Aromatherapy Benefits
What are aromatherapy’s benefits? Does aromatherapy have any health benefits? It seems that aromatherapy’s health benefits may be more psychological than physical. In a study at Ohio State University, 56 people smelled lemon and lavender.
After an hour, they reported a clear mood lift from the citrus, whether or not they had expected it, but no change from the lavender. Neither scent had a quantifiable physiological effect, however (though other research has found, for example, that smelling lavender can increase deep sleep).
“If an individual uses these oils and feels better, there’s no way we can prove it doesn’t improve that person’s health,” study coauthor William B. Malarkey says, but this was a “well-designed study” that did not show positive changes in measures of stress hormones, heart rate, pain, or immune-system activity. [source: Allure]
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