What scent can calm you down? (2023)

What smell calms people down?

A common blend for relaxation is lavender and chamomile, which has been found to reduce anxiety and promote sleep. Everyone has their own response to different smells, so trying a few different scents or blends of essential oils can help you find the most relaxing ones for you.

Lavender is one of the most popular scents for relaxing and falling asleep, and with good reason. This fragrance oil has many calming properties, and it can help release tension, soothe racing thoughts and help you unwind.

Lavender is the go-to essential oil for calming nerves and promoting better sleep. Its scent also helps reduce anxiety and stress that are common triggers for brain fog. A calmer, stress-free mind means clearer thinking and decision making.

Research has demonstrated that aromatherapy, specifically lavender, can improve mood and lessen anxiety. A study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing showed that aromatherapy helped intensive care patients to feel less anxious and more positive immediately.

Lavender, chamomile, vanilla, jasmine, and valerian are the most common scents that are marketing to help you relax and de-stress. While some of these are more pungent than others (we're looking at you, valerian), you can often find them combined with other smells that offset the strong scent.

Citrus scents are often cited as some of the most pleasant smells and have been shown to boost energy and reduce stress. This is excellent news for perfume lovers, as citrus scents are frequently used in the top notes of your favourite fragrances.

The best ones to help foster relaxation and sleep are Lavender, Chamomile, Bergamot, Jasmine, Rose and Sandalwood. Normally you dab a bit on your wrists, rub them together and take a bunch of deep breaths, or you can add them to your bath or release the scent by buying candles with those oils.

This Japanese study found that diffusing lemon and rosemary essential oils in the morning and lavender and orange essential oils in the evening improved cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients. Lemon was shown to increase typing accuracy in another Japanese study.

Lavender is one of the most popular aromatherapy oils. It has a sweet floral scent with a woody or herbal undertone. Lavender oil can be used to calm anxiety. It also has a sedative effect and may help with sleep troubles, including if feelings of stress or anxiety are keeping you up at night.

Can smells help with depression?

But some evidence suggests it might have benefits. For example, a review published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that aromatherapy might help relieve depressive symptoms. However, you shouldn't rely on it alone to treat depression.

Smells experienced in nature improve wellbeing and mental health by making us feel more relaxed, joyful, and healthy. Smells experienced in nature, like smelling the rain or damp grass on a wet day, or smelling smoke coming from a fire whilst camping, can improve our mental health.

Scents send signals to our limbic system, which is the sector of the brain that controls memory and emotion. According to a 2011 study conducted by Masahiro et al, positive emotions, which can be elicited by certain fragrances have been proven to lower stress levels and improve overall mental outlook.

Sandalwood - Sandalwood incense are often used to create a comforting and peaceful environment to help with relieving symptoms of depression. A calming power that is perfect for stress relief and feelings of insecurity, it helps to enhance your self-esteem and bring peace to your mental wellbeing.

Smelling salts, also known as ammonia inhalants, spirit of hartshorn or sal volatile, are chemical compounds used as stimulants to restore consciousness after fainting.

The bad breath occurs because your saliva dries up during sleep. This allows bacteria to build up and produce foul smells. Remain calm! Remedies exist to reduce and eliminate the odor.

But vanilla has now been crowned the world's favourite smell by a team of international experts. Scientists from the University of Oxford and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm presented 10 scents to 235 people from nine different cultures around the world.

The odours were chosen to be representative of stuff that is found all over the world, from sweaty feet to ripe fruits, and the results were published in the journal Current Biology. And the most popular smell was… vanilla! That's right.

A study conducted by researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the University of Oxford has found that vanilla is the world's most universally-loved scent.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is one of the most relaxing candle scents. The spice is a little stronger than vanilla without being too overpowering. It is a good choice if you want to relax while remaining awake.

How do I smell good on a night out?

Use A Strong Perfume For A Night:

With just two sprays, you can enjoy a lasting more vibrant scent for long hours. You should go for the fragrance notes having sandalwood, frankincense, cedar wood, jasmine, rose, oriental accords, strong floral notes, spicy notes and woody accords as it is in Cote Blanche perfume.

Orange, grapefruit, and lemon are all energizing and uplifting scents," says Cynthia LaBonte, aromatherapist and herbalist at Newport Aromatherapy. "We associate citrus with cleanliness. Their top notes go straight up the sinuses to the head and make us feel better, fitter, and even more confident and in control."

A known energy booster, peppermint invigorates the mind, promotes concentration and stimulates clear thinking. It is one of the best scents for focus. Find uplifting peppermint in our Onsen collection, along with eucalyptus and mandarin.

Citrus (Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon, Bergamot, Lime) – citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, lemon, bergamot, lime) are thought of as feel-good, mood lifting, and energy boosting. Citrus scents promote mental alertness, enhancing positivity and confidence.