Essential Oils: A Sense-ible approach to a Healthy Home

Essential oils are part of an ancient practice of extracting the natural aromatic compounds from some of nature's finest plants. Wildflowers such as Lavender or Peppermint are common choices. These oils are selected from plants which are well-known for their unique qualities as well as their beautiful relaxing aromas. One way Essential oils can be used is by diffusing them into the air using an electrically-heated essential oil diffuser. You can also apply most essential oils directly onto the skin as a topical ointment to wounds or even onto healthy skin as a way to enrich the skin with the healing and protective properties of the oil.

You can enrich the atmospheric quality of a room or your entire home using essential oils. Some have anti-microbial properties and clean the air. Below is an image of a field of royal purple Lavender shot at the moment the sun is peaking above the horizon. The vibrant colors of the Lavender plant hint at the inner power hidden within the delicate petals.

Lavender oil is one of the more popular varieties of essential oil. It's used as a stress-reliever and loved for its beautiful scent. Just the smell of aroma in the air can reduce stress hormones in your blood and calm your nerves. Applied to bathwater, it adds an extra healing component to the natural restorative properties of a moment of relaxation spent in the bath.

In addition to the good smell, relaxing qualities, anti-microbial qualities, and the beauty qualities of essential oils, it's being discovered that these oils can have benefits on the way we think and help improve our studies, reading, writing, office work, and so on. Some have such strong effects as to be classified as nootropics.

Lavender has some nootropic qualities because it can relieve anxiousness and improve blood circulation. There's also Rosemary which has proven benefits for memory. It's pretty fascinating actually! It's almost surprising that simply inhaling something can help your brain! William Shakespeare once penned, "There's Rosemary, that's for remembrance." And in 2012, a study was conducted testing the cognitive benefits of one compound found in Rosemary called 1,8-cineole. The findings of the study showed an increase in speed and accuracy in cognitive tests which correlated cognitive performance with the blood levels of 1,8-cineole. It's pretty cool that a flower can help you think more clearly! Furthermore...as a quick aside...isn't it interesting that what we breathe has the potential to directly enter our bloodstream? This is one reason why air quality can have such a huge impact on our health. Here's a shameless plug for an air purifier I believe will improve the health of your home or office.

Peppermint oil is another well-known plant extract. Mint brings a refreshing and uplifting but also calming sensation to the senses. When ingested, it immediately soothes the stomach. When diffused into the air as an essential oil and breathed, it gives the mind a gentle stimulation and alertness. According to one study, mental accuracy can be increased by 30% when using Peppermint oil.

Frankincense is known for its ability to raise the immune system, to lift depressive moods, and bring a clarity and awareness that has been described as spiritual. The Frankincense essential oil was revered since time immemorial and is even recorded as one of the three gifts in the Christian Bible. - immune system, depression, spiritiual awareness

Last on my list of essential oils is Lemon. Its been famed for its bright, clean scent and used as a household cleaning agent. Fresh whole lemon is of course a very healthy citrus with related qualities to the other citrus fruits like the Orange and the Lime. As an extract, Lemon can provide a boost in focus and concentration, and perhaps help with detoxification.

As you can see, essential oils offer a wide array of potential uses and can give you the advantage you're looking for. You will be happy about using natural substances with healing properties provided in the naturally, beautifully-packaged vegetation of Earth.

These essential aromatic compounds become even more interesting when you realize what science has been uncovering in recent years. Up until recently, it has been thought that the nose senses molecules based upon sort of a lock and key mechanism of receptor site and the molecules sort of dock onto the cell surface like the space shuttle docks with the space station. However, recently there has been growing evidence for theories that say the nose works on a quantum level and that's why it's able to be so extremely sensitive even when chemicals are suspended in the air in just a few parts per billion. So it's interesting to realize that when smell has a physiological effect on the human body, it's doing so on a fundamentally energetic level through the nervous system. Mind over matter.

Maybe this is why our cultures have had such a deep connection with these Essential oils. If you've enjoyed one of these essential oils or another one that I've left out, I invite you to share your experience and thoughts in a message below the blog. Cheers to Optimization!

Check out my curated selection of Essential Oils plus other great Health products over at the United Healing Arts Market!

