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Essential oils for maintaining cognitive function as we age
‘Use it or lose it’. This advice is often used to explain the benefits of yoga, pilates, other stretching routines, as well as cardiovascular exercise: keep the muscles active or they lose their tone.
This precept has also been applied to the idea of slowing down the onset of dementia, with older people being encouraged to keep the grey matter active’ by doing daily crosswords or sudoku.
But a recent study suggests that there may be another way to prevent cognitive decline by using the sense of smell. What’s more, you can, and perhaps should, do this when you’re asleep!
The study:
In the study 20 volunteers between the ages of 60 and 85 were asked to diffuse 7 different essential oils (one each night on a rotating basis), for 2 hours as they fell asleep. The controls in the same group were given a placebo which contained distilled water and only a trace amount of aroma which was just noticeable. The experiment lasted six months, and they were assessed before and after, using neuropsychological tests and MRI scans.
The result was a staggering 226% improvement in cognitive performance of the ‘enriched’ group compared to the control group. Quite an extraordinary result for a simple and enjoyable activity that we can do at home!
The link between aromatic experience and brain function
The oils used were Eucalyptus, Lavender, Lemon, Orange, Peppermint, Rose and Rosemary, and I think it’s important to point out that they were not chosen because of their ability to improve cognitive function, (although rosemary and peppermint have been shown to do that), but rather to give a wide spectrum of aromatic experience: to ‘ stretch’ the neural connections in different directions, if you like.
There is good logic here. It has long been known that aroma enrichment improves brain function in animals; and in humans, studies have shown that exposure to varied aromas changes brain anatomy and can restore the sense of smell following infection or illness. So there is a clear link between aroma enrichment and changes in the brain in both animals and humans. It is also known that general age-related loss of smell in humans leads to significant loss of grey and white matter in the brain and can also precede more serious cognitive impairment.
If you would like to order Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils use my link below.
www.doterra.com/shereedisaya
If you would like to book a consultation, either in person or via Zoom or phone, please send me a message.
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