Rest & Manage Stress

An important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is learning how to recognize and manage different emotions. One emotion that often goes overlooked is stress. Stress occurs when you feel pressure or tension in response to a challenging situation. Stress often causes mental and emotional strain, and it can even have negative effects on your physical well-being if you don’t address it. Sleep, or lack thereof, can also have an impact on your emotions1. People often forget about the importance of sleep in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Getting the right amount of rest is one of the most essential parts of developing a healthy lifestyle and being your best throughout the day. When you are well-rested, your body is prepared to focus on other important parts of health and wellness, like proper nutrition and exercise.

How to Manage Stress

There are a variety of methods available to you that can help manage stress in your life. Many of them are easy and can be done without others noticing. Some options include breathing exercises or evaluating all your activities and responsibilities. It’s important to check in with yourself and make sure you’re not being overloaded with more than time will allow. Write out your weekly tasks, and do your best to schedule down time to spend alone or with those you love.

Quick Tips for Stress Management:

• Practice breathing exercises
• Go for a walk to clear your head
• Use calming essential oils
• Talk through your feelings with someone you trust
• Do an activity you enjoy

How Can doTERRA Help?

Understanding the diverse challenges you face each day, doTERRA developed a blend to help bring a sense of calm and reassurance when you need it most. A beautiful mix of sweet and minty scents, doTERRA Peace® Reassuring Blend delivers a calming, peaceful aroma. Lavender, Frankincense, Ylang Ylang, and more come together to create a chemical profile rich in monoterpene esters and alcohols for a soothing experience.

Why Sleep Matters

Scientists have done a lot of research to show that getting too little sleep affects you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Sleeping gives your body an opportunity to recharge and process the events that happened throughout the day. Sleep also affects the way our body systems work, from our nervous system to our immune system. For example, when we don’t get enough sleep, our immune system can become weaker making it easier to feel under the weather2-3. Getting too little sleep also causes our bodies to be susceptible to a variety of health problems, including the inability to concentrate or remember things, mood changes, lack of balance, and drowsiness4.

How Can doTERRA Help?

There are many ways to develop proper sleep hygiene and train your body to recognize when it’s time to rest. This can include a specific sleep regimen that may include using essential oils like doTERRA Serenity® Restful Blend, which you can use in conjunction with doTERRA Serenity Restful Complex Softgels. A diverse mix of warm and floral scents, this essential oil blend was designed to provide a calming, relaxing aroma perfect for topical application or diffusion. Oils like Lavender, Chamomile, and Cedarwood combine to provide a relaxing experience. Clinical research suggests that when applied topically in combination with various soothing techniques, Lavender may help ease the body of tension5-6.

Researchers at doTERRA published a clinical research study7 on the effect of Serenity Softgels on sleep. The results suggest that internal consumption of Lavender, German chamomile, and L-theanine as found in the Softgels may help with falling asleep, and may improve alertness upon awakening. Once you have established a bedtime routine, try to stick to it every night. This habit will help you get better quality sleep so that you feel more rested when you wake up each day.

Quick Tips for Better Rest:

• Try to go to bed at the same time every night
• Establish a calming bedtime routine with essential oils
• Turn off screens (TV, phones, etc.) at least one hour before bedtime
• Try not to eat sugary foods before bed
• Take a warm bath or shower before bed

Conclusion

Stress, emotions, and sleep all play an important role in daily life. A lot of what you do is controlled by how you are feeling. Managing stress and sleep is an important step toward achieving health and wellness. As you work toward developing a healthy lifestyle, remember that taking care of your mental health is just as important as maintaining your physical health. How will you implement essential oils into your routine to live a life of wellness?