Health Hotline Magazine | November 2024

Mood-Boosting Must Haves Citrus

Have you ever noticed that nothing quite perks you up like the scent of fresh citrus? Citrus EOs, like sweet orange and bitter orange, have powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties and have been shown to have antidepressant, mood uplifting, and overall emotional-balancing effects. In fact, “Citrus EO has been observed to induce a pleasant mood in people suffering from sadness.” Additionally, research has found that “Lemon EO has also been recorded to produce antidepressant effects in terms of accelerated turnover of dopamine in the brain hippocampal region establishing therapeutic effects of EOs in healing the patients from depression and related symptoms.” What’s more, inhalation of orange EO for 90 seconds has been observed to cause “a significant decrease in oxyhemoglobin concentration in the right prefrontal cortex of the brain which increases comfortable, relaxed, and natural feelings.” Bergamot Orange Bergamot orange is another EO used in aromatherapy as a pain reliever, and improve sleep disorders, reduce anxiety, and has been reported to prevent negative symptoms of depression. Sleep Soundly with Lavender As you probably know, sleep disturbances and restless nights can happen at any point in one’s life, and thankfully we can reach for the power of lavender EO to help get us through. That’s because lavender contains potent compounds that interact with the central nervous system and brain to reduce restlessness and agitation and promote relaxation. It’s also known as a mood stabilizer. According to a study conducted on 31 healthy sleepers, ages 18 to 30 years old, researchers found that after three consecutive nights in a sleep lab, the amount of slow- and deep-wave sleep increased in the participants when lavender oil was given as an olfactory stimulus. In addition, all participants reported higher vigor the morning after lavender exposure compared to the control group. Research shows that another particular group may also benefit from lavender in a big way—postmenopausal women suffering from insomnia. In one placebo-controlled study, researchers evaluated the effect of lavender EO on quality of life (QOL) and sleep patterns in postmenopausal women with diagnosed insomnia. At the end of the 29-day study, those inhaling lavender nightly before bed as part of the aromatherapy intervention group saw a significant improvement in their overall QOL score, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency. Sleep disorders in a hospital setting are also quite common, with more people seeking alternatives to sleeping pills to prevent unwanted side effects. One study evaluated the effect of lavender EO on those hospitalized with heart disease in the ICU. After three nights of aromatherapy with lavender oil, participants showed significant improvement in their sleep quality compared to the non-intervention group. Mind Your Memory with Rosemary When it comes to staying sharp now and well into your later years, there’s one EO leading the pack in terms of providing proven brain-retaining results: rosemary. In ancient Greece and Rome, rosemary was thought to strengthen memory and today, modern research backs this up. In one small study, 20 young healthy adults were randomly assigned to be exposed to diffused rosemary oil for various lengths of time in a small room. It was found that speed and accuracy in cognitive measures increased in direct proportion to the duration the oil was diffused. Additional research suggests that inhaling rosemary and other EOs, like lemon, lavender, and orange may improve brain function in older adults with dementia, including those with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Wherever your path to health leads you, make sure that you stop to smell the roses (rose geranium that is), as well as the lavender, the chamomile, the citrus, and the rosemary EOs. It just makes scents to give your health a helping hand with the power of aromatherapy!

For references, please visit: naturalgrocers.com/issue-87

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