Scents For Productivity & Focus
Have you ever walked past a certain aroma and instantly experienced a flashback to your childhood? This happens because smells that enter your body have a direct link to your memory center. Better yet, have you experienced where certain scents have a calming effect? Some scents can even help you focus and in turn increases productivity. There are scores of studies that show scents affect things like memory, concentration, sustained attention and cognitive function to improve productivity.
When you hear, touch or taste something, that information passes through the thalamus, the part of the brain that relays sensory information, before reaching its correlated part of the brain. As such, you’re aware of the sense before you’re aware of the memory or emotion it corresponds to.
Smells, however, bypass the thalamus and head straight to the olfactory bulb, which is directly connected to the hippocampus (which is responsible for your memory) and the amygdala (where you process your emotions). Because odors are first routed through these regions before reaching the thalamus, they’re more closely linked to memory. This explains why aromatherapy can have a profound effect on our emotional, physical and mental state.
Here are 5 Scents That Improve Focus and Productivity:
Lemon - The tangy scent of lemon arouses the senses and improves cognitive function. Use lemon to help you power through that long proposal!
Lavender - Sweet-smelling lavender improves concentration by recharging the brain during rest time. This allows you to return to work more revived than you would be otherwise.
Jasmine - The smell of jasmine has stimulatory effect on the nervous system. It’s used to re-energize and promote a sense of well-being and a positive mood. Sniff it during a break for an instant refresher.
Citrus - Bright, light citrus aromas are helpful for staying awake and alert. Take a whiff before an important afternoon meeting to power up.
Peppermint - Peppermint improves attention and concentration. It also enhances the accuracy of memory and increases alertness.
So, while we purchase fragrances and candles because they just smell good. Next time when you’re shopping for scents take into consideration the effect it has on focus, attention, mood and productivity.
Browse the UnOrthoDoc Candle Co. Collection below for some of these scents.
