Bath bombs. Candles. Diffusers.
You may have heard about all of these sniffable, hippie, new age answers for your insomnia.
And you may have eyerolled so hard that your mug got stuck looking like the monster from The Grudge.
I hear that.
Up until a couple years ago, I thought the same. But something changed for me. Three things, to be exact: good Amazon reviews, evidence based research, and (most importantly) personal experience. Okay, so let’s break it down. I’ll admit the Amazon reviews aren’t the do all to end all. Peeps get payed to praise products all the time. So, I take all that kinda info like (insert name of whatever that liquor is called that I don’t drink): with a circle of salt around the rim of the commentary cup. That said, if I do have a hunch that the reviews are true, I’ll do additional research. I’ll talk to real life buyers. Maybe I’ll check the Facebook opinions. Maybe I’ll consult my trendy friends who know everything about everything. Or, in this case, maybe I’ll read the research to see if actual studies have shown this shiz works.
Indeed, my research on the research did not disappoint.
According to studies done on actual sick patients (not just chronic nocturnal complainers like myself) exposed to aromatherapy oils, reduced stress effects were measurable. And I’m not talking about interrogating patients on relaxation levels. I’m talking quantifiable data. Sounds ridiculous right? How can you possibly measure how relaxed someone is? (Aside from maybe with a breathalyzer, after a full night of imbibing?) Easily. In fact, you can do it pretty simply with an EEG. What this machine does is to measure the brain waves of a given subject. In this case – subjects who were subjected to lavender oil aromas.
And what did it find?
It found the same thing that happens after you walk into that yoga studio with the candles going. Or when you stroll down the soap and lotion aisle in Mom’s Organic Grocer. After administering lavender aromatherapy, these poor miserable wretches were suddenly stress free. The machines showed marked spikes in both theta waves (which are associated with meditative/light sleep states) as well as alpha waves (which are associated with relaxation). And you wanna know the real kicker? They didn’t take half an hour of tossing and turning to achieve it.
The effects kicked in within a mere three minutes.
(Protip: you don’t hafta pick it fresh from a field or pay for pricey oils. A cheap diffuser’ll do.)
So, there’s your fix, my sleepless loves.
Tonight, nix those sleepytime scripts and spend your cents on scents instead.