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Keep Your Brain Sharp with Essential Oils

A thoughtful woman with curly hair and glasses writing on a glass surface with a marker, possibly brainstorming or planning.

Feeling overwhelmed trying to juggle working from home with constant distractions and interruptions?

All you have to do is inhale!

Essential oils can be powerful tools to help increase focus, concentration, and mental bandwidth, thereby managing overwhelm. And they offer the easiest channel into the body. Your sense of smell, which is part of our olfactory system, is one of the most potent channels into the body. In fact, olfactory cells are brain cells, and the olfactory membrane in the nasal cavity is the only place in your body where the brain is directly exposed to the environment.

Research indicates that inhalation is the most direct and effective method for utilizing essential oils. The entire process, from the initial inhalation of an essential oil to the corresponding response in the body, can occur in a matter of seconds, which means that the fastest way to calm overwhelming feelings is to inhale essential oils. It’s so simple and so small that you can carry it in your pocket.

Essential oils can immediately calm anxiety and increase focus. Inhaled or topically applied essential oils can help increase blood flow to specific regions of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex, which helps enhance focus, brain power, and calm anxiety.

I want to share my favorite essential oil blend, which I personally use before jumping back-to-back Zoom meetings or when struggling to meet a big deadline that requires mental focus, while simultaneously juggling homeschooling and parenting responsibilities that require calmness and level-headedness.

READ THIS NEXT: Heal the Brain with Essential Oils

Sharpen Your Brain by Activating Your Prefrontal Cortex

Your ability to sustain focus is driven by your prefrontal cortex. This is the part of your frontal lobe that’s located in the front portion of the brain, behind your forehead—and its job is an important one. The circuitry in your frontal lobe helps your brain sort through stimulation to decide what information is relevant and what needs to be ignored. This enables you to regulate your movements, control your impulses, use language effectively, focus your attention, make informed decisions, and correct errors.

This ability to inhibit certain behaviors helps your brain focus on essential tasks, improving your thinking and processing speed. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for executive functioning, which includes thinking, organizing, problem-solving, memory, concentration, and decision-making. Without your prefrontal cortex, you would have trouble finishing a book, remembering to pay your bills, or returning phone calls.

What’s more, a decrease in this lobe’s function often lies at the root of mood issues like depression and behavioral problems such as ADD and ADHD. Depression is actually considered a frontal lobe impairment. Research indicates that decreased firing of messages from the frontal lobe leads to lower levels of motivation and a diminished sense of well-being. This helps to explain why most people who get depressed also have a hard time concentrating, focusing, and remembering details.

A healthy frontal lobe, on the other hand, allows you to reason and suppress impulses. Children with ADHD demonstrate delays in frontal cortex development that correlate with an inability to suppress immediate desires and impulses. Think about how a young child might shout out an answer without waiting for the teacher to call on him. Studies have shown that kids with ADHD lack inhibition and have decreased activation in their frontal lobes compared to those without the diagnosis, according to research from McGill University. Similar brain-imaging studies found the prefrontal cortex in individuals diagnosed with ADHD to be smaller than that of individuals without the diagnosis.

Your prefrontal cortex also helps calm your stress response by chemically moderating or inhibiting signals from the emotional area of your brain known as your amygdala. When this prefrontal-amygdala connection is weak, excessive anxiety can result.

When you activate your prefrontal cortex, you enhance your brain’s ability to plan, organize, and see the big picture. When the prefrontal cortex is not functioning optimally, it loses processing speed, and deficits in inhibition and focus can occur, resulting in poor internal supervision, a short attention span, distractibility, disorganization, hyperactivity, impulse control problems, difficulty learning from past errors, a lack of forethought, and procrastination. Strengthening the prefrontal cortex also exerts a moderating influence on the more impulsive and less flexible structures of your limbic system, helping you calm repetitive thought patterns and anxiety.

READ THIS NEXT: Essential Oils for Focus

 

Essential Oils to Keep Your Brain Sharp

Limbic Reset™

Limbic Reset™ contains a combination of oils designed to improve blood flow to the brain to help enhance concentration, focus and mental endurance. Formulated with brain supporting oils, like organic and/or wild crafted essential oils of Frankincense, Helichrysum, Cedarwood, Ylang Ylang, Melissa, Sandalwood, and Lavender, all of which keep your brain sharp and focused.

Cedarwood

Cedarwood essential oil, extracted from the wood pieces of a cedar tree, has been found to possess anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antifungal, tonic, astringent, diuretic and sedative therapeutic properties

Research carried out on rats confirmed the sedative effects cedarwood oil. The research actually stunted the olfactory pathway (sense of smell) and still found an increase in relaxation from exposure to cedarwood oil and its chemical constituent cedrol, leading researchers to conclude that cedarwood demonstrated “sedative effects regardless of the animal species or the functional state of the autonomic nerves, suggesting the mechanism of action is via a pathway other than the olfactory system.”

