Episode 47: Beat the Brain Fog

Transcript

doTERRA: Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA, the podcast where you'll hear exciting, useful, and simple everyday uses for essential oils from experts in the field. If you like what you hear today rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. We always appreciate hearing from you. Today we're excited to have Julie Davey talk to us about using essential oils to beat your brain fog.

Julie: Hi, my name is Julie Davey and I'm a Diamond leader within doTERRA. I live in Georgia with my husband and my two kids. We have been using essential oils for about six years now to really just support our bodies in an overall wellness. I'm also a nurse practitioner and I love the fact that I can help my patients and my clients now in a different and better way. So, I'm really grateful to be here with you today to talk to you about brain fog and some tips around how we can support our brains and brain health in a better way.

First, let's start with what is brain fog? Brain fog actually is not a medical condition. It is really more of a cognitive dysfunction. So it's really more symptoms of things like memory issues, a lack of mental clarity, and just not being able to think properly. I know I have experienced this multiple times in my life, still do, and still will in the future most likely.

Many of you I'm sure can relate to this. You might be asking yourself, what are some of the most common causes of brain fog? And that would be things like stress. We live in a stressful world and that's something that we really can't avoid but trying to manage that. Sleep. Making sure that we're getting enough proper deep sleep. And then diet is another big one. Fueling our body with the proper nutrients really helps to prevent some of that brain fog. And of course, I can't leave out hydration. Hydration is so important, getting that water in every single day. 

But even if we're doing all those things it's inevitable, you know we're not perfect, things are going to happen, and we're probably going to develop some brain fog from time to time. So what I hope to do today is to share with you some of the tools that you can have on hand and reach for during these times of brain fog. 

The first one that I love that you may be familiar with, is Peppermint. Peppermint essential oil is amazing. It has menthol in it, which is one of the chemical constituents. And that's really known, the menthol, is really known for its energizing properties. Peppermint helps to produce mental clarity and just keep our minds really alert and sharp. What I like to do—I’m actually in my office right now and this was a perfect topic to talk about in my office because I’m always looking for more mental clarity when I'm working—I love to just take my Peppermint, and when I'm kind of feeling that I need to be reenergized or I’m lacking a little bit of clarity, I'll just take one drop in my hand. I rub my palms together, and take a big deep breath in. You can just really feel those aromatics going into your lungs, and then just kind of rub it on the back of your neck. It’s a little bit cooling also so it feels really good. It is a really great pick me up throughout the day. 

That's one of my absolute favorites, and actually there are some research studies that have been done on Peppermint showing that it can really help with focus and with memory retention. So, this is actually a really good one if, let's say, you were maybe studying for an exam or your kids are studying for a test or they're doing homework and you really want to help them in retaining that information that they're learning. Using the Peppermint you could apply it topically or you could also diffuse it and then have them do that again when they go to, say, take their test or exam. That really helps everything kind of come together and helps with that memory retention. So maybe even sending some Peppermint in a roller to school with them. Or another option is using some kind of diffuser jewelry. I actually have on a necklace right now. So that's a great way to use your essential oils throughout the day. And you can just smell that throughout the day. It works really well for kids. They make bracelets and all kinds of diffuser jewelry that you might want to look into. Peppermint is amazing. 

Now the next essential oil that I want to mention, that actually pairs very well with Peppermint, is Rosemary. Rosemary is very supportive to the nervous system. And Rosemary is great for focus as well. It helps to stimulate the memory and to actually enhance memory retention. Something I love to do when my kids are doing their homework around the kitchen table is to diffuse Peppermint and Rosemary together. Just two drops of each in your diffuser is really all you need. The nice thing about diffusing your oils is you get to affect the whole house, right? Not only are they getting the benefit but I'm getting the benefit and my husband is getting the benefit. Or maybe it's in your workplace your work environment. It's great. We can kind of positively affect everyone around us in our work environment. 

Now I'll give you one other tip. Something that I pair with the Peppermint and Rosemary—I do this a lot in my office with Peppermint and Rosemary—I put Lemon. Lemon of course is super fresh and smells great. But Lemon actually has a chemical constituent in it called limonene. And that gives Lemon its uplifting quality. It really kind of helps you to overcome that brain fog and that lack of focus that we can experience from time to time. So honestly that's like a staple. I'm looking at my diffuser right now and I have Rosemary, Peppermint, and Lemon that I keep here in my office. First thing I do when I come in in the mornings is fill up that diffuser. Two drops of each is all I need. And it really just helps me keep that mental clarity and beat that brain fog during the day. 

he next thing I want to share with you is an essential oil blend that is another staple in my office. It's right here on my desk. I use this, not only when I'm trying to focus, but it smells amazing, so I actually use it for perfume. I'm getting the benefit of it smelling good and also the benefits of focus. This oil is InTune^®. InTune comes just like this in a roller. It is a blend of oils. It's called the Focus blend. The oils that are in InTune are Amyris, Patchouli, which is one of my absolute favorites, Frankincense, the king of oils, Lime, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood, and Chamomile. All of these oils together are known for the ability to promote calming, to promote focus, and to promote a balanced state of mind. Which you know I'm always looking for more balance, right? I know you guys probably are too. 

