Fragrances for Fitness

Could the power of perfume take your workout to new heights? We reveal why scent could help unlock your sporting success.

- Yanar Alkayat

What do you pack in your gym bag to get the best out of your workout?

The right trainers, certainly. The best kit, absolutely.Maybe your latest playlist too. But have you thought of packing perfume? Probably not, but studies show that surrounding yourself with specific scents can conjure up positive emotions to help you perform at your best. Peppermint essential oil, for instance, has been shown in numerous studies to significantly improve athletic performance. Dr Bryan Raudenbush, an associate professor of psychology at Wheeling Jesuit University in the US, gave 40 athletes a series of physical tasks under the conditions of no-odour or peppermint odour. The peppermint odour enhanced their performance in nearly all the tasks: they could do more press-ups, run faster and grip harder. ‘Since mood and motivation are closely related, the boost in mood may also bring about an increase in motivation,’ he says in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. ‘With an increase in motivation, athletes are likely to exert more effort.’ Aromas in the air are carried to your brain’s limbic system, thought to have developed long before intellect. Now scientists know it has an intimate connection, not only to our emotions and memory, but also to our digestion, respiration and circulation.