The Affects of Aromatherapy
Improved Sleep
We have known for hundreds of years the powerful effect lavender and other essential oils can have on your sleep, with Charles VI of France insisting his pillow always contain lavender so that he could sleep well as early as the 1300s. Now, there is mounting evidence to back it up with a 2005 Study in the journal Chronobiology International finding that lavender oil could:
-Increased the percentage of deep or slow-wave sleep in men and women.
-Increased stage 2 (light) sleep.
-Decreased rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep.
With test subjects also reporting to feel more well-rested after the application of lavender oil. Many more studies have since been done on aromatherapy and sleep with a meta-study being published showing these findings replicated time and time again.
Effects of aromatherapy on sleep quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis - PubMed (nih.gov)
Dementia
Dementia is a traumatic and often heart-breaking disease, and unfortunately, there is to date no cure known. Aromatherapy with essential balm oils though has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment to help manage treatment and distress. It has also been demonstrated to help improve other key quality of life parameters, and significantly improve patient’s wellbeing during this difficult time.
Anxiety
One of the most well-known (and incredible!) uses for aromatherapy is to help alleviate anxiety. We here at Novenary are thrilled to see the scientific evidence stacking up to support this, with a review article published in 2020 saying that “aromatherapy with different essential oils could alleviate anxiety significantly no matter the reason of anxiety.”
Effects of aromatherapy on anxiety: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials - ScienceDirect
Mood
Okay so this isn’t a disease, but it is important, and all of us could use a pick me up every now and then. It may not be the most technical benefit but lifting people’s moods is one of the most essential things that aromatherapy does. It doesn’t matter if you are old, young, healthy, sick, just having a bad day, or going through a tough time, aromatherapy can lift your mood and make things seem just a little bit brighter.
Depression
Depression is a highly complex illness with many causes and is often highly linked to other factors such as stress, anxiety, and mental illnesses. Aromatherapy naturally won’t cure root causes of depression and make it go away, but it can help alleviate depressive symptoms and improve moods. With this in mind, it can be the perfect complementary medicine to someone alongside conventional therapies and has been recommended as such by numerous studies.
A review on the effects of aromatherapy for patients with depressive symptoms - PubMed (nih.gov)
Pain
Unfortunately, aromatherapy won’t mend your broken arm or suddenly be able to give you a new hip (that we know of at least!), but what it will be able to do is help you deal with the pain while conventional medicines get you up and moving again. This is fantastic news for many people who find that effective painkillers can leave them unproductive or out of action, and perfectly demonstrates the harmony between aromatherapy and conventional treatment that we here at Novernary strive for.
Infections
In recent years food poisoning and other bacterial diseases have been rising in many places, while many people are increasingly concerned about the chemicals involved in manufactured anti-bacterial products.
Fortunately, though, essential oils, and particularly citrus essential oils such as those containing lemon, orange, and bergamot have been shown as an effective way to combatting the growth of the common causes of food poisoning!
Arthritis
Aromatherapy has been known to improve joint pains and aches for thousands of years, and we here at Novenary are thrilled to find the science in agreement!
This is one of those times when they put it better than we ever could, and so we will let the conclusion of this 2005 study speak for us: “The result of this study clearly shows that aromatherapy has major effects on decreasing pain and depression levels (in arthritic patients). Based on our experiment's findings, we suggest that aromatherapy can be a useful nursing intervention for arthritis patients.”
Acute Coronary Syndrome
Acute Coronary Syndrome is a disease affecting millions across the globe and in many cases can lead to fatal heart attacks. The treatment for this disease is holistic, with lifestyle being a key factor that needs to be controlled. With our approach to healing here at Novenary also being holistic, we were hardly surprised to find studies showing aromatherapy alleviating many of the issues associated with Acute Coronary Syndrome.
