Menopause can be a rocky transition for many women. As estrogen levels decline, these hormonal shifts can result in several troubling symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, osteoporosis, vaginal dryness, loss of sex drive, weight gain, belly fat, and unhealthy lipid profiles.

If you're new to aromatherapy or think a search for the best essential oil for sleep sounds like a hokey mission your brother's girlfriend is on, think again. There's some solid science connecting smell with sleep.

The Science of Smell

Researchers believe that when an essential oil's molecules attach themselves to the olfactory bulb in the nose, they signal the brain to release neurotransmitters that induce a sense of calm.

When our brains process images, sounds, and textures, information like this travels first to the thalamus, the brain's "switchboard," which sorts sensory data and routes it to the parts of the brain that produce sensory perceptions.

Smells, by contrast, take a circuitous trip to the thalamus, traveling first to the amygdala, the brain's emotion center. In other words, aromatherapy works by stroking your mind's feel-good place.

This is why the whiff of manure can remind you of a trip you took through farm country or the scent of a particular brand of lotion takes you back to your grandma's bathroom. Unlike our other sensory perceptions, the sense of smell can be a form of time travel.

We looked at the recent olfactory data and compiled this list of the best aromatherapy essential oils for a smooth take-off to dreamland. Here they are in order of most to least rigorously studied.

We all want to be healthy, but setting and reaching your wellness goals can be overwhelming. The trick to sticking with a plan is to start small. Instead of aiming for something abstract and hard to visualize like “getting healthy,” break your wellness journey down into measurable and achievable milestones. Here are 8 ways to start.