13 Calming Essential Oils for Anxiety: The Ultimate Guide to Natural Calmness

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Calming essential oils have been our plant-powered pals for centuries, cherished by ancient civilizations in China, Egypt, India, and Southern Europe. What makes essential oils so special is their natural healing properties. Extracted from the flowers, leaves, bark, or roots of plants, these oils, in their purest form, can work wonders for your physical, emotional, spiritual and mental health.  They’re like little bottles of nature’s magic, free from nasty chemicals or additives. And yes, they can even help us tackle anxiety. If you’re battling those tough, anxious days, essential oils for anxiety could be your new go-to. Ready to explore how these incredible oils can bring a bit of peace and calm into your life? Let’s get started!

What are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts extracted from plants through methods like steam distillation or cold pressing. These concentrated plant oils capture the plant’s unique scent and flavor, often referred to as its “essence” and have been used for thousands of years in traditional medicine and more modern-day aromatherapy.

But why? Aside from the beautiful scent, essential oils contain amazing therapeutic properties. They can be used to treat a vast array of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual ailments and illnesses, including mental health conditions.

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How Calming Essential Oils Work for Anxiety

Essential oils work their magic on anxiety by interacting directly with our body’s nervous system, significantly impacting mood and stress levels. When you inhale the delightful scent of an essential oil, the scent molecules travel through your olfactory system straight to your brain. This journey leads them to the limbic system, the brain’s emotional and memory center, creating a powerful connection between scent and emotional response.

The limbic system plays a crucial role in regulating emotions, mood, and stress, making it a prime target for the therapeutic benefits of essential oils. Once these scent molecules reach the limbic system, they can trigger the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are known for their mood-boosting and calming effects. This natural process can help reduce anxiety, promote relaxation, and improve overall emotional well-being.

In addition to inhalation, essential oils can be absorbed through the skin when diluted with a carrier oil and applied topically. This method allows the oils to interact with the body’s nervous system through the bloodstream, providing another pathway to induce calming effects and reduce anxiety.

Benefits of Using Essential Oils for Anxiety

The benefits of essential oils for anxiety are vast. To give you an idea of just how thorough this form of natural treatment for anxiety can be, here are some of the most recognized clinically proven benefits of calming essential oils for anxiety:

• Promotes relaxation to soothe the mind and body
• Reduces stress levels ¹
• Alleviates anxiety symptoms ¹
• Improves sleep quality  ²
• Enhances mood ³
• Supports emotion balance and a stabilized mood ¹
• Boosts cognitive function and ability to focus ⁴
• Support overall mental health (Institute for Integrative Nutrition))
• Reduces physical symptoms of anxiety, such as high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat and muscle tension ⁵
• Eases depression ⁶

By integrating calming essential oils into your self-care routine, you can take advantage their therapeutic properties to support your own mental health and overall well-being. Whether through aromatherapy, topical application, or incorporating them into meditation practices, essential oils offer a natural and effective way to manage anxiety and enhance emotional balance.

How to Use Essential Oils for Anxiety?

There are several ways to use essential oils to manage anxiety, many of which highly depend on the essential oil you’re using. For example, some oils can be applied topically whereas others must be diluted with a carrier oil first. As such, it’s important to learn about the specific calming essential oils you plan on using so you can choose the best method.

Here are some popular options:

• Aromatherapy Diffusion: Add a few drops of essential oil (e.g., lavender, chamomile) to a diffuser filled with water. As the oil diffuses, inhale the calming aroma to ease anxiety.
• Topical Application: Dilute essential oils with a carrier oil (like coconut or jojoba oil) to prevent skin irritation. Apply the mixture to pulse points such as the wrists, temples, or behind the ears.
• Inhalation: Place a few drops of essential oil on a tissue or cotton ball and inhale. Alternatively, add a drop or two to your palms, rub together, and cup over your nose, taking deep breaths.
• Bath Time: Add a few drops of essential oil to a warm bath for a relaxing experience. The combination of warm water and the soothing scent can help reduce anxiety.
• Massage: Mix essential oils with a carrier oil and use for a gentle, calming massage to relieve muscle tension and reduce anxiety.
• Sprays: Create a room spray by mixing essential oils with water in a spray bottle. Spritz your room, pillow, or personal space to create a calming atmosphere.
• Personal Inhalers: Portable aromatherapy inhalers allow you to carry your favorite essential oils and inhale as needed throughout the day.

