Sniffing rosemary can improve memory

Studies have found that sniffing rosemary can help to improve brain function and memory.

A team of psychologists at Northumbria University in Newcastle conducted tests using oils extracted from the herb and found that when sniffed in advance it helped improve a person's ability to remember basic tasks by between 60 and 75 per cent.

Rosemary is currently used as a moderate painkiller for headaches and digestive problems, but its links to memory go all the way back to the days of William Shakespeare.

In Hamlet, the playwright's character Ophelia said: "There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance: pray, love, remember."

Dr Mark Moss is due to present the findings of this latest study to delegates at the upcoming British Psychology Society conference in Harrogate.

"We wanted to build on our previous research that indicated rosemary aroma improved long-term memory and mental arithmetic," he said.

A total of 66 people took part in the study and were split into two groups; one of which were sent into a room scented with rosemary and the other into a room with no scent at all.

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