There are several varieties of Cedarwood. This blend contains Himalayan Cedarwood (Cedrus deodara) which has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation in animal research. Other studies found that cedarwood inhibits the inflammatory leukotrienes that are responsible for the inflammation response (5-LOX), especially in relation to pain. Out of all of the Cedarwood species, the Himalayan cedarwood was the strongest 5-LOX inhibitor

Cedarwood oil has also been shown to help improve focus in children with ADHD.

READ THIS NEXT: Essential Oils to Improve Focus for ADD/ADHD

Frankincense

Sourced from the resin extract from Boswellia carterii trees grown in Somalia, Frankincense helps support anxiety, nervous tension, and stress-related conditions. It can help fortify the mind. One recent study on rats indicated that the essential oil can help improve memory retention and sharpen the mind.

Frankincense contains compounds known as sesquiterpenes that are believed to cross the blood-brain barrier and increase oxygen around receptor sites in the emotional centers of the brain, such as the hypothalamus and amygdala, thereby helping to calm anxiety. Sesquiterpenes are C15 carbon chains that do not contain oxygen molecules, but seem to pull oxygen in. This is one reason that when essential oils high in sesquiterpenes are topically applied to the brain or inhaled through the nose, oxygen levels appear to increase.

rankincense also contains terpenes, which are strongly anti-inflammatory and protective of healthy cells. Research suggests that frankincense oil may be used to enhance memory and learning abilities.

Helichrysum italicum

Helichrysum essential oil possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial properties.

Helichrysum helps improve focus by enhancing blood flow to the brain. Research has shown that helichrysum reduces inflammation in blood vessels, lowers blood pressure, and enhances smooth muscle function to improve blood flow and carry more oxygen to the brain, thereby improving brain function.

Research has shown that Helichrysum reduces inflammation through several mechanisms, including the inhibition of inflammatory enzymes, free radical scavenging activity, and corticoid-like effects.

Lavender

Lavender essential oils help boost cognitive performance and concentration. More specifically, lavender oil helps calm anxiety, thereby enhancing focus and concentration.

Research discovered that Lavender and linalool, a principal constituent of Lavender, were able to bind to the serotonin transporter, which may have an inhibitory effect on serotonin reuptake. Limiting serotonin reuptake helps maintain proper serotonin activity, which in turn promotes feelings of happiness and supports essential processes such as learning and memory.

Linalool has also been shown to modulate the transmission of GABA in the brain by activating GABA receptors, which helps enhance the inhibitory tone of the brain, essentially blocking brain signals that trigger the stress response and calming the nervous system. A deficit of GABA contributes to anxiety and ADHD.

Research has found that GABA can improve focus and decrease ADHD symptoms. Additional research correlated lower levels of GABA with greater impulsivity and less inhibition.

Melissa

Also known as lemon balm, Melissa essential oil is recognized for its ability to induce calmness, reduce anxiety, and enhance cognitive function. Melissa essential oil is also considered a nervine substance, or a tonic for the nervous system to keep it healthy, functioning correctly, and prevent nervous disorders. This property of Melissa essential oil can be beneficial for addressing health concerns such as vertigo, nervousness, and convulsions.

Melissa essential oil also demonstrates antidepressant and sedative properties. A 2013 study found Melissa essential oil helped improve anxiety, depression, neuroprotectivity, and cognition. This could be attributed to the principal constituent limonene, which has been correlated with anti-depressant effects and shown to lower anxiety and stress. Scientists think its calming, mood-lifting effects come from limonene’s ability to elevate serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is an important hormone and neurotransmitter that helps induce feelings of joy and relaxation.

Another study demonstrated Melissa’s ability to affect the brain and neurotransmitters directly. “The results indicate that essential oils obtained from Melissa officinalis leaf and Citrus aurantifolia leaf showed high acetylcholinesterase (enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of acetylcholine) co-inhibitory activities.” This means that Melissa inhibits the breakdown of acetylcholine, allowing this vital neurotransmitter to perform its valuable cognitive functions for longer in the brain.

Acetylcholine plays a key role in memory, attention, and learning. Damage to the cholinergic (acetylcholine-producing) system in the brain and resulting acetylcholine deficits have been linked with the memory deficits associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Research has found that essential oils are among the most effective tools for regenerating and healing acetylcholine-producing systems.

READ THIS NEXT: Essential Oils for Memory

Sandalwood 

Harvested from the roots of the sandalwood tree, Sandalwood is known for its sedative properties and its ability to promote positive thinking, mental clarity, concentration, and focus.

Calming anxiety helps free up the prefrontal cortex, enhancing focus and concentration.

Scientific research found sandalwood to be effective in reducing levels of anxiety and easing anxiety symptoms.