The Best Essential Oils for Anxiety

There are several essential oils that are highly recognized for their anxiety-reducing properties. Many of these can also be used as essential oils for sleep and would wonders as a sleep aid essential oil.

Here are some of the most effective essential oils:

1. Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender is inarguably one of the most popular essential oils for anxiety – and for good reason. A study released in Phytomedicine reported lavender essential oil to have the same effects on anxiety as a prescription of lorazepam. ⁷

It also has many additional healing benefits, such as helping with sleep, cognition, physical pain and muscle tension, migraines, restlessness, stress, inflammation and much more.

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2. Chamomile Essential Oil

Chamomile is well-known for its soothing properties and, like chamomile tea, can help relieve stress and promote calmness. It is particularly effective when used in a diffuser or added to a warm bath and is also clinically proven to reduce depression and anxiety. ⁸ It’s sedative qualities also make it an excellent essential oil for sleep.

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3. Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

Ylang ylang oil is another powerful essential oil for anxiety. Its sweet, floral scent is known to reduce stress and promote relaxation. It has also shown to have the ability to slow down your racing heart beat and reduce blood pressure, two common anxiety symptoms. ⁹

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4. Bergamot Essential Oil

Bergamot essential oil helps alleviate anxiety by enhancing mood through the release of serotonin and dopamine, reducing cortisol levels to lower stress, and promoting physiological relaxation by decreasing heart rate and blood pressure. Its aromatic properties make it effective in aromatherapy, providing immediate relief by stimulating the olfactory system and affecting the brain’s limbic system.

Clinical studies support these benefits, showing that bergamot oil can significantly reduce anxiety in various settings, so much so that it has a similar effect to anti-anxiety medications like diazepam. ¹⁰

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5. Lemon Essential Oil

Lemon essential oil helps alleviate anxiety by lowering cortisol levels and promoting relaxation through its refreshing and uplifting aroma. It has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve mood by influencing the nervous system and decreasing stress hormone levels. Clinical studies demonstrate that inhaling lemon oil can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms and enhance overall emotional well-being​. ¹¹

7. Patchouli Essential Oil

Patchouli essential oil helps reduce anxiety by promoting relaxation and grounding emotions through its rich, earthy aroma. It lowers  cortisol levels and calm the nervous system, making it effective for stress relief. Studies have demonstrated that inhaling patchouli oil can significantly reduce anxiety and improve overall emotional balance​. ¹²

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8. Clary Sage Essential Oil

Clary sage essential oil helps reduce anxiety by regulating levels of serotonin and dopamine, which enhance mood and emotional well-being. Its calming properties can alleviate stress and improve mental clarity. Studies show that clary sage oil can significantly reduce anxiety and symptoms of depression, making it a valuable tool for managing anxiety naturally​. ¹³

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9. Geranium Essential Oil

Geranium essential oil is effective in alleviating anxiety through its calming and mood-enhancing properties. The sweet, floral aroma of geranium oil promotes relaxation and can significantly reduce anxiety levels. Studies have shown that inhaling geranium essential oil can lower cortisol levels, the stress hormone, which helps in managing anxiety and stress. ¹⁴

Additionally, geranium oil can improve mental functioning and uplift spirits, making it particularly beneficial for those dealing with anxiety and depression. Research also indicates that it can be effective in reducing anxiety during labor and in postmenopausal women when used in aromatherapy

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10. Rose Essential Oil

Rose essential oil helps alleviate anxiety through its calming and mood-enhancing properties. The sweet, floral scent of rose oil has been shown to significantly reduce anxiety levels and improve sleep quality. This is done by decreasing cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure. ¹⁵

Studies have demonstrated that rose essential oil can effectively reduce anxiety in various stressful situations, such as surgery, labor, and hospitalization. Its soothing aroma impacts the brain’s limbic system, which controls emotions, thereby promoting relaxation and emotional well-being​.

