10 Stress Relieving Scents That You Will Actually Make You Relaxed

Did you know that even jet fuel can make some people relax? Seriously! Since it’s an expected smell when you’re going on vacation or traveling – could be by plane or even by boat,” Alan Hirsch, M.D., founder and neurological director of The Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation of Chicago said. Certain scents, trigger a chemical reaction in the brain that aids relaxation. So, if you’re feeling stressed and wants to really be relaxed, consider holding any of these things up to your nose for a minute.

1. Baby Powder

Baby powder makes us all feel calm because it can induce the primal nostalgic feeling of childhood, where you felt safe and secure.

2. Vanilla

Vanilla can make you fall asleep faster and makes us feel at ease instantly. There are baby bottle nipples that are infused with a vanilla scent, which, much like the baby powder, can make the scent soothing into adulthood.

3. Lavender

A study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience revealed that lavender oil has been found to affect the brain in such a way that it increases drowsiness, thus relaxes us and makes us fall asleep too.

4. The Scent of a Loved One
Getting a whiff of your boyfriend, girlfriend, your other half or even your best friend can trigger a feeling that our brains find soothing because of its familiarity- feeling of being in love. This response can also occur in certain places like your bedroom at your grandparent’s house that you consider calming and safe, in the first place.

5. Anything Baked

Baked goods can induce a state of relaxation because the smell is something familiar, safe, secure and delicious and satisfying!

6. Cucumbers
This smell is said to reduce anxiety and induce relaxation, because the scent takes you back to your childhood (a less anxiety-ridden time of life) where picnics and get-togethers were more common.

7. Chamomile

Chamomile tea has a soothing herbaceous scent that many people find calming, but Dr. Hirsch believes this is just a placebo response in many people. “It’s almost like a phenomenon because people relate the scent to how they feel after drinking the tea,” he says. For many of us, herbal tea = relaxing.

8. Sunscreen or Suntan Lotion
Scents you associate with travel, like the smell of sunscreen, can often trigger a relaxed state, since they remind you of vacation, where you’re relaxed.

9. Lemongrass

Lemongrass is commonly used in products to help relieve stress because of its light, earthy scent. However, Dr. Hirsch believes that it’s more so an intangible soothing feeling that people get when they smell it that induces relaxation, rather than a chemical relaxation trigger in the brain.

10. Jet Fuel

Jet fuel or boat fuel can create an expectation for relaxation because you know the jet or boat is taking you somewhere you’re looking forward to getting which probably more relaxing than your usual day in life. This doesn’t mean you should sit around smelling jet fuel all day long but some people really enjoy this, but if you are approaching the airport or marina and feeling a little zen, this could be why.

Source:cosmopolitan.com
Photo Credit:glambistro.com