Sandalwood has been shown to promote mental clarity, which is one reason it is often used during meditation and spiritual rituals. One study found that sandalwood’s main compound, alpha-santalol, elevated alertness, attentiveness, calmness, mood, relaxation, and vigor.

Sandalwood also has anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce brain inflammation. Calming brain inflammation helps eliminate brain fatigue and enhance concentration and focus. Read More about calming brain inflammation HERE and HERE.

A 2014 study found that the active compounds in sandalwood can decrease inflammation markers in the body called cytokines. It is believed that these active compounds (santalols) act similarly to ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which inhibit these inflammatory markers. The “observed anti-inflammatory properties of topically applied Sandalwood oils provide a rationale for use in products requiring anti-inflammatory effects.”

Ylang Ylang

Ylang ylang is a yellow, star-shaped flower that grows on the Cananga tree, which is known to calm the mind and soothe the nervous system. It helps relieve mental fatigue, anxiety, and tension headaches, and brings emotions into proper balance.

Research supports ylang ylang’s ability to increase blood flow, relieve inflammation, and calm anxiety to enhance focus. One study found that ylang-ylang reduced anxiety and boosted self-esteem when applied to the skin or inhaled.

Similar research has explored the benefits of inhaling ylang-ylang essential oil, including its ability to reduce blood pressure, improve cognitive functioning, and alleviate anxiety. The study investigated how the major active constituents of ylang ylang essential oil, including linalool, affect neurotransmitters related to mood following odor exposure. Research found that inhaling ylang ylang decreased the dopamine concentration and increased the Serotonin precursor, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the brain.

How to Apply Brain Boost

Limbic Reset™ can be inhaled or applied topically to the brain stem (at the back of the neck), temples, the bottoms of the feet, and especially to the big toe. You can also inhale it as needed throughout the day.

Other Blends to Keep Your Brain Sharp

1. Focus™

Formulated to enhance concentration and alertness, especially when applied over the forehead to the prefrontal lobe. Focus includes several individual oils that help keep the mind thinking clearly and focused on the task at hand. For example, research shows that 1.8-cineole, one of the main compounds in Rosemary essential oil, results in improved speed and accuracy on cognitive tests.

Similarly, research from the University of Cincinnati found that inhaling peppermint oil increases mental accuracy by 28%.

Apply 1-2 drops to the brow, back of the neck, collarbone, temples, or wrists to increase mental focus.

2. Attention™

Formulated by homeschooling parents specifically to assist with ADD and ADHD. The medical benefit of this oil was proven during research conducted by Dr. Terry S. Friedmann.

Subjects with a confirmed ADD/ADHD diagnosis inhaled essential oils daily when they began to feel “scattered”. The inhalation of the oils improved brain wave patterns, as well as scholastic performance and behavioral patterns. Improvements in brain activity were revealed through electroencephalography (EEG), which measures electrical impulses traveling through the brain. This allowed researchers to determine whether the children’s brains were functioning primarily in a beta (i.e., alert) state or a theta state (i.e., lack of focus). Improvements in beta-theta ratios were observed following the use of vetiver essential oil, with parents also reporting improvements in symptoms.

The four oils in the Attention™ blend – Vetiver, Frankincense, Lavender, and Cedarwood — all showed substantial benefits, with Vetiver helping 100% of the test cases. The blend further synergizes the positive impact of the individual oils. For best results, apply 1-2 drops to the brain stem (at the back of the neck), temples, across the forehead, and the bottom of the feet.

3. Anti-Inflammatory™:

Brain Balance Anti-Inflammatory™ can be topically applied to specific regions of the brain to help reduce brain inflammation, allowing the gut and body to communicate and heal effectively. This blend contains several essential oils known for their anti-inflammatory properties. It is designed to reduce inflammation, rebalance the brain, and encourage regeneration of damaged or stressed cells and tissues that have been chronically or acutely inflamed.

 4. Circulation™

Formulated to support healthy circulation to deliver oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the brain, which helps support focus and concentration. For example, essential oils in the Circulation™ blend can be used to help your veins contract, stimulating blood flow. Circulation™ contains high levels of Cypress essential oil, which helps calm the respiratory system, clearing congestion, eliminating phlegm, and exhibiting antispasmodic and antibacterial properties that can enhance oxygen delivery.

Apply 2-3 drops of Circulation™ on the sides or back of the neck, over the clavicles, on the wrists or ankles to support energy, brain endurance, and warmth of the distal extremities, like the fingers and toes.

READ THIS NEXT: 10 Signs of Poor Circulation

 

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About The Author

Jodi Cohen

Jodi Sternoff Cohen is the founder of Vibrant Blue Oils. An author, speaker, nutritional therapist, and a leading international authority on essential oils, Jodi has helped over 50,000 individuals support their health with essential oils.

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