Citrus Oils For Happiness

Citrus For Joy!

Citrus trees are just beautiful to see when laden with fruit. They are full and vibrant, with bright colours representing happiness. We are fortunate to be able to bottle these oils in a concentrated form, bringing us the optimum possibilities from these plants. They are not steam distilled like most essential oils, they are cold-pressed and, in fact, are essences; concentrated oils pressed from the zest of the skin.
Almost all of these fruits contain around 90% terpenes, aldehydes, furocoumarins, and coumarins[1], so they have similar precautions and uses. The golden rule - do not put them on the skin before going into the sun. Really! Avoid it on the skin all together in summer; they have been known to augment tanning and therefore may also increase the potential to be burned. Only use in beauty products when highly diluted and put on areas of the body that aren’t going to be exposed to the sun. Our advice - citrus smells amazing, especially when diffused, and with this comes incredible benefits that prove to reduce anxiety, depression and stress.

So, how is citrus a powerhouse tool for stimulating happiness?

We had a look at some research and can see that citrus oils are really the choice to make when wanting to alleviate stress in many different situations.

Bergamot - Tapanee Hongratanaworkit (2011) found it would be beneficial in treating depression or anxiety in humans. The results showed there was a relaxing effect using a Citrus bergamia and Lavandula angustifolia synergy on a group of healthy individual’s physical and emotional reactions when applied via transdermal absorption. [2]

Grapefruit - Hozumi et al (2017) experimented with diffusing different essential oils and studied their effect on anxiety in patients undergoing a colonoscopy procedure. The findings found that only Citrus paradisi and Osmanthus fragrans (sweet olive) oils were effective complementary treatments for anxious patients.[3]

Lemon – Komiya et al (2006) looked at the effect of lavender, rose and lemon oils in mice doing stressful tasks. The research found lemon oil possessed the strongest and most consistent anxiolytic, antidepressant-like effects on stress markers in these mice.[4]

Mandarin – Ghiasi et al (2019) analysed 16 papers on the anxiolytic effect of aromatherapy during the first stages of labour. They found, on a study by Burns et al., that mandarin essence was one of the 5 essential oils where the anxiety score was significantly lower compared to the control group.[5]

Sweet Orange – Son et al (2019) were interested in the effects of a diffused synergy of marjoram essential oil and sweet orange oil, accompanied by playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, as an effective tool to reduce anxiety and stress among nursing students taking exams for fundamental nursing skills. The results on questionnaires and performance showed that these therapies combined had a significant effect on improving performance and reducing anxiety and stress among nursing students, compared to not diffusing while playing music.[6]

By now, you should have discovered at least one simple way that you can use citrus to reduce stress in your life.  We all know that alleviating the symptoms of stress on the nervous system has huge health benefits, and we believe a citrus oil is the simplest and most effective way; simply breathe! A definite must in anyone’s aromatherapy kit.

References:
[1] Miles, E., 2013 "Huiles Essentielles", France, editions First.
Nat Prod Commun 2011 Aug; 6 (8): 1199-1204 pages.
[4] Komiya M  et al. Lemon oil vapor causes an anti-stress effect via modulating the 5-HT and DA activities in mice Behav Brain Res. 2006 Sep 25;172(2):240-9 pages.
J Caring Science 2019 Mar; 8(1): 51-60 pages.
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