Aromatherapy uses essential oils from plants and flowers for therepeutic effects. Essential oils are highly concentrated extracts from plants that are soluble in oil, aromatic, sensitive to heat and light and highly volatile, meaning they evaporate readily.
Aromatherapy uses essential oils from plants and flowers for therepeutic effects.
Essential oils are highly concentrated extracts from plants that are soluble in oil, aromatic, sensitive to heat and light and highly volatile, meaning they evaporate readily. Mary Ann O'Dell, a registered dietitian with Akins' Natural Foods headquarters in Tulsa, said fragrance generates an emotional response in people because it affects the limbic system in the brain and also creates a physiological response. In Japan, one research study piped citrus oil into an office building and found employee productivity improved. Another study used vanilla oil in a hospital's pre-op room and found that patients' blood pressures normalized and patients were calmed by the warm, familiar scent. Cathy Conlin, a nurse and wife of Jayhawk owner Mike Conlin, told the group that she was initially skeptical about aromatherapy until she took a class on it in Kansas City.