You know how it is when you have trouble sleeping. It is one of the most frustrating things we can endure because we know that if we don't sleep, we will be grumpy and tired the next day. However, forcing yourself to sleep is practically impossible because the more you try, the less likely you are to do it.
Stress is one of the biggest reasons for a lack of sleep. We are worried about the difficulties we had that day, and we are worried about the plans and difficulties we may face the next day. It may not even be a personal issue that keeps you awake at night. It can easily be caused by concern for what is happening in the world today, and a severe and generalized anxiety.
Experts have already noted that the entire world is under a mass depressive state during this pandemic due to the Covid virus. People are sleeping less. And, inevitably, the rest that your body needs is lessened and that deprives your body from healing.
One direct and proven way to help your sleep is by using something dealing with the sense of smell. It is a powerful and underused part of our five senses. Certain smells can put us in better moods and affect our behavior. Think about it, certain smells have launched you back into a favorite memory as if you were transported back to that time and place.
The power of smell can help those in trouble with falling asleep (and staying asleep) and that's why aromatherapy is a very important way to get the necessary relaxation to help you get into the proper sleep.
Counting sheep, the old wive's tale to help children fall asleep, was merely used to get your mind to forget about your troubles and count a monotonous thing, and then drift away. But sometimes, the mind can't be tricked that easily, and after an hour of counting, you can remain wide awake.
Some people use essential oils to run into the skin, which not only smells good but can help with achy muscles. Stress can cause your muscles to tighten up and create knots that won't be relieved even when lying in bed.
Essential oils like oregano, lavender, and chamomile as well as tea made from these herbs, have long been known to help with sleep. The scents of these plants release the hormone melatonin, and that directly affects the brain and helps block those stressful thoughts to help you sleep. The cause of stress won't be eliminated, but the anxiety about it will go away.
A lack of sleep causes more stress. It is true that the older we get some people need less sleep. And some people have medical conditions that cause them go to to the bathroom a lot during the night, which disrupts the sleep cycle.
If the weather changes causes congestion, coughs or colds, something with peppermint, black pepper, eucalyptus or tea tree oil can help. Eucalyptus oil and rosemary oil can help disinfect a room so that it would prevent you from even getting a cold.
Using aromatherapy as part of your night routines will help you have a more restful and deeper sleep.
What Does the Scent of Lavender Do?
Many of the scientific studies surrounding aromatherapy has involved lavender as part of the way to help people sleep better and more peacefully. In almost all instances, the use of lavender showed that it can help people sleep better, and stay asleep longer.
In both England and China, scientific trials resulted in showing that aromatherapy can be used by clinics to help improve sleep quality.
Another study using patients in ICU (intensive care units) showed that lavender essential oil not only helped sleep quality and anxiety levels of patients, but helped for depression and relaxation. This study noted that this kind of treatment was effective, non-invasive, easy to use, and cheap.
Meditating with aroma oils has a curative effect, not only on our mind but also on our body, and doing that at night can ease you into sleep mode.
Get into a comfortable position in bed and use an aromatherapy lamp, or if you would rather not light something with a flame when you fall asleep, try something like a nose ring, such as a Rin'GO Aromatherapy ring that fits right between the nostrils and provides the scent.
Let the scent trail into your lungs and make sure your head is back and in a comfortable position so that your neck isn't strained. Try to clear your mind, or think of a favorite place, a park or beach or hike, and go there in your imagination. That could also help with more pleasant dreaming.
One of the early aromatherapy scientists is a French chemist named Dr. Rene Maurice Gatehouse, who in the early 1900s accidentally burnt his hand and then he dipped it into a liquid nearby to soothe the pain. He had no pain or burns and realized very quickly that it was pure lavender oil and he started researching the properties of essential oils.
What Does the Smell of Oregano Do in Aromatherapy?
Recent studies reveal that a cooking herb as simple as oregano shows strong health benefits such as anti-bacterial and anti-viral qualities. In fact, oregano is an antioxidant and can show benefits in drinking it as a tea, using it as a salve, or breathing in the scent in something like the Rin'GO Sleep nose rings.
Historically families have used oregano to ease coughs, help with circulation and digestion, and to ease menstrual cramps. They also found out it was good for sleep, and it helps relax joints and muscles that promotes longer sleep.
In some aromatherapy practices, adding some drops of oregano essential oil on the soles of the feet at bedtime can help you rest better. Inevitably it activates your sense of smell and gives you an increased sense of well-being.
Whether you mix it in your bathwater, or steam it to inhale, or use it in Rin'GO, this raw plant material triggers a part of the brain that is linked with emotion.
Some aromatherapists warn that oregano taken to excess can cause rashes, headaches, and difficulty in swallowing, which is why taking it in proper does, such as in the Rin'GO Sleep nose ring is the way to go.
Who would have thought that something that is so readily available as a cooking herb can be used to help you sleep better? In a Rin'GO Sleep Ring, the proof is right there.