Training scents: you may be able to sniff your way to better workouts with tricks from the aromatherapist's bag - Energy

Men's Fitness, May, 2002 by Frank Claps

Remembering to stop and smell the flowers isn't just good advice when you're spending too many late nights at work. It may also be a good idea the next time you work out, if you take the words literally, that is. It turns out that smelling the flowers--and the plants and the roots and various other pieces of flora--just might improve your training.

Welcome to the nebulous world of aromatherapy, where, for a small price, you can, say its proponents, sniff yourself to a sharper mental state, which could lead to more productive workouts. But be wary, for this can be a realm populated by hobbits, trolls and fairy godmothers--more fiction than fact.

Read on and decide for yourself whether aromatherapy passes the smell test.

NOSING YOUR WAY TO BETTER FITNESS

Aromatherapy is "the use of pure and natural essential oils for health maintenance and prevention," says Teshan Laucirica, spokesperson for the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy in Seattle. (Some in the field also use synthetic oils.) Essential oils are found in different parts of plants, flowers, leaves, bark, berries, stems and roots, and they may contain hormones, vitamins, antibiotics and antiseptics.

Aroma advocates claim that rosemary, peppermint, basil and jasmine scents, alone or in combination, may improve your mental alertness. This, in theory, could inspire you to work out and maybe increase your workout intensity--at least in the short term. Although some oils can be mental stimulants, their effects are said to be short-lived.

"As far as keeping somebody going all day, they wouldn't do much more than a cup of coffee," says Sylla Sheppard-Hanger, founder and director of the Atlantic Institute of Aromatherapy in Tampa, Fla. Other scents alleged to increase energy include the extracts of grapefruit, oranges and strawberries, and (believe it or not) buttered popcorn.

However, there is scant scientific research to back up the claims. "Aromatherapists are not into clinical evaluation," is how Sheppard-Hanger puts it. "We are slowly starting to produce some good research that shows what we do works. But this is what has to be done for any therapy to be accepted, and I don't see it in my lifetime."

Some existing research does, however, defend the powers of aromatherapy.

* In one unpublished study, men working out on stationary bicycles while smelling strawberries and buttered popcorn burned more calories than those exposed to neutral odors. "Either these odors have some energizing capacity or they take your mind off of your fatigue," speculates the study's author Alan Hirsch, M.D., founder of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.

* In a study published last year in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, college athletes were tested under two conditions: with odorless adhesive strips placed under their noses, and with strips scented with peppermint. The subjects increased their push-ups, running speed and grip strength wearing the peppermint strips. (Shooting free throws, a skill-related task, wasn't affected.)

* In a 1997 study published in the journal Memory and Cognition, college students who learned a word list while in the presence of a scent that was distinctive to an environment (e.g., peppermint in a laboratory setting), recalled the words better later on if that same scent was again present. "The same thing might work with a sporting event," Sheppard-Hanger hypothesizes. "Working out is just preparing the body for that competition. So any time you pair a good workout with a particular odor, that's going to help the performance later, because, physically, the body has that memory."

* Brain scans have shown that the fragrance of rosemary increases blood circulation in the brain, and, says Hirsch, jasmine tends to boost beta waves in the front of the brain, which is associated with an enhanced mental state.

HOW TO USE SCENTS

While proper scientific inquiry into the benefits of aromatherapy is still a work-in-progress, early returns suggest that it might give you an energy kick. If your get-up-and-go needs a charge, consider letting yourself be led by the nose.

* Although aromatherapy is applied in a variety of ways--massage, baths, vaporizers--the experts we consulted recommend placing a drop or two of oil on either your shirt or a handkerchief to jump-start a sluggish workout. You could also put some on your hands, rub them together and periodically inhale. But be careful with this approach. "One of the problems with putting oils on your skin is irritation or an allergic reaction," says Sheppard-Hanger. "It happens more often when you're sweaty because the pores are open and the body's warm. So I would not recommend putting anything on the skin before or during exercise."

* If you work out at home, you can create your own aromatic atmosphere by putting a couple of drops of an essential oil into a pan of water on low heat. As for buttered popcorn, nuke one of those microwave bags. (If you work out in a gym, do likewise, only wipe some residue from inside the bag onto your shirt--just be prepared for some strange looks, and use the shirt that already has spaghetti stains.)