Nootropics, Caffeine, and my OptiMind Review

So I've been into nootropics for the last several years and recently obtained a sample pack from OptiMind of their Focus stack. The tag-line on the packaging: Focus|Memory|Energy. So what exactly are nootropics? A nootropic (nō-ə-ˈtrō-pik) is defined as a substance which is protective of neurons or has proven benefits in various aspects of cognition such as memory formation, memory access, reaction time, problem-solving accuracy and speed, and more. There are natural nootropics such as traditional vitamins or herbal extracts. Then there are synthetic substances which are created in the laboratory and found to have interesting cognitive effects in studies. Not all substances have the same level of research backing their efficacy (scientific lingo for effectiveness)...or their safety. (though most are relatively safe if taken with caution and if you do diligent research before taking anything new or any new combination.) Also, here's a good place to put the recommendation to speak with your doctor about any concerns you or they may have about drug interactions and such.

So you may be wondering, "How much can nootropics actually help me learn, think, and perform effectively?" Well, millions of Americans begin their morning with a steaming cup of coffee most mornings and they can attest to the cognitive improvements enjoyed by the consumption of that Caffeine. Think of nootropics as being more advanced and more targeted alternatives for enhancing brain function. Some are even nutritive, meaning, they encourage your neurons to remain in a more youthful healthy state or provide the building blocks for normal metabolism. Caffeine, on the other hand is basically a stimulant that basically tells your brain not to feel tired but doesn't necessarily provide much more than a bypass of the normal energy-regulation. In other words, stimulants such as caffeine can be considered sort of like spending money from your bank account more rapidly but they don't really add to your savings account. Or at least, it's like encouraging further brain activation at the possible sacrifice of other organs...IF the body isn't given the proportional amounts of basic biological building blocks on a metabolic level: nutrients.

Plus, although caffeine containing plants such as coffee or tea have been quite popular as a civilization-old (several civilizations to be precise) remedy for mental fatigue, some people experience a certain edginess or anxiousness after consuming caffeine. There are actually substances which can be taken with caffeine which heighten its effects and help your body channel the energy boost in productive ways that don't give you the jitters. The first one, L-Theanine is found naturally in Green Tea. Check it out. (L-Theanine) You can also find L-Theanine conveniently formulated in combination with Caffeine made by the nootropics company, NaturalStacks. Smart Caffeine Or as I mentioned, Caffeine and L-Theanine are found perfectly naturally together in Green Tea and tea also contains many helpful antioxidants and flavanoids and teas help many people shift into a relaxed but focused state of mind and accomplish their cognitive goals, be they producing content, creating a budget, or meditating on the sofa. If you're a Green Tea aficionado and interested in trying one that will stun you with its mouth-watering flavor and freshness, check out Tai Chi Green Tea. Put simply, Tai Chi is a better quality tea than what you will find in-store because they store and ship their stock under constant refrigeration so the freshness is always sealed in the teabag. It's actually fresh and moist enough that taking a bite of one of the leaves won't be a gagging experiment.

There is one other major hack...Bio-Hack that we can put into motion to augment the effects of caffeine or basic stress on the body. The more stress we are in or the more we use stimulants, the faster our body will use things like Magnesium to keep oxidation under control and manage our electrolyte balance. That is the well-known mineral, Magnesium. MagTech is a set of three special Mg compounds formulated to target the minds of individuals who want high-performance executive function, whether that's for meeting your high-performance goals in the office or in online gaming.

What then is in the OptiMind formula and how does it provide the brain and body with more of the building blocks to balance out the stimulation that we expect of our mind?

Here's the Ingredient List:

Vitamin D

Vitamin B12

L-Tyrosine

Taurine

Phosphotidylserine

Bacopa Extract

GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric Acid)

Caffeine

ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid)

Vinpocetine

Sulbultiamine

Huperzine A

What has been my experience while using this? It's a smooth, gentle alertness which seems to bring the memory and faculties of focus into sharper functioning. Also I will say that normally with these kinds of substances, there's a build-up effect just like you would experience with a "non-physical, non-pill" routine of learning any new skill. Based on the science of neuroplasticity and epigenetics, we know the brain rewires itself and changes the types of chemicals it generates and transmits based upon the inputs of our attention as well as the nutrients or supplements we take in through our digestion.

I would classify the effect of OptiMind as a nice clean focus that nudges the mind towards having a slightly more singular focus-driven attitude towards whatever you're working on. Some of the natural amino acids (proteins) in the formula, such as Tuarine and Tyrosine help you make the neurotransmitter Dopamine which is involved in controlling the focus of the mind and 'rewarding' the neuronal pathways with new connections and maintaining relevance and higher blood flow in the overall cerebral architecture. The chemical Huperzine A is a vasodilator that generally increases blood flow through the brain, thus providing more oxygen and sugar and helping the brain function at a higher level of energy...helping you think faster.

If you'd like to try a sampler pack, click here.

As always, Cheers to Optimization!