Mais oui, according to a new study.
We told you a few weeks ago that thyme has been shown to be more effective than benzoyl peroxide—that skin-destroying ingredient that, in my opinion, totally doesn’t work if you’re over the age of 15. Many of you jumped with joy (which is to say posted comments about how awesome that is), and now we have even more interesting news: Rose essential oils can block the effects of stress on skin when inhaled—not applied topically.
This is the kind of research that gets me excited. As anyone with skin woes can tell you, the impulse to reach for a product to fix the problem is tough to beat. Unfortunately, as we’ve said many times, this doesn’t do much for you in a big-picture way. It’s the old “treating the symptoms, not the condition” thing. When it comes to just about everything, and especially our skin, this kind of spot treating (ha) does not work. Or if it does, it doesn’t work for long.
Rose has been shown—in a human and rat study—to significantly inhibit cortisol, the stress hormone that causes inflammation (which causes zits). It also blunted transepidermal water loss, which happens when your skin’s barrier function is compromised.
There are many ways you can put this into play in your life. Prevention.com has recipes for both thyme and rose skin solutions here.
Or you can seek out a potion that contains rose and huff the stuff when you’re stressed. Here’s some things that are worth knowing about aromatherapy:
1. Not all oils are created equal. The tidy rows of bottles you see lining the counter at health food stores? Not what you’re looking for. To work, essential oils need to be super-concentrated and carefully crafted, and when they are, they are incredibly powerful for your mind, body and your spirit. Many of these plants and flowers have incontrovertible evidence supporting their use to heal us, but you’re not going to get these benefits unless you’re working with high-quality oils. That means organic, wild crafted and, ideally, made in small batches.
2. You can use them anywhere, anytime. I basically always have aromatherapy and flower essences in my handbag, as anyone who’s been to a bar with me can attest. (I like dosing people whether they ask for it or, as with our friend Erika, violently protest.) I also keep some on my desk at work, which many a coworker has gotten in the habit of popping by to borrow. This makes me happy.
3. Understand that they can seriously affect your mood. This is important! Essential oils should not be used willy-nilly. The sleep potions I use, for instance, feel almost narcotic when I take them (looking at you Hope Gillerman and Essence of Vali). But investing in high-quality oils can be an amazingly effective (and completely drug-free) way to reduce stress, sleep better, and even look better.
Different ways to use them:
—Drip a few drops on a tissue and hold it to your nose taking 10 deep, meditative breaths.
—Put a few drops on your hand and rub them together, warming the oil and releasing the fragrance. Cup your hands over your nose and inhale as above. Remember that oils are super-concentrated, and can irritate or even burn the skin if you use too much. You may be better off skipping this approach altogether, though I’d be lying if I said this isn’t what I usually do.
—Put four or five drops in the bath for a sinus—and stress—clearing bath.
—Bring it with you in the shower and apply a few drops to your hands, rub them together and pretend you’re at a spa.
—Dab a few drops on the corner of your pillowcase at bedtime.
Have you ever tried rose essential oils?
Smells like love: Back by popular demand, today we have a wonderful deep-discount deal from Essence of the Vali. This offer is our favorite kind: a site-wide reduction for our readers that lets you buy whatever your little heart desires. But with all the beating hearts just around the corner for Valentines Day you may want to check out the Passion gift set: a spicy-sweet combination of some of our favorites oils (notably Ylang Ylang, citrus, ginger… yum!). Gift it, ask for it, or treat yourself!
Onto the deal! Get any of your favorite scents, mists, and oils from Essence of the Vali for a whole 20% off when you use the promo code NMDL. Wham bam. Going through until next Thursday at midnight.
And if you ordered from E of V last time, be sure to drop a comment telling us and fellow readers what you liked (or didn’t). As most of you know, we are not the only reviewers with opinions on this site!
We hope you had a wonderful week. We did. Alexandra made a speed trip to New York for work, so us girls got to have a night of fun with some of our favorite friends. Let’s put it this way… we didn’t exactly wake up the next day looking like this, but it was well worth it. Here’s to a restful weekend.
