Holistic Element 2: Smells That Stimulate Learning

Aromatherapy is a branch of holistic health that studies and practices the effect of smells on our physical and emotional health. This for some reason has been a controversial subject in the healthcare field. I happen to believe that smell does affect mood & functioning for a couple of very practical reasons. 1) Senses tend to trump one another. For example, when I try to read a book and someone has the t.v. abnormally loud, I have a hard time focusing on the visual input of the words from my book because my audio input has taken over control and is dominating all my senses; it makes me very frustrated and irritable. This really can apply to any of the senses- if one is being stimulated at an abnormal level, all of our energy seems focused on that stimulation and it takes conscious effort to neutralize this and direct our focus someplace else. 2) Have you ever eaten something you loved when you were sick, then later, when you are healthy, the smell of that same food makes you feel horribly ill? This is evidence (in my opinion) that smell triggers a memory. For some people, certain smells may be linked psychologically to a traumatic experience, something I experienced with clients as a massage therapist.
With respects to the classroom environment there are a couple applications that I might consider: 1) avoiding scents that may cause distraction or trigger negative response and 2) using subtle smells to trigger a desired response.
Something about smells though that tend to be overlooked is their origin. Most commonly encountered is “fragrance” which is full of man made chemicals. I suppose I would say that I have a tendency to believe that these chemicals are far more harmful that we think. With Autism, ADD and ADHD and learning disabilities on the rise, my thought is that these “fragrances” would fall under the first group of scents mentions, those that may have a negative response or become distracting. This would mean that commercial, scented products should be eliminated from the classroom as much as possible. Imagine the heavy chemicals that are already used to wash the school surfaces! Those we can’t do anything about but we can eliminate any other synthetic scents and even avoid wearing perfumed body products as well.
True Aromatherapy, on the other hand, might be a useful tool for establishing mood. Pure essential aromatherapy oils which are created from a very specific distillation process of plant oils, are subtle (almost undetectible even) and can stimulate certain parts of the brain that increase academic functioning, increase concentration, or calm hyperactivity. For instance lavender can be both calming and refreshing, sandalwood helps with focus, ylang ylang can ease tension and anger and both rosemary and peppermint bring concentration and mental clarity. What I am not sure of is school policies however aromatherapy is quite subtle and there are very safe means of utilizing it, such as a diffuser fan.
The oil is dropped onto an absorbent pad and a small fan gently blows the aroma out. Unconventional, but it could help to set the mood in the room for learning.