How I Do a Digital Detox with Essential Oils

When screens start to overload me, it's not about discipline. It's my body staying on high alert: shallow breaths, eyes locked in, mind jumping around, and my hand re-checking on its own. Instead of pushing through, I create a small refuge for myself. A gentle pause where I can unwind: slow breathing, the right scent, and a gesture I can do instantly.

Petitgrain helps me come down a notch after the stream of notifications. Hinoki brings an inner forest bath, a clean calm where focus comes back without tension. Frankincense serrata clears the mental fog when my head feels full of open tabs. Ravintsara brings functional clarity without overstimulating. And amyris becomes my evening landing zone; I step away from the screen and find my body again.

Nothing complicated: one minute of inhalation, ten to fifteen minutes of diffusion, or a very diluted trace (1–2%) on the sternum or wrists right before a screen-free moment. The alertness drops, my mood lifts, and my gaze finally lets go.

Then there is enough space for a simple off-screen action: a two-minute walk, a glass of water, opening one single document. And the day becomes breathable again.

1- Petitgrain Bigarade (Citrus aurantium var. amara, leaves)

Key molecules: Linalyl acetate, Linalool, α-Terpineol
Overall effect: Balancing and soothing; eases nervous tension, supports emotional reset, and brings a clear, calm steadiness when the mind feels scattered or overstimulated.

When I step out of a feed (reels, news, emails), my system is still running too high. Petitgrain helps me downshift cleanly. Its green, slightly woody note calms the autonomic nervous system, my shoulders soften, and my breathing finds a rhythm I can actually sustain.

I use it right after I put my phone down: 60 to 90 seconds of inhalation, then I follow with a tiny off screen action, like opening the window, drinking a glass of water, or putting two things away.

In diffusion, ten minutes helps me stop the zapping and come back to a single task. On the skin, I keep it light, around 1 to 2 percent on the sternum or wrists.

My ritual is simple: I close the app, inhale petitgrain for one minute, then do one non digital action for 90 seconds. The mind lets go, and the rest of the day becomes manageable.

2- Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa)

Key molecules: α-Pinene, δ-Cadinene, γ-Terpinene
Overall effect: Grounding and serene; promotes calm breathing, eases inner tension, and creates a quiet, meditative atmosphere reminiscent of tranquil forest air.

After too many tabs, my head feels flat, like a dull buzzing in the background. Hinoki opens up the space in a different way. Light woods, fresh resin, it brings a clear kind of calm: less mental noise, more depth of field.

I use it as a bridge between two work blocks: 60 to 90 seconds of inhalation, then I choose one single thing to do. In diffusion, ten minutes are enough to change the room. It stays discreet, clean, easy to breathe.

On the skin, I go for a 1 to 2 percent dilution on the sternum or the back of the neck when I need a quiet thread that lasts.

My gesture is simple: I inhale hinoki, sit up straight, and write my next action in seven words or less. Focus comes back without tension.

3- Frankincense Serrata (Boswellia serrata)

Key molecules: α-Pinene, Limonene, Myrcene
Overall effect: Grounding and clarifying; steadies the breath, quiets mental noise, and supports a calm, centered state ideal for reflection and emotional balance.

Too much screen time creates a particular kind of haze: thoughts scatter, breathing stays high in the chest, and everything feels urgent.

Frankincense serrata works like an inner cleanse. Its fresh, resin-like note puts space back between thoughts and steadies attention. The mind finds a simple thread again, without forcing.

I use it when I step away from a long stretch at the computer, with a head that feels full but not productive. A slow inhalation for 60 to 90 seconds brings clarity, the exhale lengthens, and the scattered feeling starts to fade.

In diffusion, ten minutes are enough to shift state before an important task or a conversation. On the skin, I keep it light, around 1 to 2 percent on the sternum or wrists, especially at the end of the day to release pressure.

My ritual is simple: I inhale frankincense, close my eyes for ten seconds, then choose one single priority. Less noise, more direction.

4- Ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora CT cineole)

Key molecules: 1,8-Cineole, α-Terpineol, Sabinene
Overall effect: Clearing and fortifying; opens the breath, supports immune defenses, and brings a calm, refreshed energy when feeling heavy, foggy, or run down.

People often know it as an “immune” oil, but for digital detox it has another power: it clears mental fog without revving me up.

When screens leave me in that blurry-tired state (nothing useful comes out anymore, but I keep scrolling anyway), Ravintsara brings me back to the present. I feel clear, available, but not wired.

I mostly use it during the day: 60 to 90 seconds of inhalation to bring back a clean, steady kind of energy, without emotional caffeine. In diffusion, ten minutes are enough to find a “thinking straight” kind of focus again. On the skin, I go with a 1 to 2 percent dilution on the sternum or back of the neck before going back to a simple task.

