Your Nose: Your Ally in Managing Stress

How many of you can say that a certain smell can trigger a thought or memory good or bad? My sister had great deal of difficulty with catholic school and the smell of chalk triggers anxiety for her. On the flip side, I remember my youngest commenting how much he loved coming home from college on his breaks because “it smelled like home.”

 Fragrances have a strong effect on our moods, emotions, and physiology and can leverage the intrinsic functioning of the limbic system to influence behaviors and moods. Science is recognizing the correlation between our sense of smell and areas of the brain responsible for motivation and focus. This interconnectedness has largely been underestimated as an effective tool for changing our moods and our behavior until now.

Science is now starting to see how deeply and interconnected our emotional state is with our olfactory system. Known as scent association in the science community and aromatherapy to mainstream. Aromatherapy utilizes various scents for different situations. One example is lavender. Lavender has the ability to influence our stress level where as peppermint has been shown to improve post-operative nausea and vomiting. We have learned in recent years of the benefits associated with meditation at relieving the stress we face. But, did you know that our noses can play a role too?

What happens when we combine aromatherapy with meditation?

The health benefits of mediation have been touted for years and supported by research.

Meditation can:

• Relieve stress and can be a quick fix to reverse your body’s stress response helping you to relax
• Can lead to you feeling refreshed and ready to face life’s challenges
• As part of your daily routine can help you build resilience to stress
• Help you regain equilibrium when faced with emotional stressors
• Practicing meditation teaches you to learn how to calm you mind and your body

However, despite the benefits of meditation some individuals struggle with quieting the mind, become distracted, and lose interest in meditating. Having 5 to 20 minutes of distraction free minutes to spend in meditation is the ideal but what if you just can’t do it? Some individuals find it easier if they focus on a sound or breathing. However, as science into meditation expands researchers have uncovered coupling your medication with aromas can be quite beneficial.

Points:

• Many diseases are caused by or accelerated by high levels of stress
• Meditation techniques helps us to quiet our minds and relax our bodies.

As nurses all of us have experienced those days where the stress was so high that it left us feeling anxious and unable to let it go. Many people spend lots of money and time chasing happiness and comfort from their hectic and sometimes stressful lives. Combining aroma therapy with the benefits of meditation is a win-win for your health. Your nose knows best. Have a blessed day!

(FROM JEROME: To find out more about essential oils that work specifically for stress and other health challenges, you can visit my doTerra site for info on these amazing oils, and ones specific to relieve stress/stress-related challenges.)

Doctor Leary-Schmitt, DNP, MS, RN – With over 30 years of experience in nursing Dr. Leary-Schmitt focuses on giving voice to nurses to promote, cultivate, and sustain healthier work environments and improve the quality of life for nurses and the patients they care for. Developed Transcending the Traditional Leader Follower Dyad: A Dynamic Model for Supporting, Growing, and Loving 

Igniting, Inspiring, and Empowering the voices of nurses to live their best life.