Lull yourself to sleep with smell

How do you turn off the crazy busy-ness of your life so your body, mind and soul can rest and Re.Groove.N.8? Try a little lavender. Few pleasures rival an end of day soak in a lavender scented tub, or a good night’s sleep in a fresh and fragrant bed.

Aromatherapy: treating the psyche through scent

Smell rouses memory like nobody’s business and the reason is pure science. The part of your brain that stores emotional memory lives right next door to the part that processes smell. Connected to them, the brain’s pleasure center.

All three are triggered before thought rationalizes or orders your response. A simple whiff of lavender can elicit pleasure, memory and emotion.

Aromatherapy utilizes smell to soothe, rouse, relax or awaken a particular emotion or feeling of well-being. Lavender, one of the most popular essential oils, has been used for millennia to calm and soothe body and soul. Like inviting a good friend for a visit, we always feel better for it.

Pretty and powerful

Lavender, typically experienced as a soothing scent, is used to treat everything from anxiety to depression. But this anti-inflammatory bud doesn’t stop there. A prescribed medication in France, lavender oil is used to treat allergies, arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure, insect bites, respiratory infections and even speeds the healing of burns.

The essentials on this favourite essential

Lavender’s use as a bath additive in Persia, Greece, and of course, Rome spawned the name lavanda (‘things to be washed’ in Latin).

But this ancient plant is no shrinking violet. Researchers studying advanced mammary tumours at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are testing lavender oil as a treatment for breast and ovarian cancer.

Invite the sweetest of dreams!

The soothing quality of lavender makes it a natural choice for treating insomnia. In a fashion similar to over the counter tranquilizers, lavender oil calms an over-active central nervous system, and allows for sleep.

The Lavender pillow from Natura features an aromatic-infused cover and removable lavender-filled sachet to ease tension and encourage sleep. With a quick change of bedding our lavender pillow cases can help you close the door on stress and transform your bedroom into a lush and softly fragrant field of lavender .

The next time you need a little help to drift off, skip the drug store counter and load up with a little lavender.

Do you use natural sleep aids or a night time rituals to help you wind down, regenerate and relax? Tell us what works for you and do your part to help the world sleep better.