Naturopathic Lavender relaxes and relieves anxiety and sleep problems

What effect does the scent of lavender have??

Lavender is used in many different products, such as bath oils and softeners, because it spreads a pleasant scent, promotes sleep and helps to relax. Researchers were now looking for the causes of these effects.

The scientists at Kagoshima University in Japan found in their study the causes of the sleep-inducing and relaxing effects of lavender. The active ingredient in lavender (linalool) does not act as a pharmacological agent. The effect of linalool is rather triggered by the sense of smell. The experts published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience".

Lavender is a safe alternative to medicines?

Lavender relaxes, promotes sleep and can even reduce anxiety. Can lavender potentially have the potential to provide a safe alternative to sleeping pills and anxiolytics? So-called benzodiazepines (used as sleep or sedative drugs) can cause a number of side effects, such as memory problems and male breast growth. Anxiolytics and benzodiazepines enter our blood via the stomach and intestine after ingestion. So they also affect some receptors in our brain. Unfortunately, these drugs make people dependent. The use of lavender could prevent this problem.

How does Linalool work??

Kagoshima University researchers analyzed whether the smell of lavender (linalool) helps mice to relax. The ingredients of the flower do not work by swallowing or splashing. The lavender scent must instead irritate certain olfactory sensors in the nose. These transmit nerve signals to the brain. However, this effect was not observed in rodents without sense of smell, explain the researchers. This contradicts earlier theories that suggested that linalool was absorbed as benzodiazepines. Taken together, these results indicate that linalool does not act directly on so-called GABAA receptors such as benzodiazepines, study author Dr. Kashiwadani from Kagoshima University. For linalool and benzodiazepines, the experts were able to prevent the effect if the receptors were previously treated with flumazenil.

Further research is needed

The researchers said that further research is now needed to determine the safety and efficacy of linalool in several ways before it can be studied in humans. The results of the study could lead to a clinical application of linalool to alleviate anxiety in the future, Dr. Kashiwadani. For example, linalool could be used in surgery where pretreatment with anxiolytics relieves preoperative stress. Linalool may provide a safe alternative for patients who have difficulty taking anxiolytics, such as infants or confused elderly. (As)