Your hypothalamus, a pearl-sized region of the brain located just above the brain stem, helps produce hormones—or “chemical messengers”—that control how you feel, think, function, and look. These hormones control your mood, energy level, weight, and the quality of your skin, hair, and nails.
The hypothalamus works between the endocrine and nervous systems to control all hormonal messages for the endocrine systems, a network of hormone-producing glands and organs that help regulate bodily functions by sending and receiving signals to the body. This means it needs to function optimally for the appropriate signals to be sent and received.
As different systems and body parts send signals to the brain, they can alert the hypothalamus to any unbalanced factors that need addressing. The hypothalamus responds by stimulating relevant endocrine activity to address this balance. Your endocrine glands and organs secrete hormones and travel through your bloodstream, carrying information and instructions from one set of cells to another.
When the hypothalamus is out of balance, it can negatively impact:
- Energy
- Ability to handle stress
- Hunger and thirst
- Weight control
- Emotions and Mood
- Body temperature
- Sleep-wake cycles
- Sex drive and Fertility
Supporting the Hypothalamus with Essential Oils
The hypothalamus synthesizes and secretes certain hormones that control the body based on information from different internal and external stimuli. The hypothalamus first takes in the information and then sends appropriate hormonal signals to bring the body back into balance. Unfortunately, chronic and prolonged stress or toxicity can compromise the ability of the hypothalamus to receive clear signals—think of a poor cell phone connection—which then compromises its ability to send the appropriate hormonal signals.
Essential oils, like adaptogenic herbs and plant substances, help your body adapt to the internal and external environmental factors causing stress. They can support the body systemically through cellular support for hormone balance, our immune system, and overall homeostasis—including returning organs and glands, like the hypothalamus, to balance for optimal function.
Through their primary constituents, essential oils can affect the body in three main ways: uplift and energize, calm and soothe, and ground and balance with quick and effective results, allowing you to support your hormones without hormones.
Even though essential oils exhibit specialized properties and are composed of hundreds of potent constituents, they are not hormones! They cannot mimic hormones or become hormones. They can’t produce hormones. They can’t replace hormones. Nature just doesn’t work that way.
While oils are not hormones, they can be used to balance different organ systems and regions of the brain to support healthy hormonal function.
READ THIS NEXT: Essential Oils for Hormone Balance
Hypothalamus™ Essential Oil
Hypothalamus™ is designed to regulate hunger and balance the hypothalamus, the control center for all hormones, which controls the endocrine, digestive, and nervous systems. When the hypothalamus functions optimally, the cascade of hormones falls into balance.
Vibrant Blue Oils Brain Balance Hypothalamus™ proprietary formulations include precise ratios of the following organic and/or wild-crafted therapeutic essential oils in a base of fractionated coconut oil:
Bay Rum
Known for its “significant” analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, Bay Rum helps to reduce or eliminate pain. Research found a “moderate sedative” effect and an “anti-inflammatory effect comparable to reference analgesics and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs like morphine.” Its therapeutic actions are thought to be derived from the oil’s diverse range of active compounds, including eugenol, chavicol and myrcene, linalool, limonene, geranyl acetate, a-pinene, and b-pinene, which help support the hypothalamus and defend against a range of health problems.
Bay leaf is also a stimulant that can help sharpen and invigorate the mind. It improves mental clarity and keeps thoughts energized. It also helps relieve apathy, listlessness, and depression.
Bay leaves are also said to aid with psychic powers, enhancing wisdom, strength, inspiration, and creativity.
Frankincense™
Frankincense™ is known to help enhance mood and combat anxiety. The sequiterpenes in Frankincense™ which enable it to go beyond the blood-brain barrier to assist in increasing oxygen around the hypothalamus, stimulating the area of the brain responsible for endocrine function and health. Frankincense™ may also help relieve nervous tension and stress-related conditions.
Research attributes compounds in frankincense, like incensole and incensole acetate, to the activation of ion channels in the brain that may help alleviate anxiety and depression.
Frankincense™ oil can be used to support the hypothalamus, balance hormones, improve fertility, and support brain health with improved memory functions and by helping to regulate estrogen production in premenopausal women.
Patchouli
Known for its stress reduction and antidepressant properties, Patchouli was found to “significantly lower” stress levels in research. It is believed that inhaling patchouli oil influences hormones to stimulate the release of serotonin and dopamine, which calms feelings of anger and anxiety and helps ground, balance, and harmonize mood.
Constituents like Caryophyllene may help support Anti-inflammatory, Anti-depressant, Anti-oxidant, Analgesic, Anxiolytic, and Neuroprotective properties.
Patchouli is also believed to boost testosterone and estrogen levels, increase libido and fertility, and reduce impotence and erectile dysfunction.
Pine
Due to its stimulating nature, Pine helps relieve fatigue, nervous exhaustion and other stress-related conditions. Research found that Pine needle essential oil demonstrates “remarkable antioxidant activity in scavenging free radicals” and supports detoxification. It is a diuretic and helps remove excess water from your body through urination. It can also stimulate blood flow and help decrease swelling and inflammation.
Red Mandarin
Citrus oils, like Red Mandarin, have been shown to lift mood, calm anxiety, alleviate depression, and make you feel lighter.
Research on the Effects of citrus fragrance on immune function and depressive states found that “citrus fragrance was more effective than antidepressants.”
Red Mandarin is known to help relieve anxiety, nervous tension, and restlessness. It helps switch off an overactive mind and promote relaxation. It also helps you connect with your inner child.
READ THIS NEXT: My Favorite Blend of Citrus Essential Oils
To help return the hypothalamus to balance, apply one drop of Vibrant Blue Oils Hypothalamus™ to the forehead right above the third eye (right above the nose between eyebrows and hairline) up to 6 times daily. The blends also help to wake up intuition and connect with the heart center when applied on the sternum over the heart (it might feel a bit tender on the spot) and directly behind the earlobe (where the ear connects to the head). For Aromatic Usage, hold the bottle under your nose for 3 or 4 breaths.
Featured Oils:
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References:
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323446
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/emotional-self-regulation
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/sleep-cycle-stages
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/sex-drive
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7152419/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30802641/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32907352/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22757704/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8646568/
