Sniffing Rosemary Can Make You Smarter

The ranks of "brain foods" are swelling even further, but we don't actually have to eat this one, as research indicates that just smelling rosemary can help improve cognitive performance.

A new study in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology indicates that the aroma of rosemary has a positive effect on cognitive performance and mood.

To test the theory, 20 volunteers were put in cubicles diffused with the aroma of rosemary and subjected  to basic math and information–processing tests. The volunteers didn't know what they were being tested for, and those who asked why the room smelled like rosemary were told the scent was "left over from a previous study."

Results of the study indicate that the scent of rosemary had a definite positive impact on volunteers' speed and accuracy at cognitive tasks, though it did not affect attention or alertness. The aroma was also found to have improved subjects' moods, though finding oneself suddenly better at math is generally an upper anyway.

The study's subjects got their hit of rosemary from measured amounts of rosemary oil allowed into the room, but you'll probably have more fun experimenting with some of our aromatic rosemary recipes.