4 Benefits of Burning a Candle

4 Benefits of Burning a Candle

At do good adventures, we pride ourselves on thoughtfully curating our candles to elevate your every day.  But what, exactly, does this mean? 

While candles are beautiful decor items in our homes, they do more than make a room look and smell pretty.  There are also health benefits connected to burning a candle.

Mood and Emotions

Many scents are connected to improving mood (ie. increasing happiness while decreasing depression and anxiety).  Some scents are connected to lowering stress levels by lowering cortisol levels while other scents increase levels of dopamine and serotonin - which make us feel happier and more positive.  Some classic scents to try are lavender and peppermint.

Ritual and Routine

Lighting a candle is often the beginning of a routine or ritual.  Many of these rituals are beneficial for self-care and improving self-esteem.  Having a candle in a specific location that you light at a set time starts the beginning of a habit such as journaling, praying, reading, or meditating.  A person begins to look forward to setting the scene (by lighting a candle) to follow through with a habit they are trying to establish.  Establishing these habits helps a person feel more in control of their life and better about themselves.

Creates Ambiance

While we have already stated candles are pretty and smell good, we cannot diminish the affect they can have by creating a relaxing ambiance in a home.  Dimming the lights, turning off electronics, and lighting a candle while you get ready for bed will create a relaxing atmosphere that helps you to fall asleep and stay asleep.  Another example is dimming lights and lighting a candle before sitting down to a dinner or date.  The beautiful glow of the candle flickering sets a mood and grounds the individuals to the occasion.  They help to be present in the moment.

Enhances/Stimulates Memory

It has been scientifically proven that scents are connected to specific memories.  To get technical, scents are handled by the olfactory bulb.  This is located in the front of the brain and sends signals to the limbic system.  Parts of this system, the amygdala and hippocampus, connect memory and emotion.  Scent, memory, and emotion and greatly connected and intertwined.

I would also like to add that gifting candles can help us with our relationships with friends and loved ones.  The scents or candle itself may be connected to a person or an event.  Each time a person lights that candle, they think of that person or that experience.

There are so many reasons and places to light candles.  But they are more than just decoration.  

Why do you love candles?

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