An article I found on Staying awake, and Alert. Study done on Long-Haul Truck Drivers-

by Jennifer Schnittker
(Butler, Pa 16001)

"Waking Up and Staying Up
Even when I do get a solid eight hours of sleep, there are still days when I just can?t shake the tired feeling, especially when that three-o?clock-slump rolls around. In an effort to shed some light on this problem, scent researchers have also tested whether there are particular smells that?ll give us an extra boost in the morning or midday. Lucky for us, it looks like there are such smells. (Alas, a girl can have only so much coffee before it just stops working.)

Good news for me (and bad news for my corner coffee shop), it looks like peppermint and lemon have the power to lure us into a state of alert productivity, similar to that of a good cup of java. A study conducted by Dr. Hoel Warm and William Dember showed that workers who got an occasional whiff of peppermint performed better on tasks that required sustained attention.

Japanese companies have already tapped into this in hopes of increasing workers? moods and productivity. Workplaces have begun providing office aromas through a computerized odor delivery system built into the air conditioning (I kid you not, this is straight from the Sense of Smell Institute). And it?s worked?workers reported increased efficiency in their routine jobs. Warm and Dember also tested the power of peppermint on long-haul truck drivers who (you guessed it) found that the scents, sent through their truck?s air conditioning system, did perk them up on long journeys.

Lemon has also proven powerful with similar alertness-inducing effects. Studies (conducted in both labs and real world scenarios by the Sense of Smell Institute) showed that people exposed to lemony, woody fragrances early in the morning felt an increase in mental stimulation. When the same people were exposed to a floral scent later in the day, they reported an improvement in their concentration. Lemon has also been tested on clerical workers, who made fewer errors after inhaling faint hints of it." Article done by Alley Firestone.

I thought this was interesting knowing how much drivers suffer from fatigue. It sounds kind of silly--but hell what can it hurt. I will do my best to look around and find peppermint candles for my husband's truck. Something that when he gets the "sleepies" and hypnotized by the road, he can light it, and wake up! Thought I would share it with you all.

Jennifer