The Sense of Smell (Olfaction)
Coaching | Self Help | Self Improvement | Mental Health
Here’s a quick and easy experiment to prove that essential oils really can enter your body through your skin. Cut a clove of garlic in half and rub the liquid (garlic essential oil) from the cut end on the bottom of your foot. See how long it takes before you can taste garlic on your breath (usually about 15-20 minutes).
The Sense of Smell (Olfaction)
The olfactory receptors, which are called chemoreceptors, are nerve endings embedded deep within your nasal passages. Fragrance chemicals in the air are inhaled and dissolve once they hit the fluid lining in your nasal passages. This allows the chemoreceptors to pick them up and send the ‘chemical message’ to the brain.
These chemical messages are sent first to the frontal lobe of the brain where the smell is analyzed, and secondly to the limbic system and autonomous nervous system. This is where emotional and physical responses to the fragrance are created. For instance, you might feel calm or sleepy, or you might sneeze. You might also be reminded of something in your past, and this experience will have an emotional response attached to it.
Some essential oils actively mimic neurotransmitters which have a powerful ability to alter mood. These can be helpful for conditions such as stress and depression.
The Lungs
Inhaling essential oils is the fastest way to get them into your bloodstream where they can start working. This is because the lungs are very efficient at absorbing oxygen, and vaporized essential oils that you breathe in. Since your respiratory system is designed to get oxygen into your bloodstream, when you inhale the fragrance of essential oils, they too are carried quickly into your bloodstream.
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