Odour association
The science behind odour and memory
Useful Essential Oils
Essential oil blends
Tips and Tricks 

Improving ourselves through study has almost become a way of life for some individuals, myself included. However the thrill and enjoyment of learning in an academic environment, is also accompanied by the stress of meeting deadlines for internal assessments, not to mention the dreaded examination at the end of a course.  Most people find sitting an exam a completely nerve racking experience, and some make themselves so sick over the possibility of failure that no matter how much they have studied, they forget everything as soon as they're in the examination room^[1].

Some students and adult learners are gifted with great memories, and probably find exams a breeze.  For the rest of us, essential oils can be powerful weapons with which to arm ourselves before going into the exam room.  Using aromatherapy to help you study and recall the information during the exam is the closest you can get to virtually having your textbooks in front of you.  That's how effective it is!  If only we had known about essential oils when we were at high school... ^[1].

Odour association
Essential oils are so effective for study because they register in the brain's limbic system, that place where our memory is stored.  If particles of a specially-chosen essential oil penetrate your limbic system at the same time you are filling it with new information, the next time you smell that particular oil, the information comes flooding back.  Its as simple as that^[1].

This method is especially effective for high school students who my have to study several unrelated subjects at the same time.  A new scent can be chosen for each subject, thus eliminating any confusion and assisting the student to maintain complete focus and clarity.  So if your children suffer from those horrible pre-exam nerves, don't despair, let aromatherapy help them^[1].

The first hard proof that aroma can be used to improve memory (and thus learning and passing exams) came from psychologist Frank Schaub at Yale University.  He gave seventy-two undergraduates a list of forty adjectives and asked them to write down their antonyms (opposites).  They were not told that the next day they would be required to remember them.  At various stages in the experiment, some students were given the aroma of chocolate and some were not.  On average, those not given the aroma remembered 17% of the answers, and those given chocolate aroma remembered 21%.  The crucial factor was that the same scent was used in each session, both learning and recalling^[2].  A 4% difference in performance without any active attempts at memory retention, could mean the difference between a B+ and an A- grade for a student.

In another study, Dr Alan Hirsch of the Smell and Taste Research Foundation in Chicago, found that when a mixed floral aroma was suffused throughout a room of calculus students, they increased their speed of learning by 230%^[2].  Dr Hirsch also did a study of 20,000 students, testing the effects of exposure to fragrances such as peppermint and butterscotch on memory.  The students memorized word lists, and when they were presented with the same odour on recall as they experienced during memorizing, they were able to recall more accurately than when they were presented with a different, or no odour^[5].  Another interesting fact that Dr Hirsch discovered about this kind of learning, is that students shouldn't study with music playing in the background unless they are going to be tested with the same music in the background, or they will not recall as much^[5].  Dr Rachel Herz also studied odour associated memory, and found that states of heightened emotion such as pre-exam anxiety actually helps the process of memory retrieval using odour cues^[6].

Usually we only passively experience the connection between an aroma molecule hitting the olfaction receptors and transmitting a signal to the limbic system.  This occurs when an aroma reminds us of something that happened in the past.  In aromatherapy, we use this connection in an active way, by stimulating the memory to recall information previously studied^[2].

Useful Essential Oils
Theoretically you can use any essential oil to make the aroma-memory connection, but some good first choices which could be used on their own or in a blend of two or more, would be^[2]:

• Basil for mental clarity, 
• Bergamot for confidence, 
• Lemon for concentration or 
• Rosemary for memory.

Other potentially useful, although less commonly used essential oils include - Laurel oil to enhance one's presence of mind, and Tea tree (Melaleuca) to boost your health and help with concentration.  Other essential oils said to strengthen mental function are Cardamom and Coriander seed oils.  Cardamom oil enhances our curiosity and retentiveness, while Coriander seed invigorates the mind's creativity.  Clarysage and Marjoram oils are said to improve the concentration of those who are both tired and tense.  Frankincense oil, the ancient aromatic of contemplation is used to initiate a tranquil type of concentration, and can be helpful for staying mentally calm and clear.  Peppermint oil is an effective stimulant of the learning process, especially in its ability to amplify the intellect, and help us to listen, take in, and digest information.  Hyssop, Thyme and Pine essential oils improve concentration by invigorating the mind in cases of nervous exhaustion ^[7].

