Why lavender candles will turn you into a mummy!

Figuratively speaking, burning a lavender candle might just turn you into a mummy. If you're like nearly every other human in today's busy society, by Wednesday you are barely holding your eyes open counting down the days to the weekend. Sleep and more sleep is on the horizon and lazy weekends are arguably the best kind. Now, maybe lavender won't turn you into a real mummy or land you a starring role in the new "Mummy" film with Tom Cruise...but it may very well kickstart your sleep cycle to get that mummy-like sleep. Research shows that the scent of lavender eases anxiety and insomnia and can even help you fall asleep faster. One particular study by Britain's University of Southampton found that participants felt their quality of sleep increased by roughly 20% when sleeping in a room with lavender oil diffused into the air. Simply put, when we think of lavender, we think of candles, perfume, lotion and so on...but there are many interesting uses for this fine herb dating all the way back to 10,000 BCE. Lavandula is the scientific name and it also happens to be part of the mint family. Who knew?