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11. Valerian Root Essential Oil

Valerian root essential oil is renowned for its calming properties, making it an effective natural remedy for anxiety. The oil works by interacting with the nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. It contains compounds like valerenic acid and isovaleric acid, which help to soothe the nervous system and reduce tension.

Studies have shown that valerian root essential oil can significantly decrease anxiety symptoms. For instance, a 2019 clinical trial involving participants with state anxiety reported a notable reduction in anxiety levels after using valerian root oil continuously for one month​. Another study highlighted valerian root’s potential in treating generalized anxiety disorder, demonstrating its effectiveness as a natural anxiolytic agent​. ¹⁶

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 12. Frankincense Essential Oil

Frankincense essential oil effectively alleviates anxiety through its calming and mood-enhancing properties. Compounds like incensole acetate in the oil reduce anxiety and depression by influencing brain areas that regulate emotions and stress responses. ¹⁸ Inhaling frankincense oil achieves this by stimulating the limbic system, which fosters calmness and diminishes anxiety symptoms. ¹⁹

Research also shows that frankincense oil can lower heart rate and blood pressure. Both of these are often increased during anxiety episodes, creating a state of relaxation. Its sedative properties further enhance its effectiveness as a natural remedy for anxiety and better sleep​.

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13. Neroli Essential Oil

1. Institute for Integrative Nutrition
2. National Library of Medicine: Lavender and the Nervous System
3. National Library of Medicine: Bergamot Essential Oil Attenuates Anxiety-Like Behaviour in Rats
4. National Library of Medicine: Examination of the influence of cedar fragrance on cognitive function and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in alzheimer type dementia
5. National Library of Medicine: The anxiolytic effects of a Valerian extract is based on valerenic acid
6. National Library of Medicine: The Effectiveness of Aromatherapy for Depressive Symptoms: A Systematic Review
7. National Library of Medicine: A multi-center, double-blind, randomised study of the Lavender oil preparation Silexan in comparison to Lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder
8. National Library of Medicine: Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) May Have Antidepressant Activity in Anxious Depressed Humans – An Exploratory Study
9. National Library of Medicine: Effects of Ylang-Ylang aroma on blood pressure and heart rate in healthy men
10. National Library of Medicine: Bergamot Essential Oil Attenuates Anxiety-Like Behaviour in Rats
11. National Library of Medicine: Anti-stress effects of simplified aroma hand massage)

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    6. Peppermint Essential Oil

    Peppermint essential oil helps reduce anxiety by enhancing cognitive function and promoting relaxation through its invigorating aroma. It has been shown to alleviate stress by stimulating the olfactory system, which in turn influences the brain’s limbic system to improve mood and mental clarity. Clinical studies support its efficacy in reducing anxiety and enhancing focus, making it a valuable tool for managing anxiety-related cognitive difficulties​. It’s also a valuable tool for reducing feelings of mental exhaustion and burnout.  (( National Library of Medicine: Effect of inhaled essential oils on mental exhaustion and moderate burnout: a small pilot study

12. The Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine:Effects of Short-Term Inhalation of Patchouli Oil on Professional Quality of Life and Stress Levels in Emergency Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial
13. National Library of Medicine: Antidepressant-like effect of Salvia sclarea is explained by modulation of dopamine activities in rats
14. National Library of Medicine: Effect of Inhalation of Aroma of Geranium Essence on Anxiety and Physiological Parameters during First Stage of Labor in Nulliparous Women: a Randomized Clinical Trial
15. Effects of Inhalation Aromatherapy With Rosa damascena (Damask Rose) on the State Anxiety and Sleep Quality of Operating Room Personnel During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial
16. Efficacy and Safety of Valerian Root Extract and Lavender Essential Oil Combination, Over 4 Weeks in Subjects With Sleep Complaints
17. The Effects of Valerian on Sleep Quality, Depression, and State Anxiety in Hemodialysis Patients: A Randomized, Double-blind, Crossover Clinical Trial
18. Incensole acetate, an incense component, elicits psychoactivity by activating TRPV3 channels in the brain
19. Effects of aroma hand massage on pain, state anxiety and depression in hospice patients with terminal cancer
20. Essential Oil Inhalation on Blood Pressure and Salivary Cortisol Levels in Prehypertensive and Hypertensive Subjects