Aromatherapy is one of the fastest growing therapies in the world, according to a study published in a 2002 issue of "Holistic Nursing Practice." Although some may consider the way in which aromatherapy can affect our moods and emotions to be pseudo-mystical, scientific research has been undertaken to investigate whether aromatherapy may actually have a medicinal effect.
Aromatherapy
Essential oils have been used therapeutically for thousands of years in numerous cultures. Aromatherapy, as it's known today, was founded in 1928 by French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé, who used lavender oil to treat a chemical burn and began investigating essential oils' healing properties. Essential oils, notes the University of Maryland Medical Center, are concentrated extracts taken from certain plants' roots, leaves, seeds and blossoms; aromatherapy uses these oils' smells in a healing capacity.
Fact vs. Fiction
A paper published in a 2009 issue of "The International Journal of Neuroscience" presented the results of a systematic review of 18 scientific studies on aromatherapy to analyze smells' effects on behavior, mood and physiology. The study found that there was "credible evidence" that the odors we smell can affect our mood, behavior and physiology, although the precise reasons for why this occurs were unclear.
Emotion and Aromatherapy
Some studies suggest that aromatherapy may actually provide relief from depression and anxiety, according to Dr. Brent Bauer on MayoClinic.com. The prevailing belief, he says, is that aromatherapy works by stimulating the nose's smell receptors. These receptors then send messages through the body's nervous system to the brain's limbic system, which controls our emotions. Another theory, outlined on the University of Maryland Medical Center website, is that aromatherapy is effective because essential oils' molecules interact with hormones or enzymes in the blood.
Calming Lavender
A study published in a 2005 issue of the Korean medical journal "Taehan Kanho Hakhoe Chi" investigated the effects of lavender aromatherapy on calming the emotions and aggressive behavior of senior citizens with Alzheimer's disease. Patients who received a program of hand massage with lavender-scented aromatherapy oil demonstrated "significant differences" in their emotions. The study concluded that lavender aromatherapy was an effective method for calming the emotions of agitated patients with the disease.
References
- "Taehan Kanho Hakhoe Chi"; The Effect of Lavender Aromatherapy on Cognitive Function, Emotion and Aggressive Behavior of Elderly With Dementia; S.Y. Lee; 2005
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Aromatherapy
- "The International Journal of Neuroscience"; Aromatherapy Facts and Fictions -- A Scientific Analysis of Olfactory Effects on Mood, Physiology and Behavior; R.S. Herz; 2009
- MayoClinic.com; What Are the Benefits of Aromatherapy?; Brent A. Bauer
- "Holistic Nursing Practice"; Aromatherapy -- Mythical, Magical or Medicinal?; D.V. Thomas; October 2002
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