Supporting Workplace Wellbeing with Essential Oils this Autumn
Top Tips for coming into Autumn and keeping you and your staff healthy
As the seasons shift into autumn, many of us notice a dip in energy and those all-too-familiar sniffles starting to appear.
This time of the year is always tricky as school has restarted, and the snotty lurgy comes home with any children that are at school or nursery.
It can be hard to get going after a lovely sunny summer break and like so many people you have done the minimum work to keep it all going so that you can spend more time with loved ones making memories.
The last thing you need is to be feeling uurrgghhh!!
I always recommend having a diffuser in the workplace and the oils that go in them can reflect how you want people to feel such as:
Lavender to ease tension and create a calmer environment
Peppermint for a natural boost of energy and focus
On Guard to help keep seasonal bugs at bay
Many of my clients use these natural therapeutic essential oils for their work, home and hobbies as they have so many amazing qualities. They also take them on holidays and use with their animals.
Essential Oils work very quickly when inhaled
Essential oils work through the nose via two main pathways: the olfactory system and the respiratory system, with the former having a direct and powerful effect on the brain’s emotional areas:
The olfactory system pathway
This pathway allows essential oil molecules to directly influence the limbic system, the area of the brain that controls emotions, memory, and instinct.
- Inhalation and reception: When you breathe in an essential oil’s aroma, its volatile molecules travel into the nasal cavity and dissolve in the mucus at the roof of the nose.
- Binding and signalling: The molecules are detected by millions of specialized nerve cells called olfactory receptors. Each receptor is structured to bind with certain aromatic molecules, like a lock and key. This binding generates a nerve impulse.
- Transmission to the brain: The nerve impulses are sent along the olfactory nerve directly to the olfactory bulbs at the base of the brain. From there, signals are sent to the limbic system, bypassing the traditional sensory processing centre of the brain (the thalamus).
- Influence on mood and memory: By stimulating the limbic system—which includes the amygdala (emotional centre) and the hippocampus (memory formation)—essential oils can trigger specific emotional and physiological responses, such as relaxation, uplifted mood, or heightened memory recall.
The respiratory system pathway
Beyond the nose, inhaled essential oil molecules can also travel deeper into the respiratory system, providing both local and systemic effects.
- Travel to the lungs: Inhaled molecules continue past the nasal cavity into the trachea and lungs.
- Absorption into the bloodstream: In the lungs, the molecules diffuse across the mucous membranes and into the alveoli, where they are then transferred into the bloodstream.
- Systemic effects: Once in the bloodstream, the compounds are circulated throughout the body, including the brain, where they can have pharmacological effects. This absorption through the lungs is one reason inhalation can be such a fast and effective way to feel the effects of essential oils. For example, the antibacterial properties of some oils can act on the respiratory tract, and their anti-inflammatory properties may reduce inflammation in the nasal passages.