What Makes Essential Oils Work So Well?
It’s no secret that more people are looking for ways to combat a variety of medical afflictions without using prescribed medicine. The trouble with pills, lotions, and other medication prescribed by doctors are they typically have a plethora of side effects.
Another issue with medicine is that it’s usually expensive, putting them out of some people’s reach. And then there’s the moral issue: prescription medicines almost always get tested on animals. Those are some reasons why more of us are turning to aromatherapy.
Essential oils are not a new idea or invention. They’ve been around for hundreds of years, with the earliest documented use dating back to the 12th century. These days, more people consider essential oils as their go-to solution for dealing with various conditions.
Many individuals that use essential oils boast of their high success rate. Keeping that in mind, what makes essential oils work so well? Here’s a brief rundown of the most common reasons:
Inhaling essential oils affects people’s emotions
Some people who inhale essential oils do so because it helps them control anxiety, moods, and even sleep quality at night. The way that essential oils work is that compounds from them get absorbed through receptors in the nose.
Those receptors send “messages” to the olfactory system – the part of the brain responsible for a person’s sense of smell. Those neural messages eventually make their way to the limbic system – the part of the brain that impacts a person’s emotions.
Topical essential oils ease aches and pains
Essential oils that get applied to the skin are beneficial for relieving aches and pains in various parts of the body. That’s because the essential oils get absorbed through the skin, enter the bloodstream, and become metabolized by the liver.
Some people apply essential oils to their skin to relieve muscle aches and pains and ease the symptoms of arthritis.
The role of terpenes in essential oils
You’ll come across a word called terpenes if you conduct even some brief research into aromatherapy and essential oils. In a nutshell, terpenes are the foundations of plant hormones and molecules.
They’re typically responsible for the smell or aroma of plants. Some of those scents are pleasant and aromatic, while others are useful for warding off things like insects, animals, and other predators likely to damage plants.
Terpenes are one of the compounds mentioned earlier that get absorbed by a person’s nose whenever they inhale essential oils. It’s those compounds that ultimately tell people’s brains how to respond to things like pain.
In your research, you’ll also come across the role of terpenes in cannabis plants. You might have thought to yourself: cannabis derived terpenes, what are they? It’s thought that terpenes work with THC in cannabis to influence a person’s “high.”
In a similar sense, terpenes work with other compounds found in essential oils for various results. For example, terpenes and lavender work together to help people cope better with anxiety, depression, nausea, and allergies.
Conclusion
There’s plenty of information documented in the public domain to suggest that aromatherapy is a viable alternative to Western medicine. They aren’t touted as replacements, but rather as treatments that can work with prescribed medicine.
When choosing essential oils, it’s crucial that you only buy 100% pure essential oil. The sad truth is some products on the market have synthesized ingredients, or get marketed as “fragrances” rather than essential oils.
Thanks for reading today’s article – hopefully you’ve found it enlightening!