For thousands of years, aromatherapy has been used to promote physical, thinking and spiritual health. It involves using a plant's requisite oil, taken from its flowers, leaves, bark or roots, and massaging it (mixed with another substance like oil or lotion) into the skin, inhaling it or using it to fragrance a room.
Even as far back as Egyptian times, requisite oils were made by soaking plants and filtering the oil through a linen bag.
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The actual term "aromatherapy," however, wasn't coined until 1928, by Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, a French chemist. He first used the oils to treat wounds while World War I, and later continued experimenting with them. He found that certain oils had separate curative properties, and he classified each oil as antiseptic, stimulating, calming, antitoxic, etc., depending on its uses.
How Does Aromatherapy Work?
It's opinion that requisite oils start nerve cells in the nose, which send impulses to the limbic principles of the brain -- the part that deals with emotions and memory.
Aromatherapy is used both emotionally to invigorate, calm, relieve stress and more, and physically to help ease obvious conditions by stimulating the immune system, circulatory principles and nervous system.
Essential oils can be applied by an aromatherapist, who can mix a convention blend of oils for a specific complaint, or can be bought individually in condition food stores. Unless you are very knowledgeable about requisite oils and their effects, it's best to consult with a trained aromatherapist before using them. Tiny amounts of requisite oils can produce marked changes, and some can be harmful, particularly to pregnant women.
Traditionally, requisite oils are used by:
- Mixing them with a carrier oil or lotion, and massaging them into the skin.
- Inhaling while an aromatherapy session.
- Adding them to bathwater. (Check out the new, extremely recommended Vermont Soap Organics aromatherapy bath salts.)
Health Benefits of Aromatherapy
Essential oils have been used to treat a seemingly endless number of conditions, including:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Urinary tract infections
- Vertigo
- Headaches and earaches
- Panic attacks
- Dermatitis
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Chickenpox
- Allergies
- Herpes
- Arthritis
- Stress
- Cancer
- Flatulence
- Laryngitis
Although much of aromatherapy's benefits are based on anecdotal evidence, aromatherapy is receiving more attentiveness from researchers as an efficient and safe treatment option.
Promotes Deep Sleep
A 2005 study published in the journal Chronobiology International found that lavender requisite oil acts as a mild sedative and promotes deep sleep. In the study, 31 wholesome sleepers spent three nights in a sleep lab: one to adapt to the study, the next with lavender oil administered into the air and the third with a operate (distilled water) stimulus.
The lavender:
- Increased the percentage of deep or slow-wave sleep in men and women.
- Increased stage 2 (light) sleep.
- Decreased rapid-eye movement (Rem) sleep.
Further, all the participants reported higher vigor the morning after the lavender exposure.
Fight Staph Infection
Three requisite oils studied by researchers at the University of Manchester were able to kill, within two minutes of contact:
- Mrsa (staph infection)
- E. Coli
- Many other bacteria and fungi
They say the oils can be blended into soaps and shampoos that, if used by hospital staff, doctors and patients, could eliminate the spread of these "super bugs." Patients could even plainly inhale the oils to prevent being at risk.
The singular oils used in the study will not be released until the researchers can find funding for a clinical trial.
Said researcher Peter Warn from the University's Faculty of Medicine:
"We believe that our discovery could revolutionize the fight to combat Mrsa and other `super bugs,' but we need to carry out a trial and to do that we need a small whole of funding ... We are having problems finding this funding because requisite oils cannot be patented as they are plainly occurring, so few drug fellowships are curious in our work as they do not see it as commercially viable. Obviously, we find this very frustrating as we believe our findings could help to stamp out Mrsa and save lives."
Benefits for Childbirth
According to a paper published in the August 2005 issue of Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, an aromatherapy service produced beneficial results for patients at a Uk maternity unit. The aromatherapy was found to normalize childbirth and increase the satisfaction of mothers in regard to their labor experiences.
Improvement in Shingles Outbreaks
A case study of six hospice patients with shingles outbreaks found that a composition of three requisite oils improved symptoms significantly.
The patients sprayed a explication of 95 percent distilled water, 5 percent requisite oil blend of Ravensara, Bergamot and Niaouli onto the rash at least three times a day. Agreeing to Noel Gilligan, the registered aromatherapist who ran the study, after 48 hours, all patients reported:
- A requisite allowance in shingles pain.
- A scabbing and curative of the shingles pustules.
- whether a disappearance (one case) or allowance (five cases) or a "drying up" (three cases) of the pustules.