Scents and Appetite!

Michels and colleagues share that “Before and after Trier Social Stress Test, 91 participants . . . inhaled one odor during 10 min: Scots pine, grass . . . or control (i.e., demineralized water). . . . Both nature olfactory exposures improved some stress outcomes. Both were associated with lower cortisol in non-stress conditions, but only grass odor was more beneficial for negative affect [mood] decrease after stress. No effect on heart rate variability was seen. . . . In non-stress situations, grass odor increased vegetable preference, while the pine odor group had higher sweet high-fat snack preference. Grass odor was also reported to induce healthier food choices. During stress recovery, both pine and grass odor groups had higher preference to sweet high-fat snacks.”

Nathalie Michels, Shania Boudrez, Paula Pineda, and Christophe Walgraeve. “Nature-Related Odors Influence Stress and Eating Behavior:  A Laboratory Experiment with Pine and Grass.”  Environment and Behavior, in press, https://doi.org/10.1177/00139165231201608