10/13/2025
Essential oil is more than just smell. I love rose essential oil and here is research showing it benefits your brain !
🧠 A new study shows essential oil can actually increase brain volume in just one month!
Wearing rose-scented essential oil daily may do more than uplift your mood—it could actually increase your brain volume.
A groundbreaking study from Kyoto University has found that continuous inhalation of rose essential oil for just one month led to measurable growth in gray matter volume (GMV) across the whole brain, particularly in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)—a region linked to memory and emotional processing.
Using MRI scans to assess changes, researchers observed significant structural brain gains in women who wore the scent daily, while those who wore unscented water showed no such effect.
Notably, while the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex—regions traditionally associated with olfaction—didn’t show structural change, the PCC did, suggesting a deeper cognitive or emotional link to scent exposure. The findings open new doors for non-invasive, scent-based brain health strategies, particularly in dementia prevention. Previous research has associated PCC atrophy with early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
The authors suggest that this simple, pleasant intervention could potentially help maintain brain structure as we age—a compelling reason to rethink how we use scent in everyday life.
Source: Kokubun, K., Nemoto, K., & Yamakawa, Y. (2024). Continuous inhalation of essential oil increases gray matter volume. Brain Research Bulletin.
