Reduce Stress With Vanilla (Recipe Included!)
Reduce Stress With Vanilla (Recipe Included!)
The past few days at work, I’ve been extremely anxious.
I’m not exactly sure what’s causing it…stress, lack of sleep, too much caffeine, worries…but it’s horrible to deal with. It’s hard to explain the feeling too. If you experience anxiety, you’ll know what I’m talking about – and it makes getting work done anything but easy. It’s frustrating, especially when it comes out of the blue. Luckily, I found out recently that one of my favorite scents and flavors can help ease anxiety, and calm our state of being: Vanilla.
The taste is sweet, and the smell is soft, warm, and inviting. Vanilla is a scent that is reminiscent of home, and a taste that is happy – it actually has been proven to relieve anxiety, and reduce stress that gets in the way of our everyday life.
I’ve been making a point to surround myself with vanilla as much as possible. If I’ve had a really stressful day, my favorite thing to do when I get home is light a bunch of vanilla candles in my room. Dimming the lights and reading a good book while the aromas waft about helps me to relax, and get my head back to a better place. If you’ve been feeling anxious, try this aromatherapy technique to send some clarity to your mind.
I also like to have a good vanilla perfume in my collection at all times. I spray it on in the morning, and every now and then throughout the day, I’ll catch a whiff of it. I normally buy a roll on perfume if I only want to apply a little bit, and those seem to be more subtle than sprays from a bottle. I like to dab a little on my wrist, then put it up to my nose to take in the scent, followed by 5 deep breaths. I do this at my desk if I’ve been staring at my computer for too long and need a little break. I recommend Lavanila in Pure Vanilla from Sephora!
Another thing I like to do is to sip on some water that has been infused with vanilla, honey, and orange. Ingesting vanilla will have the same calming effects that the scent has.
To make, you need:
3 vanilla beans
1 1/2 cups local honey
3 cups Water
Oranges
Club Soda
Split the vanilla beans in half, and toss those in a sauce pan with 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups honey. Bring the mixture to a boil, then strain out the vanilla beans. Once cool, fill a glass half way with the infused water and add ice and 2 orange slices. Top off with some soda water, then garnish with another orange slice and a sliver of a vanilla bean.
I love to drink this in the morning to have a sweet and calming start to my day.
What other ways do you like to use vanilla?
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