Question: I’m looking for ways to feel and sleep better. Could essential oils help? — Jenna R., Freehold, N. J.

Answer: That’s a good question with a complicated answer, since the benefits and debits of essential oils depend on what you want to use them for, which ones you use and how you use them. Basically, essential oils are extracts that concentrate some of the phytochemicals in a given plant. For example, it takes 250 pounds of lavender to create 1 pound of lavender essential oil. And about 5,000 pounds of rose petals are needed to make a pound of rose essential oil.

We know that our sense of smell is a powerful tool that is linked to our fight or flight reactions (that’s a dangerous smell, run!) and our sense of pleasure, even desire. That’s why aromatherapy, using lemon or lavender oil, for example, is recommended for destressing and to reduce anxiety and depression.

But, cautions the Cleveland Clinic’s integrative medicine specialist Dr. Yufang Lin, the problem arises in how people use them

Lavender, for example, may be gentle and have many benefits, but there have also been studies that show some preparations and uses of lavender oil (and tea tree oil) are hormone disruptors. And lemon oil is safe — except one study found that when used topically it increases the risk of sunburn.

Topical application of many oils comes with risks. In addition, very few essential oils should be ingested. “Since they’re so strong, they may be harmful,” advises Dr. Lin.

I believe using essential oils only for aromatherapy is the correct way to benefit from them. That is why I helped found Ascents clinical aromatherapy. That company’s research shows that the appropriate aromatherapy, used correctly, can provide benefits as wide ranging as decreased post-operative pain and decreased anxiety in infants undergoing MRIs. To discover the best aromatherapy choices, check out the Cleveland Clinic’s oil by oil review of the pros and cons at https://health.clevelandclinic.org; search for “essential oils.”