Using Essential Oils to Help you Study and Test
Essential Oils. They are all the rage. How can you, as a nurse, or a nurse student, incorporate using essential oils to help you study and test? And is there any “real” support for using them? The answers are: “Simply” and “Yes!”
Essential Oils and Nurses: Test Taking
So, let’s just pause for a minute and say that testing is a way of life for nursing students. All through school you test. At the end of school, you take the big test — the boards. The test of all test. The big one. The one test that determines if you get your license or not, the test that for many, leads to a lot of anxiety.
What can you do to prepare yourself for the boards? If it is LPN, RN, APRN, post graduate, all.the.boards. How do you prepare?
- Study
- Study some more
- Teach and Study
- Find you a study group and study
- Study to understand the underlying concepts and effects
- Study
- Be confident in the things you have studied
- Rest
- Test
Got it. Ok. How do you enhance study?
Well, you have options. And there’s been actual investigation into some of these options.
Essential oils have been found to help reduce test anxiety for graduate nursing students as evidenced by their scores on anxiety rating scales, physical evidence such as lowered heart rates and subjective data such as personal reflections of anxiety and stress levels.
Using Essential Oils has been found to be beneficial in nursing practice as well to enhance feelings of well being, job satisfaction and decrease stress. And, while research is still needed to be done, the great thing about science is it is ever evolving and we are constantly learning, which is a great thing!
More research needs to be done, but in the past few years, the usefulness and ability of Essential Oils to work on our natural pathways is becoming more understood. There can be side effects to any supplement – natural or other. It is important to always talk with your health care provider about what is right for you. See more information here.
Using Essential Oils to Help Study and Test
When studying in school, it is important to help yourself relax and find a place of calm.
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- You retain information better
- You are able to think more clearly
- Your mind is better able to receive and process all the information you are feeding it
When using Essential Oils, it is important to also use them when you are studying, to help set the stage for their comforting and boosting effects later on.
Have you heard the advice to suck on a peppermint candy while you study and also use one when you test? There’s a reason for that. The scent, taste, and activity (of studying and being calm) are interconnected. And it just so happens that peppermint is a beneficial Essential Oil that has been shown to enhance alertness and boost memory function. Which is handy to have happen when studying for nursing school tests, taking school tests or taking boards. It is also helpful to relax and be in a less anxious state of mind.
Depression, anxiety and stress can play a role in reducing your ability to function. Recent research in animals demonstrates ability of inhaled essential oils to play a role in helping reduce these symptoms.
Bottom Line: Evidence is growing. We are learning more. If you want to use essential oils, they may help. Best advice: Follow guidelines for use and use them while you are studying, and again at the test time. Don’t wait until the test to apply a few drops and think that will save your bacon and make you pass boards. Nope. Not going to happen. Consistency is key.
Boards: RN, APRN and Post Grad
Boards are an important measure of your overall ability to retain and apply the knowledge you gained through your years (and years, and years…) of studying. They are necessary. But goodness… they can cause some anxiety!
Probably the hardest board I have ever taken was my PMHC boards. I was in there for four hours. I passed the first time (yeah!) but could not even remember what my name was when I first walked into the testing room. Can you relate?
While studying for the boards, I used several different study aids (including two of my favorite resources along with the handout/notes from classes). Also while I studied I used Essential Oils. My top two choices: Peppermint and Valor. And because I used them every time I studied, I also used them before I tested in my program and before I went in to take boards. I would not have passed if all I did was inhale these aromas deeply and appreciate their effects. However, because I put these essential oils on my clothes, as my anxiety was mounting, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and inhaled the oils.
- And I began to calm
- I remembered my name
- My brain started to fire and I was able to
- Go through each board question
- Assess what was being asked
- Choose the most appropriate “right” answer
- Breathe
- Complete the test
- Pass boards the first time
There is a lot of advice out there on how to prepare and pass boards. Most of them have some things in common. These include, prepare, take deep calming breaths, read the question carefully and choose the best right answer. These are all great points. But, there is another way to help support your success in studying, test taking and passing boards: Essential Oils.
Prepare, use essential oils to help prepare, see them as a tool to help you reduce anxiety and enhance memory and alertness. Add to your nurse life balance by pulling in these resources that aid your sense of calm, memory, and function. Choose peace and joy in the journey – no matter where you are in your nurse life. Look to your own wellness – emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually. Invest in you. Invest in your nurse life balance: Professionally and Personally. This is your book. Write this chapter in a way you can learn from, grow from, and transition to a place of better understanding.
www. mynurselifebalance.com Using Essential Oils to Help You Study and Test
If you would like more information on how I use Essential Oils please read here.
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