ergo-log.com

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

27.06.2017

The stimulatory effect of orange oil aromatherapy

Aroma therapy with orange oil reduces anxiety and at the same time has a stimulatory effect as well. Interesting for ergonauts we think. Alert readers sent us some human studies.

Study 1
In 2014 obstetricians at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Iran published a study in which they had got pregnant women to inhale orange oil during labour. [Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2014;16(6):e18371.] The researchers put a few drops of the oil on a bandage which they put round the women's neck.

The researchers used questionnaires to measure the women’s anxiety levels while they were giving birth. The women could score between 20 and 80 points [20-40 mild anxiety, 41-60 moderate anxiety, 61-80 severe anxiety].

Orange oil reduced feelings of anxiety. A control group did not inhale orange oil.

Study 2
In 2005 Thai researchers described in Acta Horticulturae [Acta Horticulturae 2005 (679): 75-81.] an experiment in which 24 students remained in a room with an aroma lamp for 20 minutes. For the experimental group the lamp was filled with 1.2 g sweet orange oil and 3.5 g water; for the placebo group the lamp contained only water.

Before and after exposure the students were asked to give themselves a score between 0 and 10 for how alert they were feeling and to say whether they found the aroma that the lamp was producing made them feel more upbeat.

Study 3
The most important component in natural orange oil is the D-enantiomer of limonene [+)-limonene]. According to a 2001 human study, inhaling (+)-limonene makes people feel more alert and improves their mood a little. [Chem Senses. 2001 Mar;26(3):281-92.]

The figures above have been simplified. They show how inhaling limonene improved alertness and mood in the participants, who had to score both of these on a scale of 0-100.

Source:
Acta Horticulturae 2005 (679): 75-81.

More:
Drastic increase in endurance capacity by inhaling mint oil and orange oil 13.01.2017

Archives:
Aromatherapy

Slim faster with aromatherapy If you smell grapefruit or lemon, your fat cells release their contents more easily into the bloodstream. Animal study.	It's really possible: weight loss with aromatherapy Another animal study.	Train your lungs and go faster If swimmers train their breathing with a kind of fitness inhaler for six weeks they'll achieve better times in the water.