OK, so nobody knows where I can find out about Aromatherapy...?

[Vikki]

I need to know! My teachers had told us that flowers helped you think of math and like something else made u think of english. does anyone know what scents help you think of which school subject???

 

[irenaaneri1980]

I dont agree with your teacher.I think its going overboard and dishonest to say certain scents can make you think of maths and another can make you think of English etc.
Aromatherapy-if it is pure and high quality though can have some effects on moods like some people find the scent of lavender or chamomile calming,similar effects from sandalwood,jasmine can be more "happy"/uplifting,mint is a clear and sharp scent,orange blossom smells beautiful and also has a happy/uplifting smell,vanilla is calming or sensual etc-sort of similar like perfumes can affect a mood slightly.
In the same way,like perfume,you dont want to get cheap oils from the dollar shop or wherever as they'll have no effect and often do smell horrible.

 

[SkepDoc 3.0]

Your teachers don't know what they are talking about. That is nonsense. Wait, that was too kind. Your teacher is an idiot, tell them I said so.

There is no evidence that particular scents have such specific effects as that. The best that can be said is that people can be more relaxed and less stressed. Scents can evoke a lot of emotions and memories, and it is our most primitive sense, and the only one with a direct connection to the brain.

But the grandiose claims made for the pseudoscience or Aromatherapy are unproven.

EDIT Digital Age
I think you hit it on the head...."a powerful smell makes you believe it is working" Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Digital Age]

Well, I am very familiar with aromatherapy but have never heard it discussed that way. I know there are certain smells that are calming, certain smells that are energizing, etc. For you and math, decide whether you want to be calmed or energized.
A good all around aroma, that can't go wrong, is Tiger Balm. Tiger Balm has a powerful smell that makes you believe it is working.

 

[BatMan]

Aromatherapy: The Sense of Smell:
Essential oils work on the body on several different levels. The most obvious is by stimulating the powerful but little understood sense of smell. In recent years, medical research has uncovered what aromatherapists have always known; that the odors we smell have a significant impact on the way we feel.
"Smell act directly on the brain, like a drug," says Alan Hirsch, M.D., a neurologist, a psychiatrist and director of the smell and Taste Treatment and Research Center in Chicago.
In the course of treating patients who have lost the sense of smell, Dr. Hirsch has found that a life without fragrance seems to lead to a high incidence of psychiatric problems such as anxiety and depression.
And while most depressed, stressed-out people can smell just fine, Dr. Hirsch believes that their emotional states are also affected by the odors they are - or aren't - smelling.
Scientific research supports the notion that smelling particular odors has a direct effect on brain activity. "We know from brain wave frequency studies that smelling lavender increases alpha waves in the back of the head, which are associated with relaxation," says Dr. Hirsch. "An odor such as jasmine increases beta waves in the front of the head, which are associated with a more alert state."
And since most people can detect many different odor, the potential therapeutic uses of smell seem endless. Experts says that inhaling essential oils can benefit many conditions linked to nervous tension, including headaches,insomnia and anxiety. Inhalations are also used to treat respirator complaints such as colds, allergies and bronchitis.

Experiencing the mood-altering power of scent can be as simple as adding several drops of essential oil to your bath or placing a couple of drops of essential oil on a scent ring, which sits on a warm light bulb. A longer-lasting way to scent a room is with an aroma lamp, a porcelain or clay pot in which essential oils are mixed with water and heated over a candle, or an electric aromatic diffuser, which reduces essential oils to a fine spray and disperses the scent throughout the room. These are sold in some health food stores