This scent could actually help you sleep better

Can you smell your way to a better sleep?

We’ve already told you about that nifty trick that can help you fall asleep in as little as 60 seconds but it turns out, the good ol’ nose knows other ways to help you unwind.

Scientists at Brown University recently reviewed 18 studies on aromatherapy and collected pearls of wisdom – er, scents – from each. Turns out, scents from essential oils have a profound effect on our moods, behavior, and physiology, since they’re tied to the parts of our brain tied to emotions and learning.

As Drs. Mehmet Oz (yes, that Dr. Oz) and Mike Roizen write in the Idaho Statesman, these scents have powerful effects on your schnoz.

One key finding, courtesy of Japan’s Mie University Graduate School of Medicine? Sniffing rose essential oil can help you get a longer, more restful night’s sleep. That’s right, if you take a good long whiff of a rose or a rose-scented oil, you’ll sleep way deeper.

According to an abstract from the 2006 study, “rose inhalation significantly prolonged the. . .sleeping time, whereas lemon inhalation significantly shortened it.”

Stopping and smelling the roses during sleep may have other benefits too. In one 2007 study published in the journal, Science, students were given a task to memorize the location of cards on a computer screen while sniffing bursts of a rose scent.

Then, during a half-hour sleep, they were administered the scent again. Researchers discovered that the scent triggered their brain’s active memory and helped them better remember the location of the cards when they awoke.

Roses, people, they’re not just for Valentine’s day and Bachelor contestants.

(iStock)