Does Lavender Help Anxiety?

Anxiety / Stress

Does Lavender Help Anxiety? At Rewire the Mind we like to help our clients manage their client’s anxiety holistically. That means working with all the elements that might make a difference in their mental health. Most of our work involves therapy and coaching but we also like to help by recommending non-medical products or services that can help.

As an example did you know what exercise is an important way to help anxiety? We are not personal trainers but we have no problem with recommending our clients try and build exercise into their routines because it is shown to make a difference to anxiety levels.

Essential oils or herbal products are just another element of anxiety management. Find the right soothing and calming smell or herb and it can make a difference to how you feel.

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Lavender Benefits

Lavender has been long known as a plant which can assist with a whole host of problems and is known as being:

Antibacterial
Anti Fungal
A Gut Health Booster

A Wound Healer
A Product to Help Headaches
A Sleep Restorer

Can lavender help anxiety? Well, studies that have been carried out show that it is also a product which can help to calm the mind, especially in the short term.

A study on 221 patients with anxiety disorders discovered that when they used lavender oil they had less disturbed sleep, less restlessness and that they had better well-being and quality of life. A further study on postpartum women showed improvement in anxiety and depression levels. Whilst those of you at the dentist might be pleased to know it helped anxiety whilst people were sat in the dentist’s chair (but didn’t stop them worrying about their next visit).

Now whilst we should never assume that lavender is a replacement for traditional medical treatment is appears it is a great supplement to use as an add on treatment.

Lavender Aromatherapy Benefits

Lavender oil or Lavandula Augustifolia as it is otherwise known is a great product to use to soothe and calm your mind. The oil itself is highly concentrated but is usually diluted in a carrier oil or place in diffusers or herbal baths treatments so that you can get the benefit of the smell without the irritating side effects.

Lavender oil appears to have a calming effect on the nervous system which is wonderful news for you if you are looking for ways to calm anxiety and a racing mind. In fact, in one trial it was shown to be as effective as medication. So how can you use this wonderful oil to help reduce your stress levels and feel more relaxed?

Lavender Oil for Anxiety

Does lavender help anxiety when it is used as an oil? The answer is a resounding yes. Here are some ways that you can use the oil to help manage your anxiety and stress levels. Firstly we want to talk about Majestic Pure lavender Massage Oil which is a great product to soothe and relax you. Here the lavender oil has been diluted with grapeseed and sweet almond oil so that it is safe to use on your skin (just do a patch test first). Just massage this over your skin to experience the benefits and from many testers experience, it appears a little goes a long way.

Run a Lavender Bath for Stress Reduction

As well as using lavender oil as a massage oil many people choose to use it when it is in bath oil. L’Occitane foaming lavender bath is a luxury bubble bath that you can use as part of your self-care routines. The lavender used is sourced from Provence in France and is of the highest quality. You only need to use a small capful to get a bath full of bubbles to soak your worries away.

Using lavender oil in a bath is a great way of soothing sore or tired muscles which can also be a side effect of anxiety disorders. Tension in the body can be released when you have a bath so that you are even more relaxed.

Oral Lavender for Anxiety

Does lavender help anxiety just by use on the skin? Actually lavender oil can also be ingested which is why manufacturers are starting to place the product in capsules or gummies to use as well. Gaia Herbs liquid capsules have lavender, passionflower, chamomile and holy basil in them to promote anxiety reduction.

The products are grown on an organic farm and are vegan as well. Just use 3 capsules a day to help with anxiety when you are experiencing periods of stress.

Whilst we all may think of capsules as a supplement for anxiety have you ever thought of lavender tea? Buddha Lavender Tea takes the flowers from the plant and turns then into a product that not only helps anxiety but takes delicious as well. You can use the product to make either hot or iced tea.

Once again they use organic lavender and the product doesn’t have any artificial flavouring and is in a bleach-free tea bag. Just steep the bag for 3-6 minutes and enjoy the results.

Lavender Essential Oil Diffusers for Anxiety

Personally, our favorite way to use lavender is through a diffuser so that you can allow the smell to envelop you and spread around your room. This Miserwe Aromatherapy Diffuser is the perfect tool for the job. This doesn’t just come with lavender oil but also peppermint, tea tree, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and sweet orange as well. Just add your oil to the water tank and the diffuser will run all day for you so this is a low maintenance solution for your home or office.

How to Use Lavender Oil for Sleep

Does lavender help anxiety and sleep problems? Well, again one of the great natural benefits of lavender is that it is great at calming and relaxing the mind. This doesn’t only impact general anxiety levels but also helps with sleep problems.

Most of our clients with insomnia tend to have a problem because of stress or anxiety. In order to help them switch off a night we need to teach them to quieten the chatter in the mind as well as help them use good sleep hygiene methods. We give our clients a guided meditation for sleep download to listen to whilst they are in bed but to increase the effects you can also use a lavender sleep spray at the same time.

Victoria’s lavender pillow and linen spray is made with 100% pure natural lavender essential oil. Just spray it on to your pillows and sheets at bedtime to relax your mind and body. This product is created in Oregon and is organic and non-animal tested making it perfect to use to help with sleep problems.

Products to Help Anxiety

Lavender is a great product to help with anxiety as we have demonstrated and definitely something that you can add into your self-care routines to promote relaxation and calm. We believe that it can be a potent tool and even more so when it is combined with other relaxation tools.

We suggest that if you are thinking of using lavender to help anxiety you should also consider learning more about the root causes of your problem or practising self-hypnosis to reduce stress levels. When you combine a number of strategies you are likely to get results faster.

You can purchase our Anxiety tracker printable pdf to start to track and monitor the triggers for your anxiety so you can put in place better strategies to manage your stressors.

Get The PDF

We also have our Anxiety Reduction video course that you can use to learn more about anxiety and how to control it. The course comes with five audio downloads to help with everything from feelings of worry and negative thinking to panic or sleep problems. You can purchase the course today in our online store.