The scent in your home can greatly affect your mood. If it smells pleasing when you walk in the door, you are more likely to be happy. Of course, the opposite is usually true as well. Walking into a place with an unpleasant smell will make you feel uncomfortable and can even put you in a bad mood.
Your sense of smell can go much deeper than that, however. The olfactory bulb in the brain is most closely connected to memory. It is also considered to be part of your “emotional brain.” That’s why, when confronted with certain smells, you may quickly conjure up memories of events, places and even people in your past. Worthy of note as well is the fact that the human nose has up to six million cells that can detect smells. Smell is also the very first sense that babies develop.
Scents To Reduce Stress
Certain aromas have been found to create a muscle-relaxing effect, which can reduce stress in some people. Multiple studies have shown that the stress response, particularly in the shoulder region, was greatly reduced when test participants were presented with certain pleasant fragrances. Preliminary research has also shown that aromatherapy can actually alter brain waves, and consequently, behavior. Aromatherapy reduces the perception of stress, which in turn increases contentment and decreases the stress hormone, cortisol.
Natural Scents Found in Your Home
There are many products you may already have in your home that can offer a pleasant and natural scent to any room.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – Spray equal parts vinegar and water on your air conditioning unit to give your home a fresh smell.
- Citrus – Fresh cut lemons and oranges can soak up unpleasant odors and emit a lovely fragrance.
- Herbs – Rosemary, basil and spearmint are especially effective at making your home smell good. They can also increase feelings of contentment. Lavender has been known to increase cognitive performance and raise mood in some people.
- Cinnamon – This spice, along with cloves, can be placed around the kitchen or put into a pan with water and allowed to simmer slowly.
- Flowers – Cut flowers, such as roses and jasmine, can brighten up any room with their beauty and enticing smell.
Therapeutic Scents To Help Mood
Sprays and mists are a quick and easy way to add a pleasant aroma to your house. They come in a variety of fragrances and container sizes to meet your needs.
Essential oils are derived from plants through a very careful process of either cold pressing or steam distillation. These oils and oil-infused products are created to give the highest levels of aromatic potency available. You can purchase oils in many different forms, including:
- Small, one-time use bottles provide an authentic aromatherapy scent to invigorate the senses. Each scent has its own unique benefits.
- Essential oil blends can be used in diffusers and even in your daily skincare routine.
- Massage oils offer quite a few benefits to your skin. They can aid in making the skin more smooth and supple. These oils can also be very relaxing.
- Roll-ons can be stowed in a purse or backpack so that you can apply them directly to your wrist to calm you during a busy workday or help you relax before bedtime.
Scented candles come in many different shapes and sizes to give your home a pleasant smell and feel. Even flameless candles can offer pleasant scents wherever they are used.
In these uncertain times, people can use all the help they can get to feel calm, happy and relaxed. Pleasant aromas can be an easy addition to your daily regimen to help improve your mood and increase your cognitive performance.
