translated from Spanish: Natural products that help reduce year-end stress

New Year’s Eve is a period that for many is stressful and more so when the previous months were difficult after the social outburst. It is therefore essential to look at nature to find relief.
According to Maite Rodríguez, academic of the School of Chemistry and Pharmacy of the U. Andrés Bello, “there are phytocomposites and essential oils to reduce stress”.
The specialist details that some classic products of natural origin that relax are the infusions or decoctions of plants such as melisa or toronjil mint, valerian, basil, chamomile, lavender flowers and mint.
“Among many others, it also helps relaxation boil orange peels or tangerine. Water or borage infusion, for example, is a very useful one for improving symptoms caused by stress. The erasage is a plant that balances hormonal situations related to this problem. You can simply drink the decoction water or make infusions of three or four tablespoons of dried borage leaves per liter of water,” explains the pharmaceutical chemist.
On the market there are natural alternatives (phytomedicines) based on melisa and passiflora that are prepared using these two medicinal plants that can be used in cases of insomnia and anxiety.
Aromatherapy
Another alternative, widely used today, is aromatherapy. “Essential oils are responsible for the odors of many flowers and plants and their components have action on different organs of our system,” explains UNAB academic.
According to the expert, “there is scientific evidence that the use of essential oils promotes relaxation, which helps to have restful sleep or recover this, after an episode of insomnia. This is possible because essential oils can act through various mechanisms at the central nervous system level.”
“It has been shown that breathing the compounds present in essential oils (terpenes of various nature) can decrease cortisol levels. The constant release of this hormone affects health, generating states of anxiety and stress. During the night, it can make sleep difficult. In addition, terpenes have been proven to be very good antioxidants, that is, they possess the ability to trap free radicals that are triggers of oxidative stress in our body,” he adds.
There are studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of using tangerine essential oil in hyperactive children or in cases of moderate insomnia, or when one has a hard time disconnecting, and relaxing. The essential oil of lavender or failing that smell infloresitous sachets under the pillow can also generate a state of calm and relaxation.
On the other hand, “the luisa grass or lemongrass, is a soothing that is very useful in case of distress or anxiety. This can be used orally. If insomnia is associated with anxiety problems, you can take 2 drops of essential oil diluted in olive oil three times a day until improvement,” she details.

Original source in Spanish