Let's Talk Lavender
We like our lavender in a hefty slug of oil smoothed onto our pulse points before restorative yoga or swirled into a hot bath for the ultimate in slippery, steamy, relaxation. Swathed in a silk eye mask or sprayed onto fresh sheets for the dreamiest, sleepiest of sleeps.
At Holistic Silk we’ve long celebrated lavender’s magical powers, incorporating it into our Classic Lavender Eye Mask, Hot Water Bottle, Lavender Neck Roll, Lavender Eye Pillow and even our Yoga Rug Mat.
Why all this lavender love you might ask.
We adore the scent and how it makes us feel super chilled but there’s also lots of hard evidence, proof from men and women in white coats, that the little purple herb really does induce sleep and relaxation along with providing many other health benefits.
The Power Of Scent
Scent is highly evocative. To this day the smell of petrol on a garage forecourt reminds us of being little and feeling sick in the back of a car, weaving through long and winding never ending roads.
A spray of Joop perfume takes us back to being 14 listening to the Spice Girls, wearing platform trainers and feeling excited about discovering blue eyeliner, talking to boys and sending texts.
These scents draw out powerful memories and feelings, making us wonder whether lavender specifically, helps us relax or whether we’ve come to associate it with being chilled out so that even if we’re feeling anxious it’s scent will loosen up and transport us to our happy place.
Turns out that it’s both.
Studies On Lavender
Lavender flowers and lavender oil have been used to soothe and aide sleep over centuries. Its potent powers and heady clean scent mean that it continues to be widely used in aromatherapy as complementary therapy.
There’s also been heaps of studies into it which confirm its lovely soporific effects on us humans. Research includes testing patients in a dentist waiting room facing the prospect of the dreaded drill, root canal and that nasty saliva suction tool that alarmingly always seems to grab at your tongue. The patients awaiting procedures who smelt lavender beforehand were shown to be less anxious.
College students with self-diagnosed sleep problems were also tested with those who inhaled lavender before getting all tucked up enjoying a better sleep. People with no reported sleep problems were tested too with many of them experiencing deeper sleep and enhanced vitality upon waking.
Lavender has been shown time and time again to stimulate sleep and relaxed vibes and there’s further evidence that lavender also helps with hair loss, PMT, depression, digestion problems and labour pain.
Lavender We Love You – How You Can Too
Our love for lavender, a beautiful gift from nature, runs deep and we regularly experience its benefits for ourselves.
The perfect natural medicine to help alleviate stress and sleeplessness, we prescribe incorporating it into a regular self-care routine.
Whether it’s practicing better sleep hygiene by spraying some on your pillow and then slipping on a Silk Lavender Eye Mask before slumber, carrying a diluted bottle of oil around to dab on your pulse points and inhale deeply before stressful situations or adding a few drops to your night time bath, we promise that you’ll love lavender and that it’ll love you right back.
xxx