Essential oil blends
Following are some blend ratios which can be used in a vapouriser (6-8 drops), or place one drop of your chosen blend in a handkerchief and inhale^[1].  These essential oils should not be placed neat on the skin, but diluted in a carrier oil at a ratio of 1 drop per mL of vegetable oil, if massage is your preferred method of application.

• Pre-exam blend: Bergamot (4), Neroli (3), Pettigraine (3).
• Study blend: Basil (3), Lemon (5), Pine (2).
• Total recall blend: Rosemary (5), Lemon (3), Basil (2).
• Creativity blend: Orange (4), Rosemary (3), Black pepper (3).
• Sailing through exams blend: Grapefruit (5), Basil (2), Bergamot (2), Lavender (1).

Alternatively, before an exam, put 3 drops of the latter blend on a wet flannel and rub all over your body in the shower.  Inhale the aroma deeply to get the full effect^[3].

If your child is under sixteen, you may prefer to use the following pre-exam formula to relax your teenager in a nightly bath containing 2-4 drops, the week before exams.

• Under 16 pre-exam blend: Lavender (5), Chamomile (3), Geranium (3), Mandarin (5).

Remember, don't tell them it's for 'nerves', instead say that it is to relax them and make them feel good^[3].

Tips and Tricks
While discretely sniffing your chosen aroma during an exam can help transport your mind back to the time when you were studying, helping your memory recall information, there are several rules that need to be followed to aid this process^[2].

1. Try to use a fragrance you have never used before because an aroma used previously may have associations that probably have nothing to do with the subject being absorbed. Make a unique blend for each subject.
2. If possible, use one fragrance or blend per subject, and then not too much.
3. Only inhale the aroma when you need to remember the studied information - in a test or exam for example, and not at other times.  If you use it all the time, your memory will get confused.  Be very precise about this.
4. Be discreet.  There are no rules forbidding the use of essential oils during exams, but it could be construed as an unfair advantage!
5. Do not rely solely on this method.  The aroma-memory connection is meant to be an additional aid, not a replacement for hard work.  Don't just scan your textbooks expecting everything magically to go in.  Sorry it's not that easy.  You'll have to put in the time and read your material thoroughly, and check with your tutors that you have understood it.
6. Enquire if tests or exams from previous years are available, and use these to practice writing model answers using the infomation you have just studied.  The more you reinforce the aroma-memory connection, the better it will work.

Essential oils won't make you remember things you simply don't know, but they'll help you bridge the gap between knowledge and recall.  This advantage can be the difference between pass and fail^[2].  

Best of luck with your academic endeavours.
Cheers, Marion.

References:
^[1]  Karen Downes & Judith White (1997) Aromatherapy for men: A scentual grooming and lifestyle guide.  Nacson and Sons Pty. Ltd. Sydney, Australia.
^[2]  Valerie Ann Worwood (1995) The fragrant mind: Aromatherapy for Personality, Mind, Mood and Emotion.  Doubleday, London, UK.
^[3]  Valerie Ann Worwood (1990) The fragrant pharmacy: A complete guide to Aromatherapy and Essential Oils.  Bantam Books, London, UK.
^[4]  Neil Carlson (1992) Foundations of  Physiological Psychology (2nd Edition).  Allyn and Bacon, Boston, USA.
^[5]  Russ Mason (2005)  Exploring the potentials of Human Olfaction: An interview with Alan R. Hirsch.  Alternative & Complimentary Therapies, Vol. 11 (3), pp 135-140.
^[6]  Rachel Hertz (1997) The effects of cue distinctiveness on odor-based context-dependent memory.  Memory & Cognition, The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 25 (3), pp375-380.
^[7]  Gabriel Mojay (1996)  Aromatherapy for healing the spirit: psychological and energetic aspects of essential oils.  Hodder &  Stoughton, Rydalmere, NSW, Australia.
^[8]  Stanford University (2005)  The Hopes Brain Tutorial, Part 5: A guided tour of the brain and its parts. 
^[9]  Lowana Veal (2005) Taxonomy.  AGORA: Aromatherapy Global Online Research Archives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This article may be freely reproduced
providing acknowledgment of the author is made,
and a link to http://www.earthwyze.com
is placed prominently on the article.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last updated: 7 January 2006