As we’ve reluctantly kissed goodbye to summer, and find ourselves in the midst of autumn with increasingly shortening days, falling temperatures and whilst still struggling to regain our pre-vacation routines, we may find that our good mood has also taken a bit of a nosedive too. Additionally, after the airiness and wonderful aromas of spring and summer we may also be finding that indoors is not feeling quite so fresh or appealing either, with windows now closed to keep out the increasing chill and feeling of damp from the autumn rains, in addition to the smell of decay in the air which is synonymous with this time of year as leaves and plants start to die and rot down into the earth.
Autumn is a contradictory time of year. It symbolises abundance with the harvest and yet is equally interspersed with decay and decline as annual plants die and rot away, and trees dispense of their leaves. Equally contrasting may be our feelings associated with the season. Whilst some may feel nostalgic at this time of year, and reminisce about happy childhood memories, for others it can increase feelings of anxiety and depression, particularly for those who suffer from Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD) as their exposure to direct sunlight decreases. This is precisely where essential aroma oils can lend a helping hand, looking after your total wellbeing, and helping to get you in the autumn spirit:
What are Essential Oils?
Essential aroma oils are concentrated plant extracts, made up of the natural occurring chemicals and aromatic substances, and include terpenes, fatty acids, phenols, esters and alcohol, which not only benefit the plant, but can benefit us too. They are found in the secretory system such as the bark, leaves, petals , roots and stems. The oil is obtained by way of steam distillation, solvent extraction, or cold-pressing, and retains the distinct aroma and flavour of the plant – its very ‘essence’. Essential aroma oils are very potent – approximately 80 times more than the dried version and it can take huge amounts of the plant to make one bottle of essential aroma oil, for instance it takes approximately 250kg of lavender flowers to make 1kg of lavender essential aroma oil, and approximately 5000kg of rose petals to make 1kg of rose essential aroma oil.
How Do Essential Aroma Oils Work?
Essential oils stimulate the limbic system which controls memory, motivation, emotions, behaviour and sense of smell, as well as several unconscious physiological functions including breathing, blood pressure and heart rate. Basically, olfactory receptor neurons in the nostrils absorb the volatile particles, called esters, which are what produces the odour and provides its flavour. This information is then related to olfactory bulbs located at the back of the nose, which have sensory receptors that are actually part of the brain, and messages are sent to the brain which stimulate the limbic system structures controlling stress, breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, as well as the neo-cortex which controls conscious thought. This very process can trigger responses in the body. Essential aroma oils can also be absorbed by the skin where they are absorbed and carried around the body in the bloodstream, delivering their benefits to the bodily systems and organs.
Autumn Diffuser Blends
Allow the power of aromatherapy to influence your wellbeing, and celebrate and welcome Autumn with these great Autumn-inspired diffuser blends:
| Crisp Autumn Morning | 💧💧💧💧💧 | Orange Essential Oil |
| 💧💧💧 | Cinnamon Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Clove Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Peppermint Essential Oil | |
| Pumpkin Spice | 💧💧💧💧 | Cinnamon Essential Oil |
| 💧 | Clove Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Orange Essential Oil | |
| Thanksgiving Cheer | 💧💧💧 | Orange Essential Oil |
| 💧💧 | Spearmint Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Lemongrass Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Ylang ylang Essential Oil | |
| Autumn Breeze | 💧💧💧 | Orange Essential Oil |
| 💧💧 | Lemon Essential Oil | |
| 💧💧 | Cinnamon Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Clove Essential Oil | |
| Autumn Mornings | 💧💧💧💧 | Orange Essential Oil |
| 💧💧💧 | Peppermint Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Cinnamon Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Clove Essential Oil | |
| Happy Autumn | 💧💧💧💧💧💧 | Orange Essential Oil |
| 💧💧💧 | Clove Essential Oil | |
| 💧💧 | Bergamot Essential Oil | |
| Vanilla Spice | 💧💧💧💧💧 | Vanilla Essential Oil |
| 💧💧 | Orange Essential Oil | |
| 💧💧 | Cinnamon Essential Oil | |
| Spiced Cider | 💧💧 | Clove Essential Oil |
| 💧💧 | Bergamot Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Cinnamon Essential Oil | |
| 💧 | Orange Essential Oil |
Benefits of Essential Oils
What influence do the chosen essential oils used in our blends have on your overall wellbeing when used in a diffuser?