When my insomnia hit the other night, I did everything wrong.
I’d managed to work myself up about something before bed, but because I have the stamina of a toddler when I’m upset, I tired myself out quickly and crashed hard around 11:30pm. Then, at 4:30am, my brain went on like a light. There I was, in that strange time when “tonight” becomes “tomorrow” and the last thing in the world you should be doing is witnessing it. (Unless of course you’re doing something really fun—which I wasn’t. I was lying there with looping thoughts, the lights on, a search window open on my laptop, and Twitter fired up on my phone…)
We have written plenty about sleep hygiene here. We polled you once to find out how much you sleep (a lot!); we asked you guys to share your bedtime rituals with us (they were great!); we’ve explored how sleep can help your looks (duh); and we’ve covered ayurvedic principles about sleep before, as well.
But isn’t it funny (dumb) that no matter how much you know about the Right Thing To Do for your wellbeing, it’s often exactly when you need that advice the most that it escapes you?
With that in mind, here’s a primer, filled with things you already know, on the best and worst things to do when you can’t sleep. Obviously this advice is highly subjective. Where appropriate, we’ve mentioned some actual science to back us up. And, as always, we want your tips in the comments.
The Bad
1. Tweeting, emailing, checking your stocks, approving comments on your blog etc. Research shows that light-emitting devices can suppress the production of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin—which means when you wake up to check your cell, or simply have it on blinking at you from the bedside table, you’re sending signals to your brain that it isn’t time to chill out. Turn them off, use airplane mode, or put them on the other side of the room. When you wake up, try your best not to check them.
2. Watching scary TV shows. I can’t watch scary things at night anymore without getting nightmares and waking up a lot. Granted I’m on the sensitive side (cough), but there is good research that shows how disruptive this can be. It can spike stress hormones in the body and put you in an excited state (not the good kind) that doesn’t bode well for rest. Some people can watch anything before bed and fall asleep, but if you wake up in the middle of the night and decide to flip on the tube, maybe don’t try to catch up on a season’s worth of Boardwalk Empire?
3. Turning on the light. This actually can be a good thing (see below), but in general, if you wake up and have to pee or you stand a chance of falling back asleep fairly quickly, don’t turn on the lights or lift up your black-out blinds. (You all have black-out blinds, right? If not, you should! They’re super cheap at Ikea and make a world of difference.) For the same reasons you want to avoid electronics, you also want to avoid turning on the lights: It tells your brain that it’s time to be awake by suppressing sleep hormones. Pas bon.
4. Drinking booze. We’ve all seen the research about nightcaps actually disrupting sleep, and here’s why: It robs you of REM and the other, deeper stages of sleep—which are the ones that make you feel most rested. A glass or two of wine can make you feel nice and relaxed, and that can be sleep-promoting, but drinking too close to bedtime (not to mention in the middle of the night) should probably be avoided.
5. Just lying there freaking out. If you’re past the point of no return—meaning you can just tell you won’t be falling back asleep any time soon—do something else. You can go ahead and break rule number 3 here. Get up and do something, anything, until you feel sleepy again.
The Good
1. A cup of herbal tea or some aromatherapy. Many herbs—chamomile, lavender, valerian root—have been shown in research (and by wise grandmothers) to make you sleepy. Similarly, jasmine has a sedative effect when inhaled, as do Hope Gillerman’s Sleep Remedy and Essence of Vali’s. Just be sure to do your research and/or check with your doctor before you start dosing yourself. Nature makes some very powerful plants
2. Reading something you’ve read before. This works wonders for me. A yogi and a nerdy scholar at heart, I have been rereading The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali for years now. Here’s why it works: When you read things you are already familiar with, it doesn’t stimulate your mind with new information the way an exciting novel or a piece of nonfiction would. In fact, it has the opposite effect of comforting you with information you already possess, and, well, kind of boring you.
3. Meditate. A tough sell at 4am, I know, but it helps quiet the mind and ready you for more sleep. Our tips are here—and the compassion meditation is an especially nice one to do because it puts your focus on people you love. You could also try listening to recordings of meditations by Pema Chodron (or someone else, but man is she good). You can break rule number 1, above, for this one, obviously.
