The amygdale manages our emotional response to an aroma. The memory and recognition of smell takes place in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is also where chemicals in an aroma trigger our unique repository of learned memories..." (Buckle, 2001). Though there hasn't been much research, and most studies that have been done were small sample sizes, the healing qualities of aromatherapy look very promising. In 2005, Japanese researchers found that aromatherapy massage using lavender-based products reduced anxiety and stress and was helpful to the immune system. It was also noted that patients showed a considerable increase in lymphocytes (protective blood cells), while showing a decrease in depression.

Another study discovered that the use of aromatherapy after an operation lessoned the patient's feeling of nausea and vomiting. Antiemetics (drugs used to prevent nausea and vomiting) were reduced by almost 50% (Milivojevic, 2006). In small studies conducted in nursing homes, aromatherapy has indicated better sleep in some aging adults, and lavender aromatherapy hand massages showed the ability to lessen aggressive emotional behavior in patients with dementia from Alzheimer's. According to a group of geriatric psychiatrists, aromatherapy may ease the behavioral problems of people with dementia. Many older persons with dementia become nervous, agitated, and depressed, or display other behavioral problems, such as wandering, hostility, and sleep disorders. Researchers conducted trials of aromatherapy treatments of lemon balm and lavender oil, which patients either breathed in or used on the skin. They reported that the treatments considerably lessoned...

"Quality of life significantly improved with aromatherapy," they wrote in the British Medical Journal.
While aromatherapy is not yet considered a facet of conventional medicine, the small studies that have been conducted show promise. Hopefully this will pave the way for large-scale studies which may lead to fully integrating aromatherapy (as well as other CAM therapies) into conventional medicine.

References

Archer, Shirley (2003). Aromatherapy Fights Dementia. The Futurist, 2. This article gives a brief overview of the effects of aromatherapy on patients with dementia.

Buckle, Jane (2001). Aromatherapy and Diabetes. Diabetes Spectrum, 124. This article summarizes the process of how aromatherapy works, and provides a brief overview of the effects of aromatherapy on diabetic patients.

Fowler, Newton (2006). Complementary and alternative therapies: the nurse's role. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 261. This article analyzes the nurse's role in integrating CAM for the purpose of increasing the quality and quantity of life among patients. It also supplies a brief overview of the concepts of CAM as well as case studies and statistical analysis.

Milivojevic, J., (2006). Just the essentials: you know they smell good, but are there any benefits to incorporating essential oils into your practice? Massage Therapy Journal, 64. This article explores the benefits of incorporating essential oil aromatherapy massage into traditional medical practice. It reviews several…