ADHD can be a terrible thing to try and wrangle, whether you are a parent who has a child who suffers from it or if you have it yourself.
It can make simple things, which most of us take for granted, hard. ADHD can affect concentration, impulse control, and organizational skills. It can also make things like reading and learning hard.
There are medications that can help with ADHD, but wouldn’t it be great if there was a natural way of treating or helping ADHD? Well, there just might be.
There has been a lot of talk lately about using essential oils for ADHD, which are natural oil products. But do they really work? And if so, what are the best essential oils for ADHD?
We’ll examine the connection between ADHD and essential oils, the best oils for ADHD, and how to safely use the essential oils in your home.
What Is ADHD?
ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and it is a condition that can affect impulsivity, inattentiveness, and hyperactivity. ADHD tends to appear early on in a person’s life (usually before the age of twelve), but can often go undiagnosed due to the normal behavior of kids.
While mostly associated with children, many children can grow out of their ADHD, but it can continue into adulthood. Symptoms of ADHD can include:
- Difficulty with following directions
- Trouble with remembering information
- Issues with concentration
- Problems with organizational tasks
As pointed out previously, some children may grow out of their ADHD or learn coping mechanisms that can help them. There are also some medications that can be used to help curtail symptoms and treat ADHD for both children and adults. But, there may be a way to treat ADHD naturally with essential oils.
How Essential Oils for ADHD Work
Before we go on to what essential oils may be able to help ADHD, it’s a good idea to know how they are supposed to work in terms of helping ADHD. Each oil may have different effects, but in general, essential oils may be able to help improve brainwave patterns and behavior.
Other effects may include an increase in attentiveness, as well as being able to relax some of some of the energy that builds up in those who have ADHD. But what are the best ADHD essential oils?
Best Essential Oils for ADHD
Now that you know the basics about the hows and whys of essential oils and ADHD, it’s time to get into which oils may be able to help with ADHD, and what their specific effects are.
1. Lavender Oil
Inhaling lavender oil may be able to help with ADHD in a few different ways. It can help calm the body and mind, as well increase focus and help with concentration.
A quick inhale from a diffuser or a few drops on your pillow at night may be able to help. For children, try rubbing a few drops into their neck and at the bottom of their feet.
2. Cedarwood Oil
Cedarwood oil can help improve attention and focus. Simply place a few drop on your neck and at the base of the skull. It can also be inhaled directly indirectly via infusers.
3. Ylang Ylang Oil
Ylang ylang oil comes from the flowers of the ylang ylang plant. The oil acts as a mild sedative to help settle the restlessness that comes with ADHD, which in turn can help with focus. Ylang ylang oil, while very helpful with ADHD, should only be applied in moderation due to its sedative like qualities.
4. Eucalyptus Oil
Eucalyptus oil comes from the eucalyptus tree. It can help relieve the mental strain of ADHD, as well as increase blood flow to the brain which can help with attentiveness and focus.
5. Frankincense Oil
Best known as one of the gifts the three wise men brought with them in the nativity story, frankincense oil may be used to help those with ADHD by helping to stimulate the limbic system (the memory center of the brain). This can help with concentration and follow through. Frankincense may also be able to center and bring focus to someone with ADHD.
6. Cypress Oil
The essential oil of cypress may be able to help someone with ADHD by adding focus. It can also calm and soothe the mind, as well as reduce any sense of nervousness.
7. Rosemary Oil
Rosemary oil is similar to cypress oil in its effects, as it can calm the nerves and mind while also adding some stability to focus and concentration.
8. Vetiver Oil
Vetiver oil comes from the root of a grass-like plant. This oil may be able to help with concentration and focus, as well ease tension.
It works best if you place a few drops at the bottom of your feet, but inhaling it via an infuser might not be a bad idea either.
These are some of the most effective essential oils for ADHD, but you may have to do your research on both the essential oils and ADHD to figure out which oil is best for you. ADHD can come in different severities and symptoms, so one oil may not work as well for the condition as another in different people. There also may be some combinations of oils that you can try for better results.
Essential Oils Recipe for ADHD
There are a few mixtures of essential oils that might be able to help you even more with ADHD than one oil alone. Mixing two drops of vetiver oil with approximately five drops of sweet almond oil can help you have a more relaxed and deep sleep in addition to the ADHD-soothing abilities of vetiver oil.
You can make a similar recipe with lavender oil and sweet almond oil. Try two drops of lavender oil mixed with approximately eight drops of sweet almond oil for a better sleep and some relief from some of the symptoms of ADHD.
Use Essential Oils Safely
Essential oils can help with a variety of health problems as well as being able to help tackle the symptoms of ADHD. They are natural and may avoid some of the side effects that you may find with medications. With that said, you must use essential oils safely.
Most essential oils are toxic when ingested. For those that aren’t, you should orally take an essential oil with caution. Also, take care with dosages. As we pointed out with the ylang ylang oil, too much is not a good idea. Start small and then move up the dosage slowly.
While essential oils are natural, it doesn’t mean that you can’t be allergic to them, which is another reason why you should keep dosages low until it is better understood how an oil reacts with your body’s chemistry.
It’s Worth a Shot
Modern medicine has given us some miraculous things. There are cures for diseases that a few decades ago could be terrifying to think about. It even developed drugs to help out with ADHD.
But unfortunately, sometimes these drugs can have pretty harsh side effects and issues connected to them. And sometimes it may take a while to find the drug that works with the body chemistry of the person taking it.
That’s why there’s no real harm in trying essential oils; they won’t mix with any drugs, and they may be able to relieve some of the symptoms of ADHD without any of the harsh side effects of some of the medications. Just make sure to do your research on which oil might be right for you, and pay attention to the dosage. Start small and work your way up.
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Sources:
“Essential Oils can Help ADHD,” Mercola, January 28, 2017; http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/26/essential-oils-can-help-adhd.aspx, Last accessed June 21, 2017.
Olivia, “Benefits of Using Essential Oils for ADHD,” Essential Oil Benefits, December 6, 2014; http://essentialoilbenefits.com/how-to-treat-adhd-using-essential-oils/, Last accessed June 21, 2017.