This Is What Happens with Your Lungs and Brain When You Diffuse Essential Oils

You can easily convert your home or office into your own, personal aromatherapy paradise with just a diffuser and a range of essential oil blends. Whether you suffer from a specific ailment or simply want to improve your sense of well-being, you can select the essential oils that target each area of your life, mix them into the perfect blend, and place them in your diffuser for hours of bliss.

Many people like to use air fresheners or scented candles to make their house smell great. But I’ve already mentioned why scented candles and air fresheners are known be toxic.

Instead of using air fresheners you can diffuses essential oils to improve air quality and to enjoy the health benefits of essential oils.

Here are the main benefits of diffusing essential oils as well as essential oil recipes for your diffuser to get you started.

Essential Oil Blends Blends for Colds and Coughs

For colds and flu symptoms, you need essential oils that address inflammation, congestion, fever, and aching muscles.

Lavender is the most reliable anti-inflammatory that will soothe your sore throat and aching body. Peppermint and tea tree will both help to relieve congestion and bring down your fever. See this article about the best essential oils for colds and sore throats.

When fever is the chief concern, add chamomile to the blend. Alternatively, eucalyptus or rosemary can add some extra anti-congestion support.

Blends for Improving Memory and Cognitive Performance

School children, university students, and those with cognitively demanding jobs will appreciate this one. Scientists have discovered that rosemary oil can improve the memory of those who sniff it. There are other promising findings.

There are other oils that can increase your mental clarity:

• Spanish sage (also called salvia lavandulaefolia) increases the memory of young people by inhibiting a widespread toxic enzyme that damages brain cells[1].
• Peppermint oil increases the memory and cognitive performance of people through a mechanism that is not yet understood.[2]

Now we are getting close to a solid memory booster. Mix the oils in equal measures and place them in your office or in your resident student’s bedroom.

Essential Oil Blends for Insomnia and Better Sleep

Lavender, valerian, Roman chamomile, bergamot, sweet marjoram, cedarwood, sandalwood, ylang-ylang, clary sage, orange and lemon oils are by far the best sleep aids. For the science behind each, see The Best Essential Oils for Insomnia & Better Sleep.

For a perfect blend that targets all aspects of sleep, try lavender, valerian, and cedarwood in a 50%-30%-20% ratio. These are undoubtedly the oils with the most research behind them.

• The lavender brings the nervous system to a relaxed state.
• The valerian makes you fall asleep quickly and prolongs your sleep.
• The cedarwood reduces automatic motor activity and also prolongs your sleep.

With this blend, you will fall asleep quickly and stay asleep for long enough.

If you are often plagued by nightmares, add a few drops of Roman chamomile to the blend to keep you calm throughout the night.

Oil Blends for Sensuality

Here the floral scents reign supreme. With combinations of geranium, jasmine, neroli, patchouli, rose, sandalwood, ylang-ylang, and just a tiny drop of clary sage, you can convert your bedroom into a romantic retreat that no five-star hotel and spa can replicate.

To boost confidence, defeat timidity, and improve relaxation for powerful sexual performance, combine jasmine, neroli, and ylang-ylang in approximately equal amounts.

If you want to add some spiciness to the flowery aroma, add just one drop of cardamom or cinnamon oil. They are two of the warmest oils that exist and will undoubtedly enhance the tenderness and passion between you and your partner.

Essential Oil Recipes for Reducing Anxiety and Depression

Whether you battle with negative emotions, low mood, and anxiety, or whether you simply want to bring some calm and serenity into your home, you have a large choice of oils for your diffuser!

The selection includes bergamot, basil, clary sage, frankincense, geranium, jasmine, lemon, wild orange, lavender, mandarin, marjoram, palmarosa, rose, roman chamomile, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang. For more details, see Essential Oils for Anxiety and Depression.

Since your aim is to resolve emotional difficulties, the best approach is to choose your favorite scent from the above list and prepare a blend that is primarily based on that. You do not want to include an oil that you dislike; it will defeat the purpose.

