These Essential Oils Are The Best For Boosting Mood, New Research Finds

Aside from simply smelling nice, essential oils have long been thought to come with a number of therapeutic brain benefits (hence the name "aromatherapy"). But what are they, exactly—and which scents hold the most of them? That's what researchers from Monash University in Australia recently looked into, and their illuminating findings1 were just published in the journal Neurochemistry International. Here's what the study showed.

For this study, researchers looked at a compound called ascorbate in the brain, which helps regulate oxidative stress. By tracking the chemical ratios of ascorbate and neurotransmitters in the brain after smelling various essential oils, they were able to determine which scents had pro-oxidant or antioxidant effects on the brain.

While the pro-oxidant-supporting essential oils may not improve mood, they still had antimicrobial and antibacterial properties in some cases, the study notes.

We've long suspected that smell-good essential oils like lavender can benefit mood, but until now, we didn't totally understand why. According to Bennett, "This work paves the way to select and classify essential oils according to their mechanistic properties and to potentially develop inexpensive but effective therapies for the brain."

Next up, more research will be conducted on how essential oils can be better harnessed for mood support in the future. In the meantime, it would appear lavender and rosemary oils are definitely good options for when you need a mental pick-me-up.