Which essential oils can relieve anxiety?
- Bergamot orange.
- Chamomile.
- Clary sage.
- Lavender.
- Lemon.
- Neroli.
- Rose.
- Ylang-ylang.
Lavender. Lavender is one of the most popular aromatherapy oils. It has a sweet floral scent with a woody or herbal undertone. Lavender oil can be used to calm anxiety.
The Best Essential Oils to Calm Anxious or Stressful Thoughts
- Peace & Calming– Promotes relaxation and a deep sense of peace, uplifts spirit and reduces tension.
- Valor – This is your balancer!!!
- Lavender – Calming, relaxing, balancing and nourishing to the skin.
- Frankincense – Grounding.
Lavender is renowned for its ability to create a relaxing atmosphere. In fact, one of the main benefits of lavender is that it can calm without sedating . More than simply generating a serene state of mind, lavender can reduce anxiety by affecting the body's fight-or-flight response.
Try adding a few drops of oil to unscented body lotion or spritzing an essential oil spray directly onto bedding, a couch or a blanket that you use often. You can even apply some oils directly onto your skin in areas like your wrists, behind your ears, your neck or the bottom of your feet.
While there are a few safety concerns which we'll get into below, as long as you're using a high quality diffuser and high quality essential oils, there's likely no problem with sleeping with your diffuser on overnight.
Knowing that it can be very tempting to keep your essential oils diffusing all day and all night. Research shows that you should not do so since extended exposure to diffused essential oils can cause headaches, increase your blood pressure and heart rate, as well as make your throat and skin irritated.
VOCs within the diffused oils can affect indoor air quality causing a similar pollutant effect as air fresheners, scented candles, and incense. Poor indoor air quality can worsen existing respiratory symptoms from allergies, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses.
"In general, oil diffusers are safe. Their risk of harm is mostly limited to superficial things related to device function, such as burns and minor allergic reaction," explains Dr.
If you're looking to clear the air at home or work, consider investing in a diffuser. "Diffusing essential oils is a surefire way to purify the air—within a certain limit," says Winters. Essential oils can also give your DIY cleaning products an antimicrobial boost.
Essential Oil Diffuser Benefits
- Helps you to relax.
- Promotes feelings of calm.
- Improves clarity and focus.
- Makes lifestyle changes easier.
- Boosts your mood.
- Reduces the appearance of redness.
- Helps clear airways for easier breathing.
- Supports a healthy digestive system.
“In fact, breathing in the particles released by the oils may actually trigger airway inflammation and asthma symptoms,†she says. “The strong odors emitted by essential oils may contain volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. VOCs are chemical gases that worsen air quality and can irritate the lungs.â€
There is no exact science to diffusing. There's also no standard recommendation for how long to diffuse your oils. A standard rule of thumb is to diffuse for 15 to 20 minutes, which is more than enough time to saturate a standard-size room with scent molecules.
If you need more moisture in the air in your home, then you need a humidifier. If you only want to add fragrance to the air, and not moisture, then a diffuser is the proper product. Diffusers simply do not hold enough water to impact the humidity level of a room.
Here are nine popular scents, with tips on how to use them.
- Lavender Essential Oil. Kristin Duvall/The Image Bank/Getty Images.
- Bergamot Essential Oil. leonori / Getty Images.
- Lemongrass Essential Oil. Cathy Wong.
- Neroli Essential Oil.
- Lemon Essential Oil.
- Yuzu Essential Oil.
- Orange Essential Oil.
- Ylang Ylang Essential Oil.
Just a few drops on the chest or neck with some deep breathing will help you relax and calm your mind. When using a diffuser, it's best for the oils if you use a cool mist diffuser and start out with 15-30-minute sessions at a time.
Inhalation. Inhalation is arguably the safest means of administering essential oils, and it's the fastest way to get essential oils into your bloodstream. However, it's still critical to use oils with caution… even when diffusing.
Physical symptoms of stress include:
- Aches and pains.
- Chest pain or a feeling like your heart is racing.
- Exhaustion or trouble sleeping.
- Headaches, dizziness or shaking.
- High blood pressure.
- Muscle tension or jaw clenching.
- Stomach or digestive problems.
- Trouble having sex.
These days, a particular family of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which includes Paxil, Prozac and Lexapro, are the most commonly prescribed antidepressant medications for this anti-anxiety, anti-stress purpose.
How to calm down quickly
- Breathe. One of the best things you can do when you start to feel that familiar panicky feeling is to breathe.
- Name what you're feeling.
- Try the 5-4-3-2-1 coping technique.
- Try the “File It†mind exercise.
- Run.
- Think about something funny.
- Distract yourself.
- Take a cold shower (or an ice plunge)
