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Just Smelling This Herb for 5 Minutes Daily Can Increase Memory by 75%

Shakespeare was right in saying rosemary can improve your memory.

Researchers have found for the first time that essential oil from the herb when
sniffed in advance enables people to remember to do things.

It could help patients take their medication on time, it is claimed, or even help the forgetful to post a birthday card.

In a series of tests rosemary essential oil from the herb increased the
chances of remembering to do things in the future, by 60-75 per cent
compared with people who had not been exposed to the oil.

Other studies have shown the oil increases alertness and enhances long-term memory.

Rosemary
has been long been linked to memory, with the most famous literary
reference found in Hamlet when Ophelia declares: ‘There’s rosemary,
that’s for remembrance: pray, love, remember.’ It is used in modern-day
herbal medicine as a mild painkiller and for migraines and digestive
problems.

A team of psychologists at Northumbria University, Newcastle, tested the effects of essential oils from rosemary.

Just Smelling This Herb for 5 Minutes Daily Can Increase Memory by 75%

Dr
Mark Moss, who will present the findings today at the British
Psychology Society conference in Harrogate, said the benefit of aromas
was becoming clear through scientific investigation.

He
said ‘We wanted to build on our previous research that indicated
rosemary aroma improved long-term memory and mental arithmetic.

‘In
this study we focused on prospective memory, which involves the ability
to remember events that will occur in the future and to remember to
complete tasks at particular times. This is critical for everyday
functioning, for example when someone needs to remember to post a
birthday card or to take medication at a particular time.’

Rosemary
essential oil was diffused in to a testing room by placing four drops
on an aroma stream fan diffuser and switching this on five minutes
before people entered the room.

Altogether 66 people
took part in the study and were randomly allocated to either the
rosemary-scented room or another room with no scent.

In each room participants completed a test designed to assess their prospective memory functions.

William Shakespeare
Herb lore: William Shakespeare referred to rosemary’s power to enhance the memory in Ophelia¿s line in Hamlet

This
included tasks such as hiding objects and asking participants to find
them at the end of the test and instructing them to pass a specified
object to the researcher at a particular time.

All the tasks had to be done with no prompting but if the task was not performed then different degrees of prompting were used.

The more prompting that was used the lower the score.

The volunteers, all healthy adults, also completed questionnaires assessing their mood.

Blood
was taken from volunteers and analysed to see if performance levels and
changes in mood following exposure to the rosemary aroma were related
to concentrations of a compound known as 1,8-cineole present in the
blood.

The compound is also found in the essential
oil of rosemary and has previously been shown to act on the biochemical
systems that underpin memory.

The results showed that
participants in the rosemary-scented room performed better on the
prospective memory tasks than the participants in the room with no
scent.

This was the case for remembering events, remembering to complete tasks at particular times, and the speed of recall.

The
results from the blood analysis found that significantly greater
amounts of 1,8-cineole were present in the plasma of those in the
rosemary scented room, suggesting that sniffing the aroma led to higher
concentrations.

Rosemary is also used as a painkiller and for migraines and digestion
Power of herbs: Rosemary is also used as a painkiller and for migraines and digestion

Previous research suggests volatile molecules from essential oils can be absorbed into the bloodstream through the nose.

The chemicals also stimulate the olfactory nerve in the nose directly, which could have effects on brain functioning.

Researcher
Jemma McCready said ‘The difference between the two groups was 60-75
per cent, for example one group would remember to do seven things
compared with four tasks completed by those who did not smell the oil,
and they were quicker.

‘We deliberately set them a
lot of tasks, so it’s possible that people who multi-task could function
better after sniffing rosemary oil.’ Miss McCready said ‘There was no
link between the participants’ mood and memory. This suggests
performance is not influenced as a consequence of changes in alertness
or arousal.

‘These findings may have implications for treating individuals with memory impairments.

‘It
supports our previous research indicating that the aroma of rosemary
essential oil can enhance cognitive functioning in healthy adults, here
extending to the ability to remember events and to complete tasks in the
future.

‘Remembering when and where to go and for
what reasons underpins everything we do, and we all suffer minor
failings that can be frustrating and sometimes dangerous. ‘Further
research is needed to investigate if this treatment is useful for older
adults who have experienced memory decline’ she added.