OPTIMIZE YOUR HEALTH
Happy and Healthy Holidays!

Serenity Despite Holiday Madness
By Jannet Huang, MD, FRCPC, FACE, ABHM

The Holiday season is a time to share joy and love with friends and family. But for many, this time of year can be quite stressful. The mad rush of holiday shopping and the endless holiday festivities can leave us exhausted mentally and physically. Music and Aromatherapy are simple tools we can all use to minimize stress and maximize our enjoyment of gatherings with loved ones this holiday season.

For many, listening to Christmas carols or holiday classics may ease the tension and anxiety associated with the busiest time of year. Music has been used since ancient times as a healing tool; the Greek philosophers Pythagoras, Aristotle and Plato all recognized the benefits of music in their writings. The modern discipline of music therapy began early in the 20th century with community musicians visiting veterans' hospitals around the country to play for those suffering from the traumas of war. Patients' positive responses led to the development of music therapy as a healing art.

Music is used to influence physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being and improve quality of life for both ill as well as healthy people. It may involve either listening to or performing music, with or without the presence of a music therapist.

There is also evidence that combining music with guided imagery may lead to reduced fatigue, mood disturbance and blood levels of cortisol (a stress hormone). The relaxation response is a state that speeds many of the body's healing responses. Evidence that music therapy can lead to the relaxation response has been found in studies on a number of different populations including heart bypass surgery patients, healthy college students, infants being treated for chronic lung disease, patients on breathing machines, and acute heart attack patients.

Another solution for calming holiday nerves may be diffusing relaxing scents; lavender in particular has been scientifically proven to increase alpha brain waves thereby reducing anxiety and stress.

Essential oils of plants have been used medicinally for thousands of years through application directly to the skin (usually diluted), as a part of massage, added to bathwater, via steam inhalation or in mouthwashes.

Aromatherapy is a technique in which essential oils from plants are used with the intention of preventing or treating illness, reducing stress or enhancing well-being. The modern practice of aromatherapy is often traced to the French chemist René-Maurice Gattefosse. Gattefosse is said to have poured lavender oil onto his hand after experiencing an accidental burn. The pain and redness reportedly disappeared, and the burn healed more rapidly than expected. In later experiments, Gattefosse studied other oils in the treatment of various skin problems and coined the term aromatherapy in the early 20th century. Research with plant oils was later conducted by other French scientists, and techniques were developed that are still in use today.

Fragrant products containing man-made compounds are not used in the practice of genuine aromatherapy. Although many gift shops sell scented candles, pomanders and potpourri as aromatherapy, genuine aromatherapy treatments use higher strength (concentrated) essential oils drawn from various herbs. Simple and effective ways to use essential oils include diffusers or mixed with carrier oils for massage.

Please visit the Center for Optimal Health for soothing music CDs and aromatherapy products.

—December 2007

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