beauty make up

The Benefits of Lavender Oil Generally and as a Natural Sleep Aid

July 28, 2011 at 7:45 am (Herbal Sleep Aid) (Insomnia, natural sleep aid)

Although lavender oil has not been extensively studied yet, but some researches suggest that lavender aromatherapy serves as a natural sleep aid and help with conditions such as:

• Anxiety – Researches show that lavender helps ease anxiety among adults. It has a calming effect on the nervous system. According to some studies, lavender acts as an anti-anxiety agent in conditions of low anxiety, and may not be as helpful in high anxiety conditions. The peaceful effect it gives people serves as a sleep aid which enables people to sleep easily.
• Insomnia – Lavender is often looked at as a natural sleep aids because of its sedative effects. In 2005, a small study was carried out, which reported that a group of people with insomnia showed improvements in their sleep after using lavender for four weeks. An aromatherapy vaporizer was used at their bedtimes, which helped in inducing sleep. The results of the study showed that younger volunteers and women having milder insomnia improved faster than others.
• Alopecia Areata – This is a disorder which causes round patches of baldness in people very rapidly. After carrying out a study on 86 people having Alopecia Areata, researchers came to a good conclusion about Lavender. It was found out that 44% of the people that massaged their scalp with lavender oil (in combination with jojoba, oils of thyme, grapeseed, cedarwood and rosemary) on a daily basis, had a significant amount of improvement in their condition after only seven months.

How Lavender Oil is Used

Lavender oil can be in various ways, like:

• In massages (which works like a natural sleep aid and helps people fall asleep instantly)
• Direct application to the skin
• In baths
• Inhaling (by sprinkling a few drops of the oil in a cloth or by using aromatherapy diffusers or vaporizers)

Lavender oil is easily available in food or health stores and is also available at spas. Dried lavender is available in the form of tea. One important thing to remember is that lavender oil must not be consumed internally without the supervision or direction of health professionals.