My gesture is simple: I inhale Ravintsara, then I stand up and walk for 30 to 60 seconds. Brain online, action becomes possible.

5- Amyris (Amyris balsamifera)

Key molecules: Valerianol, Elemol, Eudesmol
Overall effect: Grounding and gently calming; helps release restlessness, supports quiet focus, and brings a soft, woody tranquility ideal for unwinding or settling an overactive mind.

When my day ends in front of a screen, Amyris becomes my way down. It is not a sleep aid, but a quiet, grounded wood-amber note that slows things just enough so I can feel my body again. My mind settles, my shoulders drop, and the transition into evening feels easier.

I use it when I shut the laptop but my thoughts keep spinning. One minute of inhalation is usually enough to let go. In diffusion, ten minutes create a calm atmosphere, perfect before a phone-free evening routine.

On the skin, I use a 1 to 2 percent dilution on sternum, wrists, or ankles. I especially like it paired with petitgrain to bridge home time into night time.

My ritual is simple: I inhale Amyris, dim the lights, and set up one quiet action like making tea, taking a shower, or opening a book. The screen loses its pull and my body comes back into the foreground.

A botanical bath soak for a gentle digital detox

Why I Create Bath Rituals to Unplug From Screens

Screens are everywhere: on the desk, on the table, in the pocket. I’m not against them, they’re part of my life too, but I’ve noticed something: the more time I spend in front of them, the less present I feel. The mind fills with open tabs, time stretches strangely, and attention scatters.

A bath is one of those rare moments where everything can settle. Warm water releases the shoulders, the phone stays outside the room, and the eyes are no longer pulled toward blue light. Sometimes I play very soft music; sometimes nothing at all, just the sound of water, my breath, and the body remembering it exists outside the glow of notifications.

In this space, essential oils become a small Ariadne’s thread leading back to something simpler: the body, the senses, the real world.

The Synergy I Created for Digital Detox

For this blend, I chose a clear, uplifting aromatic profile:

• Litsea cubeba and lemon to lighten the mind and refresh the spirit — like opening an inner window.
• Rosemary to restore order, gather scattered thoughts, and focus again.
• Palmarosa to keep softness within all that freshness and avoid the “sharp punch” effect.
• Juniper for that crisp, airy feeling, like walking somewhere far from any signal.

This blend doesn’t promise to cure digital fatigue, but it changes the atmosphere: your gaze returns to the body, scent takes the place of images, and the nervous system exits “constant stimulation mode” for something much calmer. You feel present again, with one thing at a time: the bath, the moment, yourself.

How I Make These Botanical Bath Soaks

Once again, my intention isn’t mass production. Each botanical bath soak is prepared individually, at the moment of the order. It’s a deliberately slow way of working: weighing, mixing, smelling, adjusting. This will never be a factory, and that’s exactly the point.

I want to stay simple, accessible, human. To offer something real, limited in quantity, but crafted with care and intention. If it helps even one person feel more grounded, set a healthier boundary with their screens, or reconnect with themselves, I’m genuinely grateful. And I love receiving your impressions, stories, and moments from your bath rituals, that exchange is part of the process, a small reconnection in itself.

Neither essential oils nor my bath blends are a remedy for digital fatigue. They won’t replace sleep, breaks, or the boundaries we need to set with our devices.

But they can help create a ritual, a moment when the body softens, the mind clears a little, and you reconnect with your own sensations. That’s often where real change begins: when you feel present enough to close a screen, step outside, or choose yourself again.

This bath soak isn’t a miracle solution, it’s a sensory nudge. A small half-open door back to yourself, away from digital noise, at least for the length of a bath.

If you would like to try it, you can find it here. >>>

Going further

If you want to regain control over your attention (and the compulsive urge to scroll), these two books work very well together:

How to Break Up with Your Phone (Revised Edition) by Catherine Price offers a concrete 30-day program to reshape your relationship with your smartphone: usage audits, cut-off rituals, a “notification diet,” and routines that make real life more attractive than the screen. A great fit if you want a clear, structured, action-oriented detox challenge.

Fragrance & Wellbeing: Plant Aromatics and Their Influence on the Psyche by Jennifer Peace Rhind explores how scent influences mood, attention, memory, and stress. It is useful if you want to integrate small aromatic rituals (short inhalations, targeted diffusion) as “anchors” during your screen-free windows.

These resources are not meant to replace medical advice. They simply offer a practical digital framework and a sensory, olfactory one to help you find focus again and rediscover the pleasure of being off screen.

Conclusion: unplugging gently

I no longer try to “win” against the screen. Instead, I create a way out: a scent, a longer exhale, a simple offline gesture. The brain retunes itself quickly when you give it a small buffer.

One step at a time. That is enough for today.