Seven Ways Scent Can Enhance Your Healthby Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger 24 May 2008 05:03 PM Your nose is as much as ten thousand times sharper than your taste buds. That can make your sniffer a pretty powerful tool for your health! Here are some ways you can use aromatherapy to boost your health.
- Food scents can actually help you lose weight! A study from the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago found that sniffing food scents like apple, banana, and peppermint could help stave off cravings. Try keeping your favorite food scent handy and see if you a whiff of something delicious can keep your stomach happy.
- Use rosemary to boost brainpower. There's an old saying that rosemary is for remembrance, and it's true! A study from the University of Northumbria in the United Kingdom found that college students who were exposed to the scent of rosemary did better on memory tests and felt more alert than those who had no scent at all.
- Boost your energy levels with peppermint. Some athletes find that the scent of peppermint helps boost energy, speed, motivation, and confidence!
- Get a better night's sleep with lavender. Studies have shown that the scent of lavender can increase deep sleep in both men and women. Lavender can also help relieve mild insomnia, according to new research from England and Korea. A lavender scented spray on your pillow can help you get a better night's sleep.
- Ease menstrual cramps with your favorite scents. A Korean study found that women who suffered from intense cramps benefited from aromatherapy massage -- discomfort decreased by half as compared to those who got massages without any scents used.
- Keep your cool. An Austrian study tested the scents of orange and lavender on people in anxiety-inducing situations. People who were exposed to the scents felt calmer and more positive than those who had no aromatherapy at all.
- Manage pain. A study from the New York University Medical Center included lavender oil with the anesthetic face masks patients wore during laparoscopic surgery. Patients who had the scented masks needed fewer painkillers after the surgery than those who had no scent at all. Research from Germany suggests that peppermint can be effective against headaches. Try either scent the next time a headache hits you.
aromatherapy, memory, scent, smell, weight loss
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