Scientists say sticking this type of air freshener in your car could banish your aggression

Researchers have discovered the best air freshener to banish your road rage — and it doesn’t calm lavender.

The smell of peppermint oil was found to reduce negative feelings such as stress and aggression in drivers.

This, in turn, reduces aggressive driving, according to the Northumbria University team.

Those struggling with road rage could invest in a peppermint-scented air freshener, they suggested.

Fifty students from a British university were recruited for the study, under the pretext that it was easy to explore the use of virtual reality (VR) for driving simulation.

The participants, all over the age of 18 and holding full UK driving licences, were surveyed about their mood before and after completing the simulation, reporting how aggressive, alert, happy, stressed and calm they felt on a five-point scale.

They were split into two groups for the driving simulation test: one was exposed to peppermint oil via a diffuser, while a second control group was not.

Using a VR headset, chair, steering wheel and pedals, the participants were first allowed to practice for five minutes in a ‘quiet’ setting.

The researchers then increased the simulation to a 15-minute driving experience that could encourage aggression.

For example, other motorists would brake abruptly or cut into the competitor’s lane without signaling. There were 35 such incidents during the test for each participant.

Software recorded when their driving became aggressive, while two researchers recorded all verbal cues that indicated aggression.

It was not until the study was completed that participants were fully debriefed and told that the essential oil was the focus.

Those in the peppermint oil group exhibited an average of 21.6 times aggressive driving, while those in the control group averaged 25.2 times aggressive driving — an increase of 16.7 percent.

The researchers also found that those exposed to the scent were more alert and calm, but also less aggressive and stressed than those in the control group.

This means the scent “significantly reduces aggressive driving” and suggests that peppermint oil could be used daily by drivers to reduce their anger behind the wheel, the team said.

They suggested that, rather than putting diffusers in vehicles, the scent could be made into a car freshener to reduce driving aggression.

To explain why the aroma may be calming, the authors wrote that compounds in the essential oil have been shown to have antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects on the brain, which may be the “root” of its effect on road rage.

The research has been published in the Human psychopharmacology log.