Imagine a peaceful night at home. Is it a home-cooked meal or a movie marathon? A Netflix marathon? A warm bath with wine and bubbles? No matter what your ideal self-care evening-in may look like, we are 100 percent certain that you will be lighting a candle (or five) to set the tone for a relaxing and chilled evening.
Candles have been used for centuries in sacred ceremonies to create a tranquil atmosphere. Although candles can be calming and peaceful due to their low light levels and pleasant aromas, they can also help improve your mental health and well-being.
Before you light the candle, let’s get to the bottom of why you should spend the hard-earned cash to buy more. We recommend starting with the new Aussie Candle Supplies. We’ll be there to thank you later.
Focus May Increase
You don’t need a reason to put a few candles on your desk as decoration. Instead, candles can help increase productivity and focus. Apartment Therapy says that certain scents can stimulate your mind. The aromas of cinnamon, mint, orange, rosemary, and clove can increase your senses. They also give you the boost you need to keep up with your work and your phone.
Help Remember Positive Memories
You might have a reason to light a candle and snuggle on the couch when feeling down. Emotions and memories can be easily triggered by certain smells. If they are associated with a specific time in your life, it may bring you happiness. Psychology today has many behavioral studies that show that scents can trigger vivid emotional memories. They can also instantly lift moods if they are associated with a particular time in your life. Lighting a candle that brings back memories of happier times can help you feel better, regardless of whether you are experiencing sadness, grief, or just a plain bad mood.
Can Enhance Your Mood
Scents have been shown to help increase mood and memory by helping you to recall positive memories. ELLE Decoration a Japanese study on 12 depressed people found that the scent of lemon had a positive effect on their moods, their immunity function, and hormone levels. If you feel down or depressed and need to lift your mood immediately, you can light a candle with rosemary or citrus scents and meditate in the dark. This will allow you to concentrate on the stimulating scent while clearing your mind.
Allows You to Set a Morning or Nightly Ritual
For centuries, candles have been used in certain rituals, religious or otherwise. To help get your mind in the right place, candles are now commonly used to set the mood at specific times throughout the day. While you can light candles at any hour of the day, it is best to use them during certain times (e.g. to enhance your meditative thoughts, you can use them for bath time, meditations, prayer, and yoga. You can set the tone for your day by creating rituals in the comfort of your home. Pro tip: Light a few candles
While you do your nightly skin-care routine, or when you have your morning coffee. You can focus more on your time with yourself and be mindful of your phone during these moments.
Can Provide More Restful Sleep
We’ve already mentioned that using electronics before bed can cause disruptions in your sleep hygiene. This could lead to long-term health problems as you don’t get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep. Blue light from screens can cause anxiety and fatigue, as well as a decrease in magnesium levels.
You can combat this by turning off your lights earlier in the night and living by candlelight. This will help you to feel calmer and more at ease and also reset your natural sleep rhythms. It’s easier for you to listen to your body, and to know when it’s time to go to bed. Living by candlelight in the evenings can help you be more mindful of your thoughts and actions, and give you a better night’s rest. This will also save you some cheddar on your monthly electric bill.
Known For Alleviating Stress
It is easy to see that most people include candles in their self-care rituals. They do this to reduce stress and to bring calmness into the environment. Aromatherapy uses scented candles to reduce anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and some side effects of chemotherapy like nausea or pain. If life is overwhelming and you don’t have the time or energy to do anything but shut down your computer, light a candle containing notes of lavender, chamomile, and frankincense, and ask the gods to help you relax so that you can get on with your day.