This is pre-diluted with Fractionated Coconut Oil. It’s super simple and convenient and easy to use. I love to just take my InTune after I prepare my diffuser for the day. I'll take it and apply it to my wrist, to pulse points, rub it together and then rub it a little bit on my neck so that I can really smell those aromatics. This is a pretty strong-smelling oil which is amazing because it lasts a really long time. And then I'll also just take and inhale that. Honestly the one of the best ways to affect our emotions and our brain health is through smell. We have the limbic system in our brain and that's where our emotional center is. So anytime we're looking to manage our mood or change our state of mind, smell is one of the fastest ways to do that.

Now the other thing that I wanted to tell you about this blend is that many of these oils contain high levels of sesquiterpenes. And that's just a chemical constituent that has the ability to pass the blood brain barrier. So that means that these oils can reach all of the cells in our brain. What better to use for that brain fog and brain health than oils that can pass that blood brain barrier? And if you've not smelled InTune before, it has a very deep and woodsy fragrance. It could kind of be considered a little bit manly, so if you have a little boy or even any men listening in you would probably absolutely love it. I love those scents as well to wear as perfume. And another area that you could place the InTune is along the spine. Roll it just along the spine. This is just great for kids. Also on the bottom of the feet. We have tons of pores on the bottom of our feet. When we put our essential oils there, they get absorbed into the bloodstream pretty quickly and they can service every cell in our body very quickly. On the feet is a great area.

Now, I mentioned kids. Speaking of kids, I want to share one more blend with you. I'm so thankful that doTERRA came out with their kids’ line. These are just brilliant blends of oils. But what I want to focus on today is actually the focus blend, and it's called Thinker™. It comes just like this in a pre-diluted 10 mL roller bottle. The oils that are in Thinker are Vetiver, which is super calming. Sometimes when we can't focus it's because we're anxious, or have anxious feelings, and we just kind of need that calming. So, Vetiver’s great for that. It also has the Peppermint and Rosemary that I mentioned were great for focus, and Clementine. You can imagine how amazing this smells, right? But that blend of oils are known for their ability to help with focus, with memory, with concentration, and with creating a positive environment that supports learning.

Now using this during homework times is obviously a great way to incorporate it into your routine. Using it with your kids—a couple of ways that you could do that. You could certainly put it on the bottom of the feet. You could roll it along the spine, but you could also have them put a little bit on their wrist maybe on their temples. And that really helps to boost their concentration. Helping them again promote that sense of alertness and focus. This blend also helps with creativity and with creative writing. It helps to turn agitation and frustration that sometimes our kids can feel when they're trying to master something new, they're trying to learn something new. We really want to help support their body in calming some of that agitation and frustration and bringing that back into more centered thinking. This blend can really help with that.

Now one last thing that maybe you don't think about using this for. Around my house we have our kids do chores. At some point no matter how old your kids are, you're probably going to have them doing some chores, but they can kind of get off task right. They get distracted. They see the TV on, or they start to play with the dog or whatever it is. Thinker blend can really help them focus when they're doing household chores as well. So, think about using it during those times and not just during studying times. Anytime you want to help them focus a little bit better or, I actually use this blend on myself. I love it. It smells amazing so adults can totally use it as well. 

So just to recap. Consider first, if you have brain fog or during the times that you have brain fog, what might be at the root of that? What might be causing your brain fog? Did you just eat something that you know maybe wasn't the best thing to fuel your body with? Have you not been drinking enough water? Did you not get enough sleep last night? Or maybe after work you might need to add in some self-care. So, what might be at the root of that, I would say, is the number one to think about. 

And then having these oils that we discussed today on hand for when your brain does get a little bit foggy or when you do need a little more focus. One of my tips that I’m always talking about in classes and things, is to keep your oils within arm's reach. Keep them in areas that again—for instance my office. That's why I keep these oils in here because if I had to depend on myself to go in say my kitchen to get this blend every morning then I might not do it, right? I might not want to take the time. So, keep everything within arm's reach and you will find that these are so supportive to your brain health and your focus. 

Thank you so much for allowing me to spend a little bit of time with you today and I hope that this has left you with some ideas on tools that you can use to support your brain health and combat that brain fog.

doTERRA: Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you liked what you heard today, check back next Tuesday when Lauren Busch joins us to talk about using essential oils during pregnancy. Also, if you want to try any of the products you learned about go to doterra.com or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today.