Lavandula angustifolia, or lavender, as it is commonly known, is a woody shrub native to the Mediterranean, but grown in many countries including the United States. Lavender has a sweet, smoky, floral smell and distinctive bright blue-violet flowers. Essential oils are derived from the plant's flowers and are thought to have medicinal qualities. Several studies have demonstrated that therapy with lavender relaxes people.
Relaxation Therapy Explained
Five drops of essential lavender oil is the recommended aromatherapy amount to treat anxiety, according to a 2008 article in the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing. This amount is put onto a cotton ball in a long plastic tube and is inhaled whenever feelings of anxiety arise. According to the authors, massage is another viable way to treat with lavender as well as scented baths. Therapy with lavender oil is able to be used several times per day, has few side effects, is not expensive and is readily obtainable.
Patients Feel Relaxed
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center website, relaxation therapy with lavender has multiple, beneficial effects including improved nervous system functioning, better sleep, and increased relaxation. This site indicates people receiving either aromatherapy or massage with lavender report feeling more relaxed and calm.
Physiological Effects
Lavender has been found to produce physiological changes suggestive of relaxation. According to the 2005 annual report of the Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center at Tohoku University, heart rate functioning and brain functioning was measured in 10 healthy female volunteers, ages 20 to 27 with an electrocardiogram as well as positron emission tomography. After administration of lavender relaxation therapy, significant, positive changes suggestive of relaxation were noted in both heart rate and brain functioning.
Clinical Application
A promising clinical use of lavender relaxation therapy could be used in postoperative adjustment, suggesting lavender can help patients recover from surgery using less pain medication. A 2007 article published in the journal Obesity Surgery compared two groups of patients recovering from gastric banding surgery. One group received aromatherapy with lavender while the other received aromatherapy with baby oil. Patients in the lavender group appeared more relaxed. By contract, more patients in the baby oil aromatherapy group required analgesics for pain compared to the lavender aromatherapy group.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Lavender
- "Journal of Psychosocial Nursing"; Healing Scents: An Overview of Clinical Aromatherapy for Emotional Distress; Andrea Butje, LMT, et al.; 2008
- Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center Tohoku University; Functional Neuroimaging of Autonomic Nervous Responses; X. Duan, et al.; 2005
- "Obesity Surgery"; Treatment with Lavender Aromatherapy in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit reduces Opioid Requirements of Morbidly Obese Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding; Jung T. Kim, M.D., et al.; 2007
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