Essential oils can have a profound impact on the brain through a process known as aromatherapy. When you inhale the aroma of essential oils, it triggers a series of reactions in the brain and body, leading to various psychological and physiological effects.
How Essential Oils work in your brain
When you inhale essential oil molecules
Your olfactory nerve system identifies the molecules of aroma as pleasant or unpleasent right away.
This identification incites feelings and memories
When absorbed into the cilia (short eyelash-like hairs inside the nostrils) of the olfactory passage. Two things occur:
- An immediate (chemical) effect on the brain cells
- A subsequent effect on the emotions
The essential oils are received into the limbic system, which is the center for smell, feelings, emotions, and memory.
The limbic system controls basic emotions (fear, pleasure, anger) and the natural drives (hunger, dominance, sex, care of offspring)
When the limbic system receives input from the olfactory system and essential oils are absorbed into the brain, a psychological impact is created
When you for instance smell lemon essential oil it can lift the spirits and brighten the mood, because the brain center recognizes the scent as healthy, perky, pleasant, and invigorating.
Scents are the closest ties we have to memories. When we smell something, our emotional memory is triggered. Our recall is sentient and emotion-based.
You have probably "smell memories" from your childhood. Bread-baking, grandma's perfume, summer house, and so on.
Each essential oil or plant essence is composed of different chemical molecules
Each chemical serves a specific purpose and has a different job assignment.
Once the molecules of a given essential oil latch on to the receptors in the body it is specifically designed to help, it gets to work doing the job it was meant to do.
Essential oils possess the properties of everything from:
- Antibiotic
- Antiseptic
- Antimicrobial
- Anti-virus
- Anti-inflammatory
- Wound healing
- Relaxing
- Pain relieving
- Digestion aid
- and SO much more!
You do not have to do a thing! The essential oils are automatically attracted to what needs to be fixed and just fix it!
It's like it's preprogrammed with its assignment. It does the same thing with the plant it came from. It protects them from the inside and out. So, too, with humans!
Our job is to select the essential oil that is pre-designed for the healing we need.
Dilute it and apply it, inhale it, diffuse it, bath in it, compress it, or use it in whatever manner is suitable for the condition we want to fix.
Why essential oils are nature's gift to us? They go to work, do their job, and we are on our way to improving body, mind, and soul.
It's important to note that individual responses to essential oils can vary, and the effects can be influenced by personal preferences and past experiences. Some people may find certain scents more soothing, while others may prefer different aromas. When using essential oils for their aromatherapeutic benefits, it's crucial to use high-quality oils and follow safety guidelines, such as dilution and proper diffusion methods.