Dan's Papers - March 21, 2008 - Spicy Scents Make Safer Drivers

The key to safer roads may lie in the scent of peppermint and cinnamon. A study conducted by Dr. Bryan Raudenbush, Director of Undergraduate Research and associate professor of psychology at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia, found that drivers exposed to the scent of cinnamon and peppermint experienced increased alertness and reduced frustration behind the wheel.

In Raudenbush's study, participants engaged in simulated driving conditions were observed under three aromatic environments: cinnamon, peppermint, and neutral. These fragrances were introduced to drivers with an oxygen concentrator at a rate of 30 seconds every 15 minutes. Raudenbush's findings, presented during the 2006 Third Annual Undergraduate Research Day in the Capitol Rotunda in Charleston, West Virginia, showed that peppermint scent was associated with decreased anxiety and frustration when driving. Both peppermint and cinnamon scent were associated with elevated alertness, reduced frustration, and decreased temporal demand while driving.

Any morning commuter who's running late can relate to throwing caution out the window in the mad rush to clock in on time. The frustration, anger, and anxiety drivers feel when running late for any event can lead to aggressive driving practices such as speeding, tailgating, dangerous passing, failure to yield right-of-way and disregard of traffic control devices. According to the National Safety Council, these aggressive driving behaviors contribute to over 50% of all accidents.

Sleepy driving is also extremely dangerous and surprisingly prevalent. The Gallup Organization's 2002 National Survey of Distracted and Drowsy Driving Attitudes and Behaviors found that 37% of those polled had nodded off, at least momentarily, or fallen asleep at the wheel one or more times in their driving career. And 8% of those surveyed admitted to nodding off at the wheel in the past six months. The survey also revealed that over a five-year span, an estimated 800,000 to 1.88 million drivers had been in traffic accidents attributed to drowsy driving.

Raudenbush believes his study's findings suggest that peppermint and cinnamon scents may help reduce traffic accidents associated with frustration, fatigue and anxiety. In a prepared statement, Raudenbush concluded, "Periodic administration of these odors over long-term driving may prove beneficial in maintaining alertness and decreasing highway accidents and fatalities."

How can peppermint and cinnamon scents achieve these results? Dr. Alan Hirsch, Director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago and author of What's Your Food Sign? (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, Inc.) explains, "Peppermint and cinnamon both act as trigeminial irritants, which is the nerve that makes you cry when you cut an onion. The trigeminal nerve in turn stimulates the reticular activating system, which is the part of the brain that makes you more awake and alert." Hirsch links peppermint and cinnamon scents' revitalizing effect to mitigation of frustration, noting, "When you get tired, you get more frustrated and irritable."

Drivers can experiment with peppermint and cinnamon scents on the go by using essential oils. These highly concentrated, volatile oils obtained through steam distillation of plants pack a walloping punch of natural fragrance that eclipses those of synthetically-scented cardboard air fresheners. Automotive diffusers plug directly into a car's cigarette lighter and gently heat essential oils to release their fragrance. Hirsch also points out that drivers can "Chew a stick of peppermint gum, or have a peppermint candy. The odor molecules go through your nasal root ... so you get that same smell, even more intensely, helping to induce the same degree of alertness."

Dr. J. Steven Poceta, however, cautions drivers against relying wholly on scents' stimulating properties: "For sure, we know now, that except for certain medications which improve alertness and performance, the best thing to do if sleepy while driving is to pull over and sleep."

Patrick Dougherty has been involved in the natural health industry for five years, starting in R&D for a nutritional supplement manufacturer. He is currently Executive Editor of Energy Times.