Bergamot Essential Oil
Aroma: Light citrusy with floral notes.
Benefits of bergamot essential oil with a diffuser: Soothes the nervous system and relieves anxiety, stress, nervousness and lethargy. Improves the mood, boosts confidence and self-esteem, imparts strength and tranquillity, and empowers you to let go of a negative sentiment or situation. Prepares the body for sleep by slowing the heart rate and lowering blood pressure, and preventing negative thoughts. Dispels the symptoms of respiratory ailments and deters excessive coughing, and has antihistamine properties to prevent sneezing and nasal congestion. Relieves dizziness, nausea, headaches and fatigue.
Cinnamon Essential Oil
Aroma: Spicy, sweet.
Benefits of cinnamon essential oil with a diffuser: Diminishes feelings of depression, sadness, irritability, exhaustion and faintness, uplifts the mood, and evokes a sense of calmness and wellbeing. Has a positive effect on cognitive function, improving concentration, attention span and information retention and reducing risk of memory loss. Stimulates the immune system and enhances blood circulation, and reduces symptoms of cold and flu, and clears the airways. Can also reduce the severity and frequency of headaches. Facilitates digestion and relieves digestive discomforts such as flatulence. Also a natural aphrodisiac, that strengthens libido and reduces age-induced sexual dysfunction.
Clove Essential Oil
Aroma: Sweet and spicy.
Benefits of clove essential oil with a diffuser: Manages anxiety, mental stress and nervous energy, uplifts and invigorates, and renews confidence. Enhances concentration. Boosts the immune system to fight off viruses including the common cold, flu and pneumonia. Improves heart health, dilating major arteries in the body whilst also lowering blood pressure. Additionally its a strong aphrodisiac which can relieve potency and frigidity.
Lemon Essential Oil
Aroma: Sweet and tangy.
Benefits of lemon essential oil with a diffuser: Enhances and lifts the mood, calms anxiety, stress and irritation, and stimulates the brain to release serotonin and dopamine. Revitalises and boosts energy, eliminates fatigue, improves concentration, and promotes clearer thinking and mental awareness. Boosts the immune system, remedies coughs and respiratory ailments by promoting easier breathing by reducing nasal congestion, and relaxes throat muscles to reduce coughing, plus helps to relieve throat infections and reduce fever. Also benefits the lymphatic system, reducing swelling in the lymph nodes, stimulating lymph drainage and thereby reducing the buildup of fluid which causes coughing. Significantly decreases nausea and vomiting associated with morning sickness. Eliminates toxins and pathogens in the air.
Lemongrass Essential Oil
Aroma: Fresh hint of lemon.
Benefits of lemongrass essential oil with a diffuser: Refreshes and renews the body and mind, uplifting a negative mood to prevent depression, and relieve stress, anxiety, irritability, nervousness and lethargy. It strengthens the mind and boosts confidence and self-esteem. Has a sedative effect and can relieve insomnia. Dispels the symptoms of a cold, flu, sinus infection and other respiratory ailments, and has antihistamine properties to prevent sneezing and nasal congestion. Combats a fever, relieves dizziness and fatigue, allays the pain and pressure of a sinus headache, relieves a migraine, soothes aching joints, and eliminates harmful bacteria. Natural lemongrass oil increases perspiration, and acts as a detoxifying agent by expelling body toxins through sweating.
Peppermint Essential Oil
Aroma: Cool and refreshing.
