Lifestyle May 11, 2020
Essential oils and stress go together like peanut butter and jelly.
College is stressful. Life is stressful. There is no way over, under, or around it. Things happen, and it is up to you to choose how to handle stress and anxiety. With the up-and-coming movement of natural remedies, essential oils have prevailed both scientifically and spiritually as an organic remedy for anxiety, stress, and much more.
I discovered these oils at my first ever job in college. I was working at a desk in a small, dark room…alone….for several hours. As I was rifling through the desk drawers one day looking for scissors, I found an aromatherapy set, which included essential oils and a diffuser. After playing around with flavors and scents, here are the top five oils that I found to be the most enjoyably effective at lifting the weight of stress in college.
The one, truly essential, essential oil. Not only is it my favorite scent, but it is one of the most diverse oils there is to offer. Not only is its scent calming and zen, but lavender is known to be a natural sleep aid. Stressing the test? Rub a couple of drops of lavender oil on your pillow before bed, and I can assure you’ll catch the best Z’s of your life.
College stress doesn’t only come from overstimulation, academics, or lack of sleep. Handling sickness and injuries away from home is a sure cause of stress. Slip and fall at Saturday’s football tailgate? Drop some lavender oil on a cut to stop bleeding and sterilize the injury. Eat a bad taco at the dining hall and feel sick? Place some oil on the tip of your tongue or behind your ear to alleviate queasiness. All this stress destroying your skin? Lavender oil relieves chapped skin, sunburned lips, dandruff, and eczema. Burn your hand baking cookies for your roomies? Lavender oil. You get the point. Go get some lavender essential oil and stress no more.
Although the scent of lemon is known to be best for cleaning and sterilization, anxiety and stress relief are some of the top uses for this oil. Pop some oil in a diffuser and inhale deeply.
In a 2015 study, it was demonstrated that lemon oil may have had an anti-anxiety effect on mice, although it was best in smaller, short-term doses. I personally enjoy this scent after that of the lavender but don’t find any clear, strong changes in mood or stress aside from a feeling of calm that may simply come from an awareness of my breath when inhaling the oil fumes as they diffuse.
If you don’t enjoy lavender as much as I do, tea tree is a great alternative that can provide many of the same benefits. Not only is tea tree an antiseptic, making it a great cut and burn reliever, but a 2014 study found that this oil can be just as effective for acne relief as benzoyl peroxide.
Upon brainstorming this article, I remembered how my mom always doused me in tea tree shampoo, soap, and conditioner upon my annual return from sleep-away camp, so I wanted to see if her trick was scientific or just psychosomatic?
College is like camp in that being in close quarters with so many students can cause a plethora of health problems. Among them may be a head lice infestation. In other words, a nightmare. However, tea tree oil has shown the potential to kill 100 percent of head lice within 30 minutes. Mother knows best, I guess.
One of the best ways to appease the stress of studying is to get a study buddy. But 1) they’re hard to find, 2) they’re not available at your leisure, and 3) you may not work well in groups. Meet your new study buddy, rosemary essential oil.
Rosemary essential oil is believed to improve memory. A study stated that it, “Produced a significant enhancement of performance for overall quality of memory and secondary memory factors.” Pop some rosemary in your diffuser and you’ll no longer need to depend on anyone but yourself to be confident and ready for your next exam!
In my first semester at school, I stumbled upon CBD oil at the school-sponsored, weekly farmer’s market. Its obvious correlation with weed made me immediately skeptical but curious.
CBD is currently a trending oil on the market. CBD comes from hemp which is a plant related to marijuana. Rather than getting you high (which requires a THC compound) CBD is directly related to legally improving mental health and stress as well as reducing anxiety and depression.
More than ever, college has proven to be a place where mental health is a struggle for a rapidly increasing population of students. CBD has shown to positively regulate serotonin receptors in the brain, which regulates mood. Not only can it be good for you but for your college pet as well! CBD has proven to help with joint pain and has a therapeutic effect on animals.
All in all, there are countless ways for essential oils to work their magic in a place like college where anxiety and stress can dominate you. Hopefully, using these oils will organically dissipate your stress and improve your overall comfort in your new home away from home.
