Essential Oils May Aid Memory Recall, Concentration, & Alertness

One whiff of a nostalgic aroma can evoke the memory of a day, person, or event. For me, the smell of suntan lotion immediately conjures up sunny summer days from childhood. Aroma-memory associations tend to be powerful and enduring, but can a scent actually improve one’s ability to recall information?

One study compared participants’ performance on a cognitive assessment battery of tests while the subjects were exposed to diffused a “relaxing” essential oil, lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), a “stimulating” essential oil, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), or no odor (1). Those in the lavender group showed a decrease in memory performance. The subjects who were exposed to rosemary showed enhanced memory performance as compared to the control group. Interestingly, both the lavender and rosemary groups experienced an impairment in the speed of memory recall.

Sage (Salvia lavandulaefolia), traditionally known to help memory and brain function, was given to test subjects to take internally in the form of essential oil-filled capsules (2). The young adults participating in this study were given either sage essential oil capsules or placebo capsules. On word-recall tests, the participants who had received the sage capsules performed significantly better.