Stress, anxiety, disrupted sleep, and mood significantly impact your overall health and well-being. They can creep in at any time and throw off your whole day, week or last for months at a time. This has led more and more people searching for preventative, natural solutions to better their mental and overall health. Adaptogens and herbs are one lifestyle change that can help! Lavender in particular has powerful anti-stress properties.

When you think of lavender, your mind instantly wanders to a place of ease and relaxation. There’s something soothing about the delicate purple flowers and their sweet floral smell, but it is so much more than its fragrance and colour. Lavender has tons of incredible health benefits. Learn more about the health benefits of lavender below.

What is Lavender?

Lavender is a purple flowering plant belonging to the mint family. It is native to parts of the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, Africa, and Asia but can now be found growing worldwide. There are even festivals in the Lower Mainland celebrating this incredible herb. You can now visit the stunning rows of lavender during the summer months and take plenty of Instagram-worthy photos.

Lavender is commonly used in aromatherapy, cosmetics, perfume, medicine, food, and beverages, like Thrive Remedies Stress tea! The herb has a long history of use to treat anxiety, insomnia, stress, depression, dementia, pain and more. Below are 7 evidence-based health benefits of lavender.

1. Improves Sleep

Everyone experiences disrupted sleep at some point in life, whether from a looming job interview, an upcoming vacation or event, job pressure, or financial strain. You’re not alone, and finding solutions can be complicated sometimes. Over-the-counter sleeping pills have unwanted side effects or can become addicting, so this often makes the need for natural remedies more desirable.

Many people drink lavender tea or use lavender supplements to help them get a better night’s sleep. In one study, 221 participants were given lavender orally for ten weeks. The lavender supplementation showed a significant improvement in the participants’ sleep quality, duration and overall mental health and well-being.

Another study conducted in Germany involved participants who have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) showed similar results. At the end of the six-week trial, they saw a decrease in wakeup frequency, wake up duration, morning tiredness and their mood improved.

2. Natural Pain Remedy

Pain is inevitable, whether back pain, muscle strain, menstrual cramps, joint pain, arthritis or headaches. At times the pain can become so unbearable that people turn to pharmaceuticals for relief. However, lavender may be another more natural option.

Studies show that lavender aromatherapy may be helpful in the treatment of both short-term and chronic pain. Studies show it can help ease pain in people undergoing surgery, women after childbirth, arthritis patients, migraine headaches and menstrual cramps.

There is limited research on oral consumption of lavender and pain. Some studies suggest that lavender tea could help relieve digestive discomfort, headaches, sores, toothaches and sprains.

3. Helps Treat Anxiety

4. Antidepressant Properties

5. Anti-fungal

Lavender has antimicrobial and anti-fungal properties. There is a growing concern for over-the-counter antifungal creams because strains of bacteria are becoming resistant to them. This has scientists looking at natural remedies, like lavender.

In several studies, lavender essential oil has been proven effective in treating several strains of bacteria and fungal infections that can lead to skin diseases.

While there are limited studies on the antimicrobial effects of oral consumption of lavender, some studies suggest that consuming lavender tea can help relieve digestive issues, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, gas and bloating, which are often caused by an upset in gut bacteria.

6. Could Help Treat Skin Issues

7. May Help with Certain Brain Disorders

How Can You Incorporate Lavender Into Your Lifestyle?

References:

1. Health Benefits of Lavender and the Nervous System
2. Silexan, an orally administered Lavandula oil preparation, is effective in the treatment of ‘subsyndromal’ anxiety disorder: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial
3. Phase II trial on the effects of Silexan in patients with neurasthenia, post-traumatic stress disorder or somatization disorder
4. Randomized trial of aromatherapy. Successful treatment for alopecia areata
5. Chemical composition and antifungal activity of the essential oils of Lavandula viridis L’Hér.
6. Antifungal Effect of Lavender Essential Oil (Lavandula angustifolia) and Clotrimazole on Candida albicans: An In Vitro Study
7. Medicinal Properties of Lavender Tea
8. Effects of antioxidant supplementation on the aging process

*** Disclaimer: The content on this website (Thrive Remedies) is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended or suitable in place of advice from your health care practitioner or licensed physician. The information and products on this website should not be used for diagnosing, treating, curing or preventing a health problem, you should always consult a health care provider or licensed physician for advice. ***

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