THE SMELL of baby powder. The sea breeze. We all have a cache of fragrant memories stored in our brains, and just a whiff of a special scent can evoke a happy, magical moment.
Neuroscientists are learning that the human sense of smell, while pitiful compared with that of the average hamster, a German shepherd, or our cave-dwelling ancestors, is a powerful asset—10,000 times more precise than our sense of taste, and capable of recognizing thousands of aromas.
Originally designed to alert us to such dangers as smoke, poison and a lurking predator, odor now serves a thoroughly modern utility: Research shows it can lower our stress levels, improve mental and physical performance, ease pain, end insomnia and even help us lose weight.
The process is complex. We have several hundred types of smell receptors, and millions of these cells line our nasal passages.
Once a cell detects a scent, it shoots the information to the olfactory bulb—a pea-size cluster of neurons in the brain.
The signals are sorted and then relayed to the limbic system.
This primitive part of the brain governs many memories and emotions; some of our most basic behaviors; as well as sexual arousal, pleasure, and maybe even addiction.
Because of their close proximity, the neurological controls for these behaviors often become entangled.
That’s why, for instance, during the early stages of attraction, dinner is often a prelude to sex.
Research shows that fragrance has benefits well beyond a simple mood lift. Special aromas can also help you:
Lose weight
In one study, 1,436 overweight people lost an average of 30.5 pounds over 6 months, just by sprinkling intensely-scented crystals on their food (the researchers used flavors such as taco, pizza, and Parmesan cheese). “We’re not sure of the precise mechanism,” says Alan Hirsch, MD, founder of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, which conducted the study. “But clearly, satiating your odor and taste receptors can play a key role in weight loss.”
Try this: Hirsch says you can achieve “smell satiety” simply by making an effort to savor every bite before you put it in your mouth.
Resist a snack attack
A favorite fragrance can help manage cravings. In one study, Hirsch gave overweight people banana, green apple and peppermint to sniff when they felt a craving; they lost more weight than non-sniffers.
Try this: Keep a bottle of a favorite scent handy throughout the day, and try sniffing instead of snacking.
Calm down
In an Austrian study, researchers wafted the smell of oranges before some participants and lavender before others. The two groups felt less anxious, more positive and calmer when compared with participants who were exposed to no fragrance at all.
Try this: Add a few drops of either oil to a room diffuser and use in your office on stressful days.
Learn something new
Next time a presentation or new software program drives you crazy, think of poor Ophelia. After Hamlet made her nuts, she toddled around the castle picking rosemary, muttering, “That’s for remembrance.”
Researchers at the University of Northumbria in the United Kingdom found she was on to something. After exposure to rosemary oil, 48 college students outperformed a control group on memory tests and felt more alert throughout.
Try this: Buy a plant or two for your windowsill, so you can pluck a branch to smell while you’re studying or memorizing something for work.
Manage pain
Looking for ways to use less pain medication, doctors at New York University Medical Center recently exposed patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery to lavender oil (applied to the anesthesiology face masks they wore during surgery). Those patients not only required substantially less morphine (an average of 2.38 mg versus 4.26 mg), but also needed fewer analgesics after the operation. Peppermint helps, too.
After a review of several studies, a Wheeling Jesuit University researcher has discovered that it can ease headache pain, and German headache researchers report that the brisk smell is as effective as acetaminophen.
Try this: Next time you have a headache, inhale the scent from a handkerchief sprinkled with a few drops of lavender or peppermint.
Soothe menstrual cramps
A 2006 study in Korea divided women with intense menstrual cramps into three groups.
One group received a daily 15-minute abdominal massage with essential oils for 1 week before their periods; another group got the same massages without fragrance; and the last group received no therapy. Those in the aromatherapy group reported that their discomfort decreased by half.
Try this: Add 2 drops of lavender oil, 1 drop of clary sage oil, and 1 drop of rose oil to an almond oil base and massage into your abdomen once a day for a week before your period.
Crank up your workout
According to a study from Wheeling Jesuit University, peppermint vapors gave college basketball players more motivation, energy, speed and confidence.
Some athletes use peppermint inhalers and Reebok has even built a peppermint smell into some sports bras.
Try this: When you’re flagging during your power walk, take an invigorating hit of a peppermint-scented cloth.
Rev your libido
Cucumber, licorice, and baby powder have been shown to turn women on, increasing vaginal blood flow by 13 percent. Pumpkin pie and lavender
increase blood flow by 11 percent.
Try this: To cap a romantic dinner, serve pumpkin pie and keep a cucumber-scented sachet next to your pillow.
Sleep more deeply
There’s a reason people have been filling pillows with lavender flowers for centuries:
Though earlier research demonstrated that lavender increases deep slow-wave sleep in men and women, recent studies from England and Korea have shown that the flower also helps people with mild insomnia.
Try this: Spritz your bedpost with lavender essence just before bed.
(prevention.com)