Aromatherapy, also known as essential oils therapy, is a holistic healing treatment that uses materials, such as essential oils, that can be used for topical application, massage, inhalation or water immersion to improve psychological and physical well-being. The most common essential oils used in aromatherapy include chamomile, geranium, lavender, tea tree, lemon, ginger, cedarwood and bergamot. 

Scent is incredibly powerful to the human body, affecting our mood, emotions and memory. Aromatherapy uses the power of scent to help support health and well-being in specialized care, including palliative and hospice care. 

Each essential oil has unique healing properties, uses, and effects, which is why aromatherapy has an array of benefits. It can help in the following ways:

• Promotes relaxation
• Manages pain
• Treats headaches and migraines
• Soothes sore joints
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• Boosts immunity
• Strengthens physical and mental well-being
• Improves sleep quality 

According to the Mayo Clinic, “aromatherapy is thought to work by stimulating smell receptors in the nose, which then send messages through the nervous system to the limbic system — the part of the brain that controls emotions.”