Aroma of Genius Essential Oil Blend Significantly Enhances Cognitive Performance and Brain Metabolism in Healthy Adults

TL;DR

A new essential oil blend called Genius improves memory and alertness in healthy adults, possibly by boosting brain metabolism.

Contribution

The Genius essential oil blend was shown to enhance cognitive performance more effectively than pure sage aroma.

Findings

Genius and sage aromas improved memory and executive function compared to no aroma.

Participants using Genius felt more alert and less fatigued than those using sage.

Both Genius and sage increased brain metabolism during tasks, but no direct link to cognitive performance was found.

Abstract

This double‐blind positive‐controlled study investigated the potential for the aroma of a novel blend of essential oils, Genius to enhance cognitive performance and mood in healthy adults, and whether any such benefits might be related to changes in cerebrovascular oxygenation measured using Near Infra‐Red Spectroscopy. Ninety participants (61 female) were pseudo‐randomly allocated to achieve a gender balance across three experimental groups: Genius aroma, Sage aroma (positive control) or no aroma (control). All participants completed mood questionnaires after completing a range of cognitive tasks whilst wearing a Near Infra‐Red Spectroscopy headband. Multivariate and subsequent univariate data analysis revealed significant enhancements to memory and executive function tasks in the Genius and sage aroma conditions compared to no aroma with larger effects noted for the Genius blend. Furthermore, the novel blend outperformed the aroma of pure sage and also left participants feeling significantly more alert and less fatigued at the end of the testing session. Near Infra‐Red Spectroscopy data indicated that both sage and Genius blend enhanced metabolism during task performance with a greater impact from the Genius aroma. Although suggestive of a mechanism underpinning the enhancements observed no correlations were found between the Near Infra‐Red Spectroscopy signals and cognitive performance. This study strengthens the evidence base for the beneficial effects of essential oil aroma inhalation for cognitive performance, however the underlying mechanisms remain elusive.

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