Benefits of lemongrass essential oil with a diffuser: Eliminates stress, anxiety, fatigue, tiredness, irritability and bad mood. Relaxes the nervous system, whilst simultaneously invigorating, energising and lifting the mood. Stimulates the brain, dispels mental fatigue, increases cognitive functioning, escalates focus, concentration and motivation and enhances memory retention. Proven to boost mental accuracy, and enhance clear thinking. Increases pain thresholds, and shown to improve athletic performance and ability. Alleviates headaches and migraines and suppresses feeling of nausea. Benefits respiratory health, reduces swollen membranes, opens the airways, and helps to break down mucus and clear blocked sinuses, promoting easier breathing. Relaxes muscles in the digestive system, facilitates digestion, improves digestive ailments and reduces cramping. Can help to suppress the appetite and stimulate the feeling of being full.
Orange Essential Oil
Aroma: Fresh citrusy.
Benefits of orange essential oil with a diffuser: A known mood booster and anxiety calmer, it diminishes mental and physical fatigue, and is both uplifting and tranquillizing and can be used as a mood and energy booster in the morning, and a relaxant in the evening. Banishes depression, anxiety, anger, frustration, stress, sadness and negative moods, replacing them with peace and harmony. Boosts the mood, promotes mental clarity and motivation, enhances cognitive function and makes it easier to recall memories, and may help with Alzheimer’s disease. Induces sleep and enhances sleep quality, and expedites the detoxification process of the body and helps to balance hormones. Has expectorant properties to prevent nasal and respiratory congestion. Combats a fever, relieves dizziness, allays the pain and pressure of a sinus headache, eliminates harmful bacteria, and alleviates a spasmodic cough. Can relieve allergy symptoms such as itchiness, headache, watery eyes and sinus congestion, caused by inflammation of the nasal passages. Enhances heart health by reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, a major contributor towards heart disease. Can also reduce fracture pain due to its antinociceptive properties.
Vanilla Essential Oil
Aroma: Sweet, warm and comforting.
Benefits of vanilla essential oil with a diffuser: Has a sedative effect on the body, quietening the nervous system and lowering blood pressure. Induces tranquillity whilst uplifting the mood, and diminishes hyperactivity and restlessness. Relieves stress and anxiety, and reduces the startle-reflex which is a symptom of an anxiety disorder or reaction, and it has also been shown to relieve claustrophobia, a severe anxiety disorder. Alleviates tension to help promote a better night’s sleep, assisting with falling asleep easier and for longer. Affects the respiratory system in the brain, allowing for easier breathing whilst sleeping, and is a helpful aid for sleep apnea. Stimulates estrogen production, helping to regulate menstruation, and relieving symptoms of PMS such as cramps, bloating and fatigue, and mood swings. Boosts the immune system, and soothes inflammation in the body’s respiratory, circulatory, digestive, nervous, and excretory systems. Can help to reduce allergies, colds, flu, and other respiratory issues, and reduce a fever. Alleviates the feeling of nausea. As an aphrodisiac known to enhance sexual arousal, it stimulates estrogen and testosterone hormones, and can help diminish erectile dysfunction, impotence, loss of libido and frigidity.
Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
Aroma: Sweet, rich, spicy.
Benefits of ylang ylang essential oil with a diffuser: Relieves anxiety, tension and stress, depression, apathy, anger, sadness, increased nervousness and shock, promotes a positive mood, increases feelings of cheerfulness and optimism, and boosts self-esteem. Strengthens the nervous system and reduces diseases exacerbated by nervous overstrain, including asthma, stress, loss of strength, and excessive drowsiness. Diminishes insomnia by banishing negative thoughts and overthinking to help accelerate the sleep process, and improves quality of sleep. Improves blood circulation, lowers blood pressure and decreases heart rate. Eliminates headaches and migraines. Eases symptoms of PMS and menopause. A known aphrodisiac, it increases sexual desire and longevity, and alleviates impotency.
How to use our Autumn inspired blends:
Use your chosen blend in a diffuser or oil burner as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Alternatively you can make a room spray using ½ teaspoon of baking soda, your chosen blend and 200ml water. To make, simply place the baking powder in a small bowl, add the essential oils and mix well using a fork. Pour into a spray bottle, top up with water and shake well to mix. Shake well before use.
Harness the olfactory power of essential oils to bring cheer and optimism into your Autumn and simultaneously boost your health and total wellbeing.
