Stress Relief Through Scent
Did you know just inhaling certain fragrances can relieve stress and sharpen focus? It’s true. One of the most interesting findings when I was researching my book Stress Express! was the impact of scent. The olfactory system has a direct neural pathway to the part of the brain that governs stress response, which makes scent one of the fastest, lowest-effort regulation tools available to a leader under pressure.
Fragrance is powerful. Realtors know this well. They often put drops of cinnamon oil on lightbulbs when showing a house, or bake cookies with cinnamon in them. The scent of cinnamon is said to be the most welcoming for many Americans because it reminds them of breakfast with grandparents and cinnamon toast.
Here are a few stress-relieving scents worth keeping in your office or your bag:
• Lemon – Believe it or not, the scent of lemon in the workplace cuts keyboard mistakes by 50%, according to Valerie Worwood’s research in The Fragrant Mind. Think of what a difference that could make before you send an important email or finalize a contract.
• Peppermint extract on your forehead or temples can help relieve tension immediately. It’s also great for concentration. A University of Cincinnati study found that people who breathe in peppermint oil are immediately more alert and better able to focus, a useful edge right before a high-stakes presentation or a difficult conversation.
• Lavender calms irritability, soothes tension, and promotes relaxation. Many sleep products like scented pillowcases are sold because of lavender’s soothing properties. You’ll often find it in hotels these days, and it works just as well at the end of a long workday.
• Eucalyptus is worth trying if you need your team to be more supportive of each other. Research by Dr. Alan Hirsch found the fragrance raises empathy by roughly 19%, helping people see a situation from another person’s point of view, useful before a tense meeting or a difficult team conversation.
Try these fragrances in a variety of ways: scented candles, air fresheners, extracts, or a small diffuser at your desk. You may just be surprised with the results.
Key Takeaways
- Scent has a direct line to the brain’s stress response, making it one of the fastest regulation tools available, faster than most other techniques that require you to stop and step away.
- Lemon and peppermint are worth keeping at your desk before detail-heavy or high-stakes work. Lavender is worth keeping for winding down at the end of the day.
- Eucalyptus is worth trying before a tense team conversation, since it has been linked to increased empathy and perspective-taking.
- This is one of the tools in the Regulation element of the Leadership Resilience System: small, fast interventions that work in the moment, not after the pressure has passed.
Aromatherapy is one small piece of a larger system. For the full set of real-time regulation tools leaders use to stay grounded under pressure, see the Leadership Resilience System, or explore more stress management strategies built for leaders specifically.