Is Rosemary the Key to Memorizing?

The next time you need to remember something, smell some rosemary.

What did he find?  Students working in a room in which they can smell rosemary as an essential oil earn between five and seven percent better results on memory tests than those who don’t.

Dr. Moss conducted a series of memory tests on 40 students, ages 10 and 11.  The students didn’t know that they were taking memory tests related to scent.  One group of students sat in a room with the smell of rosemary. Another group sat in a room without the scent of rosemary.  Those that smelled the rosemary did between five and seven percent better.

Dr. Moss says that humans’ highly selective sense of smell can affect neural reactions.  Smell can affect neurotransmitters associated with scent. In an article on the BBC, he said, “It could be that aromas affect electrical activity in the brain or that pharmacologically active compounds can be absorbed when adults are exposed.”

How do they plan to use the results of their study? To help lower-performing students.

In a press release on Science Daily, Dr. Moss said, “We do know that poor working memory is related to poor academic performance and these findings offer a possible cost-effective and simple intervention to improve academic performance in children. The time is ripe for large-scale trials of aroma application in education settings." 

Source: https://www.healthcarestudies.com/news/Is-Rosemary-the-Key-to-Memorizing-1633/