4. Do some yoga. Nothing too vigorous, but some poses have been shown to promote sleepiness. There’s a nice list over here.
5. Wake up your buddy and chat and/or have sex. This requires a forgiving and generous significant other, but if you have one, and you know they won’t mind hearing what’s on your mind and helping you simmer down, this can be very helpful. As for sex, just bear in mind that for some people, sex is sleep inducing (for example, every single man who ever walked the earth*) and for others it’s sleep inhibiting.
6. Pretend it’s already tomorrow. If you’re really stuck, try pretending it’s not 4am but 8am and it’s time to get ready for work or school. Take a shower, brush your teeth, drink some water—but be sure to skip the coffee. It sounds nuts but this has worked for me! At some point, when you’re going through the motions, something in your mind will click and you’ll think: “This is totally insane. I should be asleep right now.” And then maybe, just maybe, you will be.
Your turn! What are your tips: What’s the best—and worst—things one can do when one can’t sleep?
Image via
* I kid! Sort of.
I’m going to keep this quick and easy, given that I’m about to embark on my first activity of about 500 scheduled for this next week. I’m very excited for all the festivities, and yet I know that the thing that gets me every time, every holiday, since as long as I can remember, is this: If you don’t take a timeout, you will have a freakout. The nonstop people coupled with the nonstop consumption can leave one energetically exhausted, cursing that last piece of cake (cocktail, cookie, candy cane), and praying for a vacation… from your vacation. Here are six foolproof ways to stave off a holiday meltdown:
Take a bath. In a full house, the bathroom can be the only safe haven from that crazy uncle or those sugar-charged nieces and nephews. Turn down the lights, light a candle, and give yourself twenty minutes of alone time. It will go a long way.
Take a walk. Whether you need an escape, or want some QT with someone you don’t see all that often, walks are the one type of exercise anyone can do anywhere. Most of us forgo our fitness routine during the holidays, so daily walks are a great way to not totally lose that yoga tone.
Watch your alcohol intake. At this time of year, drinking can happen every single night. Everyone’s different, but alcohol can be a real buzz kill the next day. My plan is to pre-plan which nights are for partying and need to end with just a glass or two of wine.
Don’t overdo the sugar. Easier said than done, don’t I know it. Last Christmas, I went all out on the treats and I came home with a bonafide I’ve-got-the-shakes-for-sugar addiction. I’ve vowed to be a little more careful this year, while still indulging here and there when it’s worth it.
Smell something other than cookies. We’re coocoo for aromatherapy. If you’re one of the converted to Lotus Wei, Essence of Vali, Hope Gillerman, or other purveyors of powerful, healing smells—keep that bottle handy. It only takes a moment to take a deep inhalation and switch up the internal energy, even as chaos rules around us.
Feel gratitude. For your family. For your gifts. For the time you get off of work. Remembering to be grateful at this time of year, as always, offers a quick reality check when you’re screaming inner teenage self tries to rear her ugly head (which happens to the best of us around family, am I right?).
Have a wonderful holiday weekend, and we’ll be back with sporadic postings next week!
Around the time I started spritzing my friends, suddenly and without warning, with this stuff, it occurred to me it might be time for a proper review.
Regular readers may recall us mentioning Lotus Wei and Wei of Chocolate in the past. I’ve since had the pleasure of getting to know both founders, and I now happily count them as friends. We also did a Friday Deal with them, and you guys seemed really pleased! But I can’t imagine anyone’s taken “pleased” the to level I have.
These days, I won’t leave the house without my Lotus Wei Infinite Love and Pure Energy elixirs, doling them out liberally to people I care for; one friend even accused me of roofying him recently, when I dropped some of an elixir in his whiskey at a bar. Still, I realize taking flower essences like they’re medicine for the soul—and I do believe they are—is not for everyone. You know what is for everyone, though? The Energy Mists (well, and the chocolate, obviously).
