Friday, October 6, 2006

Scents and Sensibility

Fri Oct 06 19:59:37 EDT 2006
Weird but true (and worth a try!). Thanks to reader Mary E. for the
info.:

Smell lemon, make fewer mistakes: In one Japanese study, workers who
sniffed lemons made 50 fewer typing errors than a control group.


Sniff chocolate, supersize your memory: Subjects who memorized words
in a room scented with chocolate recalled 21% more than those who
memorized them in a scentless room. Scientists think the smell
stimulates the brain's limbic system, which is responsible for memory.

Better than a headache: The scent of cherries ruins the mood. Good &
Plenty reverses it.

Pop some corn, lose weight: Inhaling the scent of buttered popcorn
while doing light activities helped subjects burn 22% more calories!
Scientists say the scent triggers endorphins which speed metabolism.

To relax, sniff vanilla: In a hospital study, patients undergoing an
MRI were 63% less claustrophobic after exposure to the scent of vanilla.

Pep up with mint: Exercisers exposed to the scent of peppermint worked
out more vigorously and felt more alert than a control group.

--adapted from Women's Word

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