Aromatherapy and Mood: What the Research Shows
Feeling stressed, anxious, or simply “off”? Research suggests that certain scents — especially lavender and citrus — may influence the nervous system in calming ways.
A review in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (2009;1170:604–609) reports that specific aromas can affect blood flow in the brain, as well as certain glandular and neurological responses. These physiological shifts may help explain why some scents are experienced as soothing.
Several studies highlight lavender in particular:
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Dental anxiety: Patients exposed to lavender scent before dental treatment reported less anxiety, according to a study in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (2010;38(1):83–87).
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Animal research: A review in Reviews in Neuroscience (2010;21(2):141–152) summarized animal studies showing lavender oil reduced anxious behavior in rodent models.
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Adolescent stress: Lavender aromatherapy reduced stress scores in teens in a study published in the Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing (2009;39(3):357–365).
For mood-related symptoms, a review in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2009;15(2):187–195) analyzed six clinical trials published between 2000 and 2006. Several showed measurable improvements in depressive symptoms when aromatherapy was used as part of care.
