caffeine) was calmed by the aroma of lavender, sandalwood, and other oils sprayed into their cages. The same mice were found to become very irritable when exposed to the aroma of orange terpines, thymol, and some other substances. These oils were all detected in their bloodstream after about an hour.
Aromatherapy for Sleep
In a study reported in the British Medical Journal Lancet, elderly patients slept "like babies" when a lavender aroma was wafted into their bedrooms at night. These patients had complained of difficulty falling asleep and had to take sleeping pills to get sleep prior to the aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy for Postpartum discomfort
In a double blind study, 635 women applied lavender oil to their perineal area (part of the body between the vagina and the rectum) after child birth. The women reported a distinct improvement between the third and fifth day. (The discomfort is the worst during this time for patients in the control group.)
Aromatherapy for Colds
It has been well established that chicken soup is good for cold (both historically and scientifically). Studies were conducted to find out whether the effect was due to the action of the hot steam on the lining of the nostrils or whether the aroma of the chicken soup has anything to do with it. The results indicated that chicken soup was more effective than the steam indicating the effectiveness of the aroma.
Aromatherapy for Stress
In a study conducted at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York, patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reported 63 percent less claustrophobic after getting exposed to the aroma of vanilla. There was no change in their heart rate. Obviously, the aroma reduced their anxiety probably by the pleasant memories evoked by the vanilla aroma or by some other physiological response.
In another study, 122 patients who were in an intensive care unit, reported feeling much better when aromatherapy was administered with the oil of lavender (compared to when they were simply given a massage or allowed to rest.) No changes in the patients who were given aromatherapy was observed in the blood pressure, respiration, or heart rate. As we mentioned before, Japanese have reported less mistakes by keypunch operators when exposed to fragrance.
