Best Essential Oils for Memory & Performance

What are the best aromatherapy tools that you use for utilizing your sense of smell to concentrate and memorize things better? Okay, so the tools themselves are different than the essential oils themselves. So this is something that I learned back in school, and this is over 30 years ago, so I'm dating myself, but I use that as an edge to help me focus and help me remember. You might recall that your sense of smell is the one that's most closely linked to memory out of your 5 main senses. And I would use this trick where I would— your environment always gets linked to the information. And so the best way to study, if you need to perform, is to prepare and study in the environment that you need to perform in. That kind of makes sense, right? Because unconsciously, the environment is giving you triggers that help you to recall the information and get you in state. 'Cause all learning is, as you know, state dependent. And some of you could repeat like a lot of these words I say on a, on the repetitive because I do that purposely to help you embed that accelerated learning. But there, so what I would do is you can't always prepare in the room you need to perform in, right? It's not like a Broadway play where you're rehearsing like on the actual stage where you need to recall that information. So I was thinking very early like, well, why don't I just bring the environment with me? And knowing that when I was reading these textbooks on on neurology and our senses, that sense of smell is so powerful, then why not smell something that was unique? And then while I'm studying and preparing for an activity or a test or whatever, and then I would just wear that same scent when I need to perform and it would provide a trigger. Later on though, for essential oils, there are actually certain scents, essential oils that are good for your cognitive performance. And we could talk about some of them. Now, in terms of tools, I have a diffuser. in 2 of my rooms in my home. And some of you know what that is. I'm not going to take time to explain it. You can look it up. But I just put a couple of drops in there and it just permeates the entire room. You could use personal inhalers. You could use— there's aromatherapy jewelry. I didn't know that. Some people use scented candles. We're doing a podcast episode on clean environment and Candles are, are some of them, or the majority of them. I'm just gonna put this out there. They're, they're some of the most toxic, you know, things that you could put out in the air. So just be very careful when you're looking at the makeup of that candle because it's just, it's no bueno for your brain. A lot of neurotoxins. So we're probably not gonna be sponsored by candle factories anytime soon. But just look at the, look at, look, look at the chemicals that are in the, not the base, right? Whether it's soy-based or, or what have you, But look at specifically the chemicals and, or even go online and do your own research. You could be a Google warrior and just kind of look it up. It'll give you an idea. So I'm not a big fan of candles unless they happen to be well sourced, but those also happen to be very expensive. So I'm just not something I really indulge in a whole lot. So what I go for is essential oil sprays. If I don't have a diffuser, I just take a water bottle. a spray bottle and I dilute it. I put water in it and I just put drops in there and I could spray it either on myself or in the environment. And that works out really well. Or a lot of times I use it topically. Like, I have a parasympathetic blend that I put on before I go to sleep because I just know it's part of my nighttime routine. So I have a parasympathetic blend that I use. And it just reminds me because again, it's the consistency of it. And then once I, even if I don't do all the other stuff, if I use the parasympathetic blend, it just puts me in state besides the inherent value of the essential oils. It's also since I'm using it when I wind down, regardless of what oil I was using or trigger, because it could be a sound, it could be a touch, it could be some people trigger and have like kinesthetic anchors, like certain fingers for creativity or reading or whatever focus, whatever you condition regularly, you get triggered. So I'll use, you know, that also.

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So for aromatherapy, in terms of my tools, either a diffuser, it's a spray like in a water bottle or personal care spray that's diluted with water, or topical, you know, 1 or 2 drops and I'm, I'm good. In terms of the actual oils themselves, My go-to are just like 5 or 6. Rosemary, it's been cited to enhance concentration. So it's just what a great edgy, you know, cognitive performance, memory recall. So that could, that can increase your chances of remembering especially complex tasks. Thinking what I have on hand in the other room, peppermint. It's known as for its invigorating properties, can help stimulate the mind, boost concentration, enhance mental alertness. So that might be really good for especially like longer study sessions that you need. Another go-to is lemon. It has an— obviously if you've used lemon or it's just lemon water, you're cutting lemons, it has an uplifting, energizing effect. And things that are good for your mood tends to be good for your mind also as well. So if It helps me with mental clarity. Lavender is more associated— I use lavender more not so much for when I'm studying or reading, but more when I want to wind down. Again, that's part of the parasympathetic blend. So it can improve cognitive performance by reducing your stress, anxiety levels also as well, creates more of an internally calm environment. And then because of that, I could focus better and have mental clarity. And then finally, if I was to add any extra, and I'll get to the next question, frankincense. I don't use it as much, but it helps promote some, promote relaxation. Again, reducing stress, because whenever you have an opportunity to reduce stress, it'll help you to be able to be more present, you know, with, with the material that you want to be able to, to remember and study. So anything helps you Relax will help me to personally to concentrate. So it could overall help your brain performance. Frankincense, I'll use a lot. I'll stack like when I'm meditating, if that makes sense. So I'll stack different modalities. I'll use my NuCalm. Some of you know what NuCalm is. For me, it's my favorite app that helps me to kind of get into flow states or meditate. There's Calm and there's Headspace, but for me, NuCalm has outperformed You know, all of those again, N-U-C-A-L-M. And then eucalyptus. It's very refreshing, very stimulating. And again, these you could get at your local grocery store. You get them on Amazon. It's particularly good, eucalyptus, if you've ever been into maybe like a steam room to help your respiratory system. And obviously oxygen is so important for the brain, so that can enhance potentially the oxygen flow to your brain. Which could be beneficial for your cognitive performance. And maybe sandalwood, if I was to put one more there, again, for mood-enhancing properties, which gives me mental clarity, has been shown to help with calmness also as well. I'll alternate with that for my meditation also. I feel like I go even deeper in my meditative practices when I use sandalwood. And I don't use everything at the same, you know, all the time. And so it's just whatever kind of works for you. If you're getting bodywork done, adding that into the oils, like maybe you have some kind of base and the therapist could add a few drops of an essential oil. They're very potent, right? So you want to just kind of use your judgment.