Health Benefits of Aromatherapy

I like to personally light up some candles sometimes, because a) it makes my room smell really good, and b) well… my room just smells great. I typically go for the lavender scented candles because not only am I fond of the scent, but I’ve seen enough ads, and been told to know that lavender is supposed to soothe and calm you.

And they’re right.

Well, to  a certain extent,  because aromatherapy does so much more than just calm you. Aromatherapy is practiced by your olfactory senses in part with essential oils. These essential oils can be used within a massage, baths, candles and can be taken internally on rare occasions. According to an article from TLC.com “Almost all essential oils have antiseptic properties and are able to fight infection and destroy bacteria, fungi, yeast, parasites, and/or viruses” (Keville).  These oils reduce have the ability to reduce pain, and are able to soothe inflammations as well.

Essential oils are distilled liquids from parts of a plant; leaves, stem, roots or petals. All oils have different effects, and there are several oils that can benefit one’s health. For example, here’s a comprehensive look at what a few of these oils can help you with (Utegaard).

In an article published online by the NYU Medical Center, they listed a few cases where aromatherapy was proven to be successful. Inhaling the essential oils was a success when it came to Alzheimer’s Disease, that showed how aromatherapy might be used to calm people with that or some sort of dementia. In the study, a hospital ward was saturated with the smell of lavender oil or water for 2hrs. Then an investigator that was not aware of the study going on, went into the hospital to evaluate the 15 residents with dementia. The results from that study showed that particular aromatherapy “decreased agitated behavior” (NYU, 2011).

Inhalation of Essential Oils
The same NYU article goes on to list and describe how other essential oils seem to be a natural remedy. For instance, peppermint oil is not only supposed to relieve post surgical nausea and get rid of mucus congestion when inhaled, but evidence also points out (albeit weak) that if the oil is applied to the forehead, then it has the power to relieve tension headaches.

As mentioned, essential oils can also be taken orally, and most of us may already have taken it, we just don’t know it. Eucalyptus is a standard ingredient  in cough drops and cough syrups, as the oil seems to help mainly with respiratory problems. The NYU Medical Center website states that “In a double-blind trial, 32 people on steroids to control severe asthma (steroid-dependent asthma) were given either placebo or essential oil of eucalyptus for 12 weeks. 42 The results showed that people using eucalyptus were able to gradually reduce their steroid dosage to a greater extent than those taking placebo. In another study, eucalyptus oil proved helpful for the treatment of "head cold" symptoms (technically, nonpurulent rhinosinusitis). 47 In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 152 people, use of cineole at a dose of 200 mg three times daily markedly improved cold symptoms as compared to placebo” (NYU, 2011).

Anxiety & Depression

The majority of over-the-counter products that are related to aromatherapy claim that smelling their scent will realx, calm and soothe you. More often than not, the product in question is infused with lavender. But does it really work? Would the lotion on the right “melt away your stress”? After all, that is the most common perception that people have regarding aromatherapy.
It of course is not as easy as what these companies tell us. Fragrances DO have effect on us, but not all cases are the same. These scents are more effective on people who might have mild forms of depression and are not on prescriptions, or they are trying to get off their drugs (Keville).

In order to show that aromatherapy does effect your levels of stress and anxiety, here are a few quick facts from case studies:

•340 dental patients were assessed while they waited for their appointment. Those smelled lavender felt less anxious levels than the control group. (NYU, 2011)
•In regards to massages, the group that had them with essential oils had short term benefits of relaxation in regards to their depression. (NYU, 2011)
•“Silexan is a capsule that contains a preparation of lavender oil. Two hundred and twenty-one adults diagnosed with having an anxiety disorder were randomized to receive 80 mg a day of silexan or placebo for 10 weeks. 65 Those who were in the treatment group had a reduction in their anxiety, slept better, and did not have any unwanted side effects compared to those receiving the placebo” (NYU, 2011)

Arthritis 
The National Center for Biotechnology Information published a study in 2005 titled “The effects of aromatherapy on pain, depression, and life satisfaction of arthritis patients”. In this study, their purpose was to see what effects aromatherapy had on these patients who had arthritis. They had 40 patients in South Korea, and the essential oils they used were lavender, marjoram, eucalyptus, rosemary, and peppermint mixed with a carrier oil. The results showed that aromatherapy notably decreased the patient’s pain score and depression score compared to the control group, but it must be noted that aromatherapy did not decrease their satisfaction in life compared to the control group. In conclusion, the sudy proved that aromatherapy does have effects on the decreasing of pain and depression levels. (Kim, 2005).

References

"Aromatherapy." Aromatherapy. NYU Medical Center, Aug. 2011. Web. 25 May 2012. .


Keville, Kathy. "Aromatherapy Information." TLC. Web. 28 May 2012.


Kim, MJ, ES Nam, and SI Paik. "The Effects of Aromatherapy on Pain, Depression, and Life Satisfaction of Arthritis Patients." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Feb. 2005. Web. 24 May 2012.


Utegaard, Erica. "Health Psychology Home Page." Health Psychology Home Page. Web. 23 May 2012. .