If you earn your living as a factory worker or long-haul truck driver, you probably don’t have a lot of time to think about aromatherapy. But maybe you should. Here’s why:
First: Brain scans show that if you’re doing something monotonous or repetitive, smelling peppermint oil relieves fatigue. It also increases activity in the parts of the brain responsible for alertness and attention.
Another reason to check out aromatherapy: It’s a quick way to chill out. In one study, emergency room nurses reported a significant drop in their stress levels after being exposed to certain aromas. The three most effective scents were lime, lavender and rose oils. And a study in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology found that patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder saw a decrease in their symptoms after sniffing chamomile extract. That’s because all those aromas – lime, rose, lavender, and chamomile – cause our brain to produce delta and theta waves which help promote calmness and relaxation.
Finally: The right smells make us smarter. Several studies have shown that the scent of lemons can increase student test scores by as much as 50-percent. But your best bet for sniffing out higher grades may be to use the same scent when taking a test as the one you used while you studied. That’s because scents are strongly linked to stored memories, and the scent you used to help store the memory will also help you retrieve it.