Do you know that an orange can help with depression? If you are curious to know about it, read the entire post. It specifically talks about the essence of orange, i.e., orange essential oil and its benefits, especially for depression.
With the sweet and fresh citrusy fragrance, Orange essential oil is extracted from the rind of the sweet orange, Citrus sinensis by the process of cold pressing, i.e., squeezing the oils from the rind by applying pressure. Apart from the rind, sometimes the oil is also extracted from the leaves, and flowers from the orange plant can be used as well.
The Benefits of Orange Essential Oil:
Sweet orange oil has calming properties which help us relax and feel refreshed. Here are the benefits of orange oil:
- Alleviates Stress and Anxiety: The intoxicating fragrance of orange oil helps instantly refresh, re-energize, and uplift the mind by calming the heart rate and reducing levels of cortisol secretion, which further helps to reduce stress and anxiety.
- Better Sleep: With its deep calming effects on mind and body, orange oil helps with problems related to insomnia.
- Aids Digestion: Orange oil is a relaxant and circulation booster with anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, it can help with better digestion, ease cramps, or any other stomach pain.
- Prevent Infection: With its anti-bacterial properties, orange oil helps to prevent infection and repair the affected area.
- Apart from these major benefits of orange oil, it can also be used as a natural house cleaner, room freshener, or as a flavouring for a variety of foods and beverages.
How Does Orange Oil for Depression Work?
Long term anxiety, stress, and restlessness can culminate into depression, which can affect your overall wellbeing. You may feel distracted, sad, and insomniac. And since orange oil is a drug- free tool to reduce these symptoms, it in turn helps with depression.
The aromas have an emotive quality that causes us to associate them with our life experiences or people, which helps to relax and lift their mood. That is how essential oils play an important role in maintaining our mental and physical health. A person can come into contact with the aroma of essential oils by either being absorbed through the skin into the blood stream or stimulating the areas of the brain through inhalation.
When the olfactory nerves, which are connected to the limbic systems of the brain, detect the smell, they send signals to the brain. The limbic system is a set of brain structures that play an important role in controlling emotions, behavior, memory, and mood.
How Can You Make the Best Use of Orange Oil for Depression?
There are different ways to use orange essential oils for depression; here are some of the most effective ways you can follow to get the best result:
- You can inhale the oil directly from the oil bottle or inhaler tube, or by dabbing a few drops of oil onto a cotton ball.
- For indirect inhalation, you can make use of a diffuser. Add a few drops of oil to a diffuser and embrace the freshness of orange oil.
- You can also create an aromatherapy bath by diluting a few drops of essential oil with honey, milk, or a carrier oil into the water.
- Furthermore, a massage with essential oil mixed with massage oil is another way to relax and feel refreshed.
- You can also create a blend of orange oil with other oils like frankincense, and lavender to get the best result.
Is there any risk involved in using essential oils?
Every essential oil always has an insignificant amount of toxicity, which may affect different people in different ways. Therefore, it is always recommended to mix essential oils with carrier oils like almond oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, and olive oil. You should add 1 table spoon of carrier oil for every 3 drops of oil. Additionally, to avoid any sort of allergies, you can do a skin patch test before applying the oil to a large area.
So, with certain precautions, you can reduce the signs of depression such as anxiety, stress, and lack of sleep with the help of orange oil. You can also use orange oil for skin benefits as it is enriched with properties that work wonders for skin.