ADHD and ESSENTIAL OILS

Here is a study concerning Vetiver EO and ADHD.

I have summarized for you below, a paper written by Dr. Terry S. Friedmann, M.D., concerning a study he performed using essential oils as a treatment for ADHD in children.

This study by Dr. Friedmann was performed for a two-year period (1999-2001).

“My study examined the effectiveness of essential oils in the treatment of ADHD-diagnosed children from the ages of six to fourteen years. In the study, there were sixteen controls who received no treatment and eighteen subjects who were treated by one of three essential oils. None of them were being treated with medication at the time nor to my knowledge had any of them even taken medication specifically for this disorder. All subjects had been diagnosed with ADHD.

While brain waves from children without ADHD are high in amounts of beta waves and low in the amounts of theta waves during waking hours, the reverse was true in children diagnosed with ADHD. In other words, ADHD children had higher amounts of theta waves as compared to beta waves.

Three essential oils were used in the study: Vetiver, Cedarwood, and Lavender, along with a control group with no treatment. The essential oil subjects were asked to inhale the oil three times a day, using a technique of holding the open bottle next to the nostrils and taking three deep inhalations. The essential oil was inhaled daily for a period of thirty days. At the end of thirty days, the subjects were asked to return to the clinic where they retested on the real-time EEG. The beta/theta ratios were again recorded.

Treatment outcome results reveal that the essential oil of Vetiver improves the brain activity and reduces the symptoms in ADHD diagnosed subjects. Similar results were found with the essential oil Cedarwood, although not statistically significant. The Lavender group showed no apparent improvement after the treatment program. The Control Group showed significantly less improvement.

The analyses revealed a significant improvement in the pre- and post-treatment Vetiver essential oil group. The improvement was 32% with regards to the beta/theta ratio. T.O.V.A. (Test Of Variables of Attention) pre- and post-testing results revealed an overall improvement, indicating a reduction of the symptoms of ADHD with the subjects who inhaled Vetiver.

When the essential oil is inhaled, the micro droplets are carried to the limbic system of the brain, which is the processing center in the brain for reason, emotion and smell, and to the hypothalamus, which is the hormone command center. The essential micro droplets are also carried to the lungs where they enter the circulatory system.

 I received several letters from parents of the ADHD children stating that their behavior at home had improved for the better after using Vetiver Essential Oil. In several cases, they also stated that school educators informed them that their performance was observed to improve in the classroom. The report cards in some of the subjects had reflected this improvement as well. Since these results were not included in the design of the study, they will not be included here, but is only mentioned as an unexpected improvement in the treated ADHD diagnosed children. In summary, based on this study, I would not hesitate to recommend the use of the essential oil Vetiver in the treatment of children diagnosed as having ADHD.”

This article was summarized by Beth Blake.
You can get Vetiver Essential Oil here:  mydoterra.com/bethblake