Recent study results suggest that dropping off to sleep surrounded by the scent of jasmine appears to encourage restful sleep. Dr Bryan Raudenbush and colleagues at the Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia monitored participants’ sleep for three nights. Each night, the rooms were filled with the scent of jasmine or lavender, or no scent at all. However, the smell of the scents was so faint that some participants said they could smell nothing at all.
Results showed that people who slept in rooms scented with jasmine seemed to sleep more peacefully, and reported feeling less anxiety when they awoke. Furthermore, mental functioning tests revealed that the subjects completed the test more quickly and with a higher level of accuracy after spending the night surrounded by the sweet scent of jasmine. They also reported higher levels of afternoon-alertness, compared with when they had slept in an unscented or lavender-scented room. Lavender had similar effects although the benefits were not as noticeable as those seen with jasmine.
Why smell should have such an effect upon sleep remains uncertain, although Raudenbush suspects that jasmine may help to improve mood, which may in turn induce physical changes that promote restful sleep. He suggests that people may benefit from having a shower or bath with jasmine-scented soap before bedtime, or by placing jasmine-scented potpourri around the house.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 14th October 2002
