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How Aromatherapy Works:
“Smell acts directly on the brain, like a drug” says Dr Alan Huch, neurologist, psychiatrist and director of Smell and Taste Research Center in Chicago. Our nose is capable of distinguishing 100,000 different kinds of smell, most of which affect us without our knowledge.
The aroma enters through the nose to the cilia, the fine hair inside the nose lining. The receptors in the cilia are linked to the olfactory bulb at the end of the smell tract. The end of the tract is directly connected to the brain. Smell converted by cilia into electrical impulses are transmitted to the brain through the olfactory system.
All the impulses reach the limbic system (part of the brain associated with moods, emotions, memory and learning). The smell that reaches the limbic system has a direct chemical effect on the moods. Lavender smell increases alpha waves in the brain which contributes in relaxation. A whiff of jasmine increases beta waves in the brain which is associated with an increased agile and alert state.
Limbic system is a storehouse of millions of smells. It is therefore that a mere fragrance of haystack takes one back to childhood.
The molecular size of the essential oils is very tiny which can easily penetrate through the skin to the blood stream. The essential oils enter the skin within a time span ranging somewhere from few seconds to two hours. The toxins get out of the body within 4 hours through urine, perspiration and excreta.
Aromatic oils magically work for stress-related problems, psychosomatic disorders, skin infections, hair loss, inflammations, pain arising from muscular or skeletal disorders and various other ailments. Essential oils have versatile applications.
Lavender oil was applied on 28 patients in Bristol who had undergone by-pass surgery. Amongst them 24 had reported reduced breathing rate, lower blood pressure and anxiety level. In 1985, 28 women in Paris were treated for thrush through essential oils. 21 of them were completely cured when a clinical examination was conducted on them 90 days later.
The only precaution that should be borne while applying essential oils is they should never be used directly. Some oils might irritate sensitive skin or cause photo-sensitivity. They should therefore be blended in adequate proportion with the carrier oils. A patch test should essentially be performed which enables in finding out the reactions.
Aromatherapy is an art associated with fragrant essential oils of plants for treatment of mind and body. The aroma of various oils evoke a variety of responses by stimulating the olfactory organs that are linked to the areas of the brain that control emotions.
Initiated by this stimulation, a series of chemical reactions take place that contribute in physical and emotional changes of the body. |