These days, the Infinite Love one is always crammed in my purse, and now that the line is sold at ABC Home here in New York (as well as on Spirit Beauty Lounge), I’ll never have a reason not to go without it again.
Why do I love it? For starters, it smells terrific. It’s light and fresh and feminine, not overpowering or perfumey. It’s delicate. And with one spritz, inhaled deeply, my mood changes. I feel lighter and sometimes giggly. Happy and relaxed. It sort of imparts a me-at-my-best feeling—and it seems to have that effect on other people as well.
I’ll allow, for the skeptics around here (we see you! we love you!), that this could just be placebo. I don’t think it is, but it’s possible that me thinking it will make me feel better…makes me feel better. Or maybe there’s something to the science of aromatherapy and flower essences—which are distinct, by the way—after all.
I like to use it on my hair after a long day, my skin post-shower, my friends, my pillows before bed. I also like to spray the entryway to my apartment when I’m expecting company, or in my office when I’m stressed out.
Have you tried these energy mists—or any others? Would you?
We soooo love aromatherapy. Not least of all because smell can affect how we think, feel and perceive—which ultimately affects how we look. What we don’t love? Synthetic fragrance filled with the nasty ingredients that turn male frogs into, well, not male frogs. When we were first researching the book, we had the good fortune of discovering Essence of Vali. We both fell for it hard, and it changed Siobhan’s bedtime ritual for life when she discovered that sleep remedies can actually work. Not something we fully understood back then. We were so enamored with the brand that we included the line in the book and interviewed the owner Valerie Bennis in her charming West Village workshop.
Now, since those early days our aromatherapy education has grown, so we were so happy to have recently reconnected with Valerie, and thought it was high time to bring her to our newer readers too. Not only is this deal AMAZING, but you will also get samples of the Essence of Vali Perfume, which has become something of a green girl favorite, the sleep formula, and a bath and massage oil. So let’s get down to biz!
This deal is easy, breezy awsomeness: Buy ANYTHING, and get 20% off, with NO MINIMUMS. Ya heard us! Just enter promocode HEALTH at checkout and you’ll also receive your discount. As mentioned you’ll also get a premium sample kit of all her best products: a massage and bath oil, the perfume, the sleep kit. (And yes! They ship to Canada!)
Don’t you wish all our deals were like this?! OK, now go order some sleep remedy and enjoy that extra hour this weekend (fall back ya’ll). We know we will!
You know we love essential oils, yes? Yes. But if I could tell you how hard it is to find a simple, lovely, non-synthetic scented candle on a budget—with a smell that doesn’t make us gag—you’d be shocked.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve fallen head over heels for candles like these ones from Ila or these ones from Red Flower or (maybe my favorite) these ones from EkoMiko—and it’s not that they’re not worth the price. These are wonderful gifts for someone you love, especially yourself. But since I like burning candles all day, every day, you can see how that would become a very expensive habit.
Enter Blissoma—a natural beauty company that offers extremely affordable clean products—which is great. Their creams are a little on the light side for my skin (I’m very excited to try their clay mask though), but the candles? Finally. Smart scent combinations like lavender and chamomile (Calm) or cedar with nutmeg and black pepper (Delight). And they sell for $8 a pop. Eight bucks! My only complaint—and really, can I complain at that price?—is that the scents aren’t as strong as I’d like. They don’t really fill a room the way we’re used to with (usually synthetic) scented candles, but that’s also a testament to how clean they are. To boot, they’re soy not beeswax, if you’re vegan. Win!
Do you like scented candles? Got a favorite brand?
Image via their site
A bunch of Germans—why are they always out front on this stuff?—tested fragrances to see if they had any tangible effects on brain chemistry. Most of them did not, but jasmine? Big oui. It’s being called the first scientific proof that aromatherapy works.
From The Week:
Researchers … have concluded that the smell of Jasmine is just as effective as Valium—at least, on lab mice. Could doctors someday prescribe a daily whiff of this fragrant flower?
I mean, if they’re smart they will, am I right?
Photo (cc) by Flickr user kpjas
