5 Best Aromatherapy for Stress and Anxiety
There are lots of events in life that cause stress and anxiety, but not many things you can do to relieve stress. In 2020, COVID-19 hugely affected people’s daily life and many had to self-quarantine for a long time that maximized people’s stress and anxiety in many ways.
How can Aromatherapy help us when we are stressed out and anxious?
When we smell an herbal scent, olfactory nerves send signals directly to the brain that deals with emotion. Through this pathway, herbal oils relieve stress and anxiety.
Here are the 5 best essential oils that relieve anxiety and stress. Let’s explore!
1. Lavender Oil
Lavender flower and its extracts have been used for centuries as a treatment for anxiety and depression. The study states that lavender oil contains more than 260 constituents that contribute to healing effects.
Inhaling lavender oil or massaging with lavender oil has also shown some evidence of benefit for improving chronic and situational anxiety.
Normally, inhaling a cotton pad infused with 8 drops of a 2% lavender oil for 15 minutes twice a week or hand massage with 2% lavender oils for 15 minutes is suggested for the treatment of anxiety.
There are minimal adverse effects associated with lavender oil, but topical use of lavender can cause allergic contact dermatitis in rare cases.
The average price of lavender oil ranges from $6.99 to $19.99.
2. Ylang-Ylang Oil
Inhaling ylang-ylang oil transmits a message to the limbic system in the brain to reduce stress levels. Multiple studies suggest that inhaling the ylang-ylang oil helped increase feelings of calmness and worked as an antidepressant.
On top of being a relaxation aid, ylang-ylang may act as an insect repellant, skin beauty benefits, and hair growth benefits.
Diluted ylang-ylang can be added to a diffuser, inhale directly, or applied to the skin. The topical application of ylang-ylang oil may cause contact dermatitis in some cases.
The average price of ylang-ylang oil ranges from $8.99 to $19.99.
3. Bergamot Oil
Bergamot oil comes from bergamot oranges and has a very citrusy scent. Surprisingly, bergamot is the one that provides a beautiful scent to earl grey tea!
According to the study conducted in 2017 states that bergamot oil aromatherapy can be an effective treatment to improve people’s mental health and well-being. The inhalation of bergamot oils may work on stress relief, anxiety reduction, mood improvement, and depression relief.
Bergamot oil should be combined with a carrier oil such as jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, or avocado oil to be used on skin massage or topical aromatherapy. To be used as inhalation, bergamot oil can be mixed with water in a 5:1 ratio via nebulizer twice a week or can be added to a cloth or diffuser.
Topical or inhalation of bergamot oil is generally well-tolerated, but there is a minimal case of photosensitivity after the use of bergamot oil therapy.
The average price of bergamot oil ranges from $9.99 to $17.99.
4. Clary Sage Oil
Clary Sage oil has a very beautiful woody and herbal scent. Just like the herbal oils above, Clary Sage has an anti-anxiety property on top of various beneficial effects.
A study performed in 2014 found that cortisol, a stress hormone, levels decreased significantly after inhalation of clary sage oil.
Clary Sage oil can be used as either inhalation or topical massage. There are not enough reports to determine the adverse events of using clary sage oil at this point.
The average price of clary sage oil varies from $9.99 to $19.99.
5. Frankincense Oil
Finally, frankincense oil is the last to talk about. Frankincense has a sweet, musky, and woody note that contributes to relieving stress and anxiety.
There are not many studies to prove the anti-anxiety property of frankincense oil, but a study conducted in 2008 claimed that a combination of bergamot, lavender, and frankincense in the ratio of 1:1:1 diluted with sweet almond oil lowered pain and depression in patients with terminal cancer.
The topical application of frankincense oil seems to be well tolerated in most cases even though there is a small number of skin irritation report in some cases.
The average price of frankincense oil ranges from $9.99 to $19.99.
Cautions, Be mindful of
Herbal oils are sold in very pure and concentrated forms and the majority of oils are recommended to be diluted with carrier oils such as olive oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, and avocado oils.
Pure essential oils can be toxic if a concentrated form is used directly. Always dilute concentrated herbal oils with carrier oils and have a habit of reading product labels for directions and cautions.
Diluted aromatherapy can be applied to the skin, added to a bath, added to a diffuser, added to a vaporizer, or inhaled from a cloth.
