Generally, a pleasant scent is called aroma. There is a nursing home that effectively uses this pleasant aroma. An experiment was conducted in which lemongrass aroma was sprayed for two hours during the day in the dining room of a nursing home for the elderly in Kanagawa Prefecture. This experiment was conducted to examine the effect of aroma on the cognitive function of people who require nursing care. After 2 to 3 minutes of exposure to the scent of lemongrass, blood flow to the medial frontal lobe at the front of the brain increased significantly. It was found that this scent activates the frontal lobe and increases motivation and concentration to work on things. Furthermore, as a result of continuing the experiment, after three months, changes were seen in intellectual memory functions, emotional functions such as anger, motor functions and spontaneity. This experiment showed that the lemongrass scent also has the effect of delaying the onset of dementia.
An experiment has confirmed that lavender essential oil affects autonomic nerve transmission and lowers blood pressure. The scent of lavender suppresses sympathetic nerve activity and activates parasympathetic nerve activity in the stomach. When sympathetic nerve activity is suppressed and parasympathetic nerve activity is activated, most people feel calm and relaxed. On the other hand, when you smell grapefruit, the sympathetic nerve is activated and the parasympathetic nerve in the stomach is suppressed. When you smell grapefruit, the concentration of glycerol in the blood and body temperature increase. When the concentration of glycerol and body temperature increase, it leads to a decrease in appetite. As a result, when we smell grapefruit, we feel fresh and active. It seems that if we use scents well, it is possible to make us active and relaxed.
Many companies are trying to commercialize scents by utilizing their usefulness. It is said that there are 200,000 to 400,000 types of scents and scented substances. It has been found that certain scents increase the activity of the hippocampus, which is said to be the center of memory. The idea of using this knowledge in the entrance exam industry has also been born. When the motivational area of the frontal lobe is completed, the temporal association area, which is the center of memory, works smoothly. When the temporal association area, which is the center of memory, works smoothly, the memory improves, which is a good thing. It is an interesting idea to develop a scent that activates the hippocampus and helps people pass exams well.