Close

Why can the smell of flowers make you happy?

Sticking your nose in a bouquet bursting with aromas and scents can lift the spirits and the soul whilst also transporting you outside. The scent of flowers has long been an inspiration and ingredient for perfumes & beauty products, and these scents can instantly take us to other places,  evoking people and memories. For me the heady scent of sweetpeas transports me instantly back to my grannies house, filling me with nostaglic and happy thoughts. What is it really that gives you that lift when you take a whiff of some blooms??? We wanted to take a deeper look at the chemical effect and benefits that some of these floral scents can have on your brain.

The science of scent 

Floral scents are actually made up of many different chemical constituents and each of these can have an effect on our mood. This is pretty cool hey? So even though scents are a very personal thing, there is truth in the science behind what specific scents can do for you. So lets take a look at four plants can benefit you through their scents.

 Lavender

Lavender has long been used in homeopathic remedies as a tool for relaxing and calming the mind. Crushing lavender between your fingers best releases the wonderful aroma, and studies have shown lavender increases your serotonin levels which is pretty amazing (read our serotonin blog to find out why boosting your serotonin is good for your health). 

Rosemary

Turns out its not just good for flavouring your Sunday roasties but also good for your mind! The smell of  rosemary is super stimulating and can boost levels of dopamine (aka the drug that lets us feel pleasure, think and plan) and acetylcholine (bit of a mouthful to say but in a nutshell it controls your muscles and your memory) so maybe don’t limit yourself to just cooking with rosemary but give it a big sniff and try to incorporate it in a floral arrangement. 

Citrus blossoms 

These guys are great for uplifting serotonin and dopamine, a double whammy of goodness. Citrus blossoms like Clematis are also stunning, so you are feeding the eyes as-well as your mind and body!

Roses

One of the most widely used scents out there, roses are not only the flower of lurvve but can also vastly reduce your stress hormone adrenalin, so next time you get given a bouquet of roses it’s a bonanza for both your heart and your body! 

So next time you walk past a beautifully scented rose bush, or are cooking with rosemary just remember to breathe in and take 5 and feel the incredible benefits of something so simple on yer mind and body. 

Speaking of the mind and body, the deadline for our next subscription box is closing in a week. Since you made it to the end of this blog and hopefully impart your new found knowledge of scents, we would like to give you 25 % off our summer soother box with the code aloealoe. This is THE MUST HAVE thing for cooling you down in this sizzling heat, and lets just we have big plans to bring you magical scented goodness in our upcoming boxes. 

Read more