Study: Jasmine helps baseball players

Chicago, IL, United States (AHN) – After enduring years of criticism for rampant use of steroids, baseball players may have just found an all-natural alternative: a whiff a jasmine.

A study found that a heavy sniff of jasmine increases batting performance. Researchers say they have the details to prove it, giving a whole new spin to the term “flower power.”

Researchers from the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago used members of the Chicago White Sox as study participants.

Some players wore jasmine-scented wristbands while other donned plain wristbands.

Among the findings, those playing with the flowery scent hit the ball better and had better reaction time than those wearing the plain wristbands.

The results mirror findings by Dr. Alan Hirsch, the study’s author, that the smell of jasmine helped improve performance of bowlers, according to a 2007 study published in the Internal Journal of Essential Oil Therapeutics.

Researchers believe jasmine’s scent may have uplifted player’s moods, made than less anxious and provided an extra burst of energy, causing them to perform better. Another possibility is that the smell augmented the players’ motivation to perform better in the presence of the smell.

Dr. Hirsch presented his findings Thursday at the annual meeting of the Association of Chemoreception Sciences in California

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