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November 2015

Peppermint oil.
 by Mayank

Your Guide to Essential Oils

For centuries, essential oils have been used for a large variety of cosmetic and medicinal purposes. Knowing which essential oils to use for your specific concerns can be a bit overwhelming if you’ve never tried them before. Here, we’ve listed our top three essential oils that are perfect if you’re looking to learn more about how essential oils can benefit your overall health.

Lavender oil

Lavender
Lavender is one of the most widely used essential oils and rightly so because it is a versatile essential oil. Perhaps the most frequent use of lavender essential oil is to soothe emotional stress and increase feelings of relaxation. Lavender can help to release nervous tension, and relieve symptoms of depression. Physically, lavender helps to reduce inflammation in your body and can help alleviate headaches or migraines. Lavender is one of the essential oils that can be used safely on your skin and a few drops on your wrist or the nape of your neck may help to soothe you and eliminate headaches. If you have difficulty sleeping, add a few drops of lavender essential oil to a spray bottle filled with water. Mist lightly on your pillow before going to bed.

Peppermint
Peppermint is another hugely versatile essential oil providing benefits that range from headache and nausea relief to stimulating alertness. Stomach related uses for peppermint oil include relieving an upset stomach or indigestion, reducing motion sickness and even helping to curb your appetite. If your stomach is upset, try rubbing a few drops of peppermint oil onto your abdomen or dab onto your wrists. Simply inhaling peppermint oil’s scent can help you feel more full, but you can also place a bit on your wrists or a tiny (seriously an itty bitty drop) right under your nose before eating. Peppermint oil is also used to treat stress; place a few drops in a diffuser and feel the tension melt away. Another incredibly common use of peppermint oil is to eliminate headaches and stimulate energy. Place a few drops on the nape of your neck to take care of your headache and re-energize yourself.

Tea tree oil.

Tea Tree
Tea tree is not an essential oil that is commonly associated with aromatherapy, but it has incredible benefits. This essential oil is used frequently to treat skin problems such as blemishes, dandruff, athlete’s foot and minor cuts, scrapes and burns. While some can tolerate this oil directly on the skin without dilution, it’s generally recommended to add a few drops of tea tree oil to water or a carrier oil (such as jojoba or sweet almond oil) before applying to your skin. Once you have diluted the tea tree oil, rub onto cuts, massage into scalp or apply on blemishes. You can also add a few drops to your shampoo to receive anti-dandruff benefits without having to purchase an entirely new shampoo. A mixture of tea tree oil and water in a spray bottle is also a great way to sanitize beauty products such as tweezers or makeup brushes due to the antibacterial properties in tea tree oil.

It is important to note that while many essential oils are considered safe for skin, some like tea tree or bergamot may burn skin. Always do a patch test on skin before using an essential oil topically to be sure you won’t have a negative reaction. Other ways to use essential oils include diffusers, sprays or simply opening a bottle and inhaling. Our lifestyle partner, 21 Drops, offers custom essential oil blends to keep you energized, calm, happy and healthy.

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Woman painting
 by Mayank

Live Well: Ways to Instantly Improve Your Mood

If you’ve ever thought to yourself that it will nice to be happy someday, listen up. You don’t have to make happy an abstract goal for your future, you can do things to make yourself happy in the next few minutes. We put together three of the quickest and easiest ways you can instantly improve your mood no matter where you are or what you’re doing.

Woman sitting besides a pond.

Head Outside
You know the saying ‘you’re only one workout away from a good mood?’ It’s completely true, but it can be difficult to increase physical activity during periods of depression or great stress. Even if you don’t have added feelings of lethargy from depression, it can be difficult to find time for a workout in the middle of your workday when you find yourself stressed and anxious. Taking a brisk walk can significantly boost your mood and energy levels, and venturing outside for your walk is even more beneficial. Research points to the fact that sunlight stimulates chemicals in your brain that help improve your mood. You don’t have to spend your entire lunch hour outside working up a sweat, just a 10-minute brisk walk is all you need to feel reinvigorated. And if you absolutely can’t get outside due to location or weather, spend some time roaming the office halls or walking the stairs for a quick burst of energy.

Chamomile Tea.

Drink Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea has long been a bedtime remedy for those who have trouble falling asleep and recent studies show that drinking this tea really is effective at reducing anxiety or feelings of stress. In a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, 57 participants who had been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder were given chamomile supplements for a period of eight weeks. The results were a significant drop in anxiety levels and increased feelings of calm. Research from the University of Maryland Medical Center suggests that in addition to promoting calm, chamomile tea can promote sleep. Drink a cup of chamomile tea after a hectic work meeting in the afternoon or at the end of the day to promote peaceful, calm feelings or to really unwind, turn off your electronic devices (yes, including the TV and your cell phone) and enjoy a cup nightly with a book or your favorite music playing. This helps create a ritual that your body associates with feelings of rest and relaxation.

