NEW ARTICLES EVERY MONTH
July 2007
HMMM - THAT SMELLS GOOD!
HMMM – THAT DOES SMELL GOOD!
Has this ever happened to you? You go to the bakery and the aroma of freshly baked bread and delicious cakes wafts seductively towards you. All at once you have this sense of well-being and calm, and the bad mood you were perhaps in just washes away. Aromas and fragrances influence mood and can even awaken certain associations within us. For example, the scent of cinnamon reminds us of Christmas, and a loved one’s perfume may take us back to a beautiful romantic evening. Smells are particular sensory stimuli that are processed in the limbic area of our brain and evoke certain reactions. It makes sense to use aromas to positively influence a mood or atmosphere.
BERGAMONT AND OHTERS
Stimulating or calming? Here are a few tips to make selecting and using essential oils easier. People who hate the morning have an easier time getting out of bed if they smell fresh rosemary. The spicy aroma strengthens the spirit and increases one’s organisational ability. Not only can vanilla put you in a good mood, but so can citrus fruits. Bergamot, for example, is refreshing; it lightens a room’s ambiance and even stimulates the appetite. Grapefruit also improves your mood and has a euphoric effect. Lemon fragrance increases one’s ability to concentrate as well as one’s intellectual capacity. In a Japanese company, the rate of typing mistakes went down 54 percent when the room was scented with lemon oil. The fragrance of roses also creates a good mood and, on top of that, fights off worry and impatience. If you need to calm down to recharge your batteries, try lavender, jasmine and cypress fragrances.
AROMATHERAPY
The positive effect of aromas on the human body has been well known for hundreds of years. In the Middle Ages, knights would bathe in water scented with thyme so they’d fight more courageously in battle. Nowadays, people rely on professional aromatherapy — a treatment doctors have recognised for years — to help deal with everyday problems. With the help of aromatherapy, both emotional as well as physical complaints can be brought under control, including anything from inner unease to headaches. Those interested in aromatherapy for healing purposes should buy a book on the topic for more detailed information, for example, “Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit: Restoring Emotional and Mental Balance with Essential Oils”, by Gabriel Mojay. It might also be a good idea to consult a doctor because some essential oils should only be enjoyed with great care.