Moreover, a good idea is to use at least one oil that stimulates positive emotions, instead of just including oils that lift depression or combat anxiety. You want to feel cheerful afterwards, not only anxiety or depression-free.

If you have a particularly stressful job or family life, blend sandalwood and ylang-ylang in equal amounts for the anxiety, after which you add lemon oil to elevate your mood. Try a 40%-40%-20% mix. This may be especially useful for parents with difficult toddlers and for teenagers who need to fight through the peer pressure to develop themselves. Your other option will be to use a few drops of doTERRA Balance  – essential oil blend to create a sense of relaxation (available here).

If depression is your central problem, try rose, mandarin, and jasmine as a flowery blend with a fruity twist to create that happy, summery atmosphere around the house.

Sinus and Anti-Inflammatory Essential Oil Blend

A sinus infection with its accompanying congestion and headache is a particularly unpleasant experience. If colds and allergies cause your sinuses to become blocked and inflamed, you must use a blend of essential oils that tackle the inflammation at the heart of the problem.

Oils with anti-inflammatory effects include: eucalyptus, lavender, tea tree, oregano, menthol, sweet basil, peppermint, clove, rosemary, lemon, chamomile, pine, geranium, and thyme. For more information, read this article on the best essential oils for sinus infection.

Lavender, tea tree, and eucalyptus is a good blend to try first, as these are some of the most popular oils that most of us have in our homes. As the anti-inflammatory effects of lavender are well researched and confirmed, make a 40%-30%-30% blend with lavender as the principle ingredient.

For the best effect, place the diffuser close to your bed or desk to ensure that you inhale as much of the oils’ scent and particles as possible. You can move it away every few minutes if it becomes overwhelming.

Essential Oil Blends for Allergies

Everyone with allergies knows the routine. Your immune system over-reacts to some harmless substance like pollen. In response, you take an antihistamine which helps, but which makes you feel drowsy and dizzy. This may be unnecessary with all the essential oils that are available for their antihistamine effects. These include lavender, peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, and Roman chamomile. For more, see the article that discusses essential oils for allergy relief.

If your allergies manifest into cold symptoms alone, blend lavender, peppermint, and lemon. All three of these oils have anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, lavender works to relieve the headaches caused by the congestion, and lemon and peppermint open your airways to ease breathing and dissolve the excess nasal mucus. You can also try the doTERRA Breathe blend which supports healthy respiratory function when seasonal threats are high.

Those with skin rashes can mix lavender with Roman chamomile, but this must be applied topically to the affected areas in a carrier oil. Inhalation alone will not relieve that.

Blends for Migraines and Headaches

To address these, you should be sensitive to the primary cause so you can address this along with the pain.

Tension headaches brought about by stress are common in today’s fast-paced world. To attack these, blend sandalwood, lavender, and Roman chamomile. Together, they will calm you and reduce the inflammation that is responsible for some of the pain. You may feel somewhat drowsy when you inhale this blend; it is meant to reduce stress, after all.

If you need to be at peak cognitive performance during the day, rather place the blend in your diffuser during the night. As you will still feel more relaxed the next day, the risk of a tension headache declines.

Peppermint and eucalyptus have been proved to be effective muscle relaxants, so blend them in a two to one ratio if your tension headaches are caused by a tense body. Medical experts believe that peppermint reduces pain by increasing the blood flow to the brain. This is a good day-time intervention, as it increases cognitive performance while keeping your body and mind relaxed.[3] You must inhale a lot of this blend, so place the diffuser near your desk. You can also apply some of it on the forehead. For more information, see Best Essential Oils for Migraines.

You can mitigate the severity of day-time headaches or even defeat them completely with a blend of peppermint and lavender.

If migraines are plaguing your life, researchers have found lavender essential oil effective in giving the sufferer relief.[4]

If you don’t have your own aromatherapy diffuser yet, try this aromatherapy essential oil diffuser.

You can also find useful information about essential oils in my e-book Magical Aromatherapy  – This e-book will help you to discover the power of essential oils and the most effective ways to use them.

Scientific Resources: