It’s possible to have too much of a good thing. According to a new Taiwanese study, an hour of aromatherapy can have calming, blood pressure-lowering effects. Just be careful: longer exposures to vaporized essential oils may actually harm your health.
Researchers set up an experiment that was meant to mimic the conditions at a typical spa. They used a vaporizer to fill the air in a closed room with tiny droplets of bergamot, an essential oil that comes from a citrus fruit and is commonly found in perfumes, massage oils, and aromatherapy. They then asked 100 healthy spa workers to stay in the room for two hours on each of three separate visits. Researchers kept tabs on their heart rates and blood pressures every 15 minutes while they were breathing in the vaporized oil. For the first hour, study participants’ heart rates and blood pressures dropped slightly. But after 75 minutes, the trend reversed. Their heart rates and blood pressures began to climb.
“Exposure to essential oil for one hour was found to be an effective method of relaxation, as indicated by decreases in the heart rate and blood pressure,” says Kai-Jen Chuang, PhD, the study’s lead author. Chuang hypothesizes that essential oils act as a stress reliever because of their overall interaction with the body through the olfactory system and absorption in the skin. Once in the body, a signal makes it way to the limbic system, the brain, telling it to relax.
But be careful: “Prolonged exposure for longer than one hour to essential oils may be harmful to cardiovascular health,” Chuang adds. As with most activities, moderation is key.
If you’re itching to feel your stress melt away but can’t swing a trip to the spa with your tight holiday budget, no worries! Here’s how to incorporate the soothing aroma of bergamot in your own home.
Create a calming bath
Add six to 10 drops of bergamot oil to the bathtub and soak away your stress. The bergamot is absorbed through the skin and also inhaled.
Clear your skin
Put 5 drops of bergamot oil in a bowl of steaming water. Place a towel over your head and the bowl to trap the steam. Inhale for a few minutes. The odors of bergamot will reduce outbreaks and help clear those already in progress, which will give you one less thing to worry about.
Enhance your lotions
Add a couple drops of bergamot oil to unscented vitamin E cream for a soothing dry skin lotion. Feel free to also use this mixture as a massage oil when you’re feeling frisky!
More from WH:
DIY Recipes for At-Home Skincare Treatments
31 Ways to Relax Instantly
The Secret Benefits of Massage
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