Peppermint Can Help Enhance Athlete’s Performance
Did you know that smelling peppermint can potentially help enhance an athlete’s performance?
Research was conducted by Bryan Raudenbush, PhD (Department of Psychology) from Wheeling Jesuit University on the Effects of Peppermint on enhancing mental performance and cognitive functions, pain threshold and tolerance, digestion and digestive processes and athletic performance.
In this study, they had athletes perform a 15 minute stress exercise test on a treadmill where they presented the athletes with four different odors (peppermint, jasmine, kimethyl sulfide or non-odored control condition) through their nasal canal. They discovered that the Peppermint odor had a significant impact on lessening one’s perception of the physical workload, temporal workload, effort and frustration with workout. Research found that when the peppermint was used participants rated their level of energy increased and exhaustion decreased. For more information on this study you can preview the complete white paper at SenseofSmell.
In addition, according to Healthylivinganswers not only is peppermint used to increase performance but several athletes also use peppermint to help relax and numb their overworked muscles and/or aching joints.
Good news – Researchers are continuing to study peppermint’s ability to enhance athletic performance and are also starting to examine how peppermint-based analgesics for mild to moderate pain reactions. Therefore hopefully we will continue to have more information on the benefits of peppermint and exercise.
Other Health Benefits of Peppermint:
- Indigestion
- Dental Care
- Nausea and Headache
- Pain Relief
- Immune System
- Blood Circulation
- Hair / Skin Care
Hopefully even if you are not an athlete you can still enjoy some of the benefits of peppermint. Some examples of how you can add some peppermint into your daily routine would be to light a peppermint candle, rub peppermint oil on your temples or chew a piece of peppermint gum to help stimulate your senses.
For more information or to share your thoughts visit our blog at bodyhacker. We look forward to hearing from you!
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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 at 3:03 am and is filed under Fitness Tips, Nutrition Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