Aromatherapy oils.

Use Aromatherapy
For centuries, aromatherapy and essential oils have been used to address a vast number of concerns that include soothing ailments both physical and mental. The next time your mood declining, try one of the following essential oils. Lemon is particularly helpful when you are feeling angry, anxious or rundown and exhausted because it promotes concentration in addition to containing calming and clarifying properties. If you’re feeling sad or depressed, try jasmine. Jasmine, like lemon, also has a soothing effect, but it also helps lift your mood by increasing optimism, energy levels and confidence. When you need to really unwind and relax, reach for lavender because lavender soothes nerves, relieves nervous tension and can help control depression. One of our lifestyle partners, 21 Drops, features incredible, unique blends of essential oils in a fun and convenient packaging so you can take your essential oils with you wherever you go and not have to worry about spills or bulky glass containers.

It would be amazing to be calm, happy and energetic all the time, but that just isn’t very realistic. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to just muddle through feelings of anxiety or depression. These three tips help you to instantly improve your mood, helping you to tackle stress and negativity in a positive way.

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Woman with the flu
 by Mayank

Live Well: 5 Feel Better Tips for Flu Season

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “it is estimated that in the United States, each year on average 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from seasonal flu-related complications.” You may just consider the flu an uncomfortable nuisance, but it can be quite severe. Flu season is just around the corner, so we’ve compiled a list of our five best feel better tips for flu season.

Vaccine.

Get Vaccinated Early
If you’ve ever been vaccinated with the flu only to end up in a bed for a week, it might be due to the timing of your flu vaccine. The flu vaccine takes roughly two full weeks to take effect, so if you head to your doctor in the middle of a nasty outbreak, you may end up coming down with the flu before your body has sufficient time to build antibodies. Keep in mind that the flu vaccine is not 100% effective at preventing the flu, but it is associated with lower hospitalization rates in both children and adults.

Washing hands.

Wash Your Hands
You hear this advice all the time, but with good reason. Sudsing up your hands and scrubbing them often is one of the best ways to prevent coming down with the flu. Dr. Fran Wallach, hospital epidemiologist at the Mount Sinai Hospital and associate professor Medicine, Infectious Diseases as the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai says, “[t]he two most important things you can do for yourself to avoid the flu is to get an actual flu vaccine and the second is to have good hand hygiene.” Your hands are in constant contact with germs and many viruses spread when your fingers make contact with your mouth or eyes. Washing your hands helps to eliminate that risk. If you can’t make it to a sink, it’s a good idea to carry hand sanitizer with an alcohol content of at least 60% on you so you can sanitize when you need to.

Washing hands with soap

Wash Your Hands…Correctly
When washing your hands, use warm water and soap and lather together for at least 20 seconds. As you lather, be sure to get under your nails, between your fingers, the fronts and backs of your hands and go up the wrist a bit. After 20 to 30 seconds, rinse and then dry with a dryer or paper towels. Avoid using shared towels, where germs and bacteria can grow. If you’re using hand sanitizer, be sure to use enough to thoroughly cover the hands (about a nickel sized amount) and rub the solution into your hands for 15 to 20 seconds.

Woman walking on a treadmill.

Get Moving
Engaging regularly in moderate exercise is associated with a stronger immune system and the CDC recommends being active as one way to combat getting sick. Take advantage of the beautiful fall scenery with a hike or park as far away as possible at the mall when doing your holiday shopping to get some extra walking in. If you feel like hitting the gym, head over to the treadmill for some brisk walking, use the stair-climber or sign up for a yoga class.

Woman down with the flu.

Stay Home
Taking a sick day sometimes seems like a complete luxury, but during flu season it’s best to think of staying away from work as a necessity. Not getting enough sleep in itself is a factor in contracting the flu because lack of sleep is associated with lower immune functions, so it’s extra important to be sure that you are getting plenty of sleep when you do have the flu. But staying home isn’t only about you and your rest. The flu can be active in your body without you experiencing any symptoms of the illness and by the time you do display flu symptoms, you are definitely contagious. Avoid getting sicker and infecting those around you by taking a few sick days to fully rest and recuperate. When you absolutely must leave your home, be sure to cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing (into your elbow is the recommended method).

Healthy habits and good hygiene are two of the most important factors when it comes to avoiding the flu this season. Children and the elderly are among those with the highest risk of catching the flu, so it is especially important to use these tips if you fall into, or if you care for someone who falls into, those categories. Using these five feel better tips helps you to survive flu season as healthy as possible.

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