Brain Plugs

Essential oils are concentrated, aromatic plant extracts that have been used for thousands of years for emotional, cosmetic, medical and even spiritual purposes. The term "essential oil" actually comes from the idea of "quintessential oil."

This was considered to be the "spirit" or life force of the plant, and distillation or evaporation were used to remove the "spirit" for human usage (this is also why distilled alcoholic beverages are referred to as "spirits").

Today, essential oils, which contain complex mixtures of beneficial plant chemicals, are extracted from plants via two primary methods: distillation, which has been used since ancient times; and expression or cold pressing, which is used to extract citrus essential oils.

Research by the late Dr. Terry S. Friedmann, a physician who believed in treating the body, mind and spirit as one, showed that vetiver oil (vetiver is a type of Indian grass) was beneficial for children with ADHD.

When the children inhaled the oil three times a day for 30 days they had improved brain wave patterns and behavior and did better in school. Eighty percent of the children also improved when using cedarwood oil similarly.

Improvements in brain activity were revealed via electro-encephalograph (EEG), which measures electrical impulses moving through the brain. This allowed researchers to determine whether the children's brains were functioning primarily in a beta state or a theta state.

Beyond vetiver and cedarwood, rosemary essential oil has also shown promise for increasing cognitive performance. When study participants completed tasks in a cubicle diffused with the aroma of rosemary essential oil, their performance improved in both speed and accuracy.

"Every single day I was getting (messages from teachers saying) he won't stay on task. He won't stay focused. He won't stay in his seat. He's talking. He's just up and running around. He just could not stay focused," she said.

After starting him on aromatherapy using essential oils, she said his grades improved from Cs and Ds to As and Bs. Now in fifth grade, the student is in advanced classes and described as a "calm child." She applies essential oils to several body areas each morning and he also wears an essential oil bracelet.

Inhalation or applying the oils topically to the skin are two effective ways to use essential oils for ADHD. Placing three to four drops of oil into a diffuser is one of the simplest methods, while some of the studies on essential oils for ADHD involved participants inhaling the scent directly from the bottle (for two or three deep breaths) three times a day.

You can also try steam inhalation by placing three to seven drops of essential oil into boiling water, then covering your head with a towel and breathing through your nose (keep your eyes closed and be careful not to get burned).

To use the oils topically, first do a test to be sure they don't irritate your skin (apply one drop to your skin and observe it for one to two hours). Oils should be applied very sparingly to your neck, wrists, bottom of feet and/or behind your ears. You can blend them with a carrier oil, such as coconut oil, as well.

This includes not only avoiding processed, refined foods but also eating traditionally fermented foods. Fermented vegetables are perhaps among the most palatable fermented foods, although many kids enjoy fermented dairy products like kefir, especially if you blend them into healthy smoothies.