Some people go to great lengths to remember important tasks or information, whether it’s memory training exercises, memory-enhancing medications, or mountains of calendars and to-do lists. While technology has given us many tools to rely on, most of them don’t train your brain to remember better. Instead, it makes it easier to forget, knowing very well that these tools store information without us having to use our brains for work.

And yet, there’s a better solution, and it starts in your pantry.

Rosemary in memory

Rosemary has been used for thousands of years to increase alertness and improve long-term memory. In fact, there are reports of its use in the universities of ancient Greece. Even Shakespeare refers to his abilities in his play “Hamlet”.

Back in 2003, researchers at Northumbria University in Newcastle showed that smelling rosemary was associated with an “improvement in performance for overall quality of memory and secondary memory factors” (1).

In 2012, researchers finally managed to scientifically explain the cognitive abilities of the herb (2). Here’s what they found out…

The new study followed twenty people who performed subtraction exercises as well as visual information processing tasks and other tests. Their mood was also assessed before and after contact with the rosemary scent at their workplaces and blood samples were taken.

A total of 66 people took part in the study and were randomly assigned to either the rosemary-scented room or another room without fragrance.

The results showed that participants in the rosemary-scented room performed 60-75% better when it came to remembering events, completing tasks at specific times, and remembering things faster than participants in the room without scent. So, it definitely shows an increase in memory for many people.

Traces of rosemary compound found in the blood

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