Starlight
mints? Aromatherapy? Survival?
How do these three things go together?
Because
according to a 2008 study International Journal of Neuroscience “...participants
exposed to peppermint oil experienced enhanced memory and processing speeds…[it]
also increased their alertness while helping them maintain a sense of calm”.
Peppermint
is an herb that is a cross between two types of mints, water mint and spearmint. Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians among
others used mint plants and extracts, including peppermint, as medicine
thousands of years ago. However, peppermint wasn’t recognized as a distinct
subspecies until the late 17th century.
Now
I like starlight mints, and I also know that when people initially realize that
they are “misplaced” or turned around in the wilderness, fear and
anxiety begin to spike, and their thought process starts running around in
circles chasing its own tail.
However,
if you S.T.O.P., sit down, breathe, think AND eat three starlight mints, you
have a much better chance of thinking your way out of the crisis you’re in,
because eating three starlight mints can have a mild, but noticeable, effect on
your brain due to the combination of sugar and peppermint oil. And the time taken to suck on three starlight
mints while sitting and breathing should be enough to jump start your brain and
get it working again. Because when you
are “misplaced”, if you don’t relax, calm down and think, you will panic
and if you panic, you’re truly “lost”.
Eating
three starlight mints can provide a temporary boost in your alertness and
potentially enhance reasoning functions due to the peppermint oils,
Initially
there will be a “sugar rush” as the sugars in the mints cause a rapid
increase in your blood sugar (glucose) levels.
Glucose is the brain's primary fuel source, and the brain uses over half
of all the glucose you eat. This sugar
rush will give you temporary feeling of increased energy and alertness, and a
slight mood boost due to the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated
with pleasure and reward. Be warned nothing
is free, and this temporary boost could be followed by rapid drop or “sugar
crash” which will cause a decline in energy and concentration, as the body
releases insulin to regulate the glucose levels. This effect will likely be minor and short-lived,
but the sugar crash could lead to an increase of fatigue, irritability,
difficulty concentrating, and possibly impair cognitive functions like memory
and decision-making.
Peppermint
oil in starlight mints can increase your focus and alertness, and decrease
anxiety and fatigue, because it contains menthol. Menthol has been associated with enhanced
alertness and focus, and studies suggest that the aroma of peppermint can increase
the function of the hippocampus, a brain region critical for memory and
learning, by boosting cognitive function by up to 15%. The 2008 study by International Journal of Neuroscience
found that peppermint aroma improved cognitive performance, memory, and
alertness in the participants. However, the
2008 study on peppermint's cognitive effects was focused on inhaled essential
oils, and it is unknown if eating mints has the same effect.
I
have experimented with the effects of eating three starlight mints, when the
three o’clock blah comes on at work, and within a short time (less than 15
minutes) my energy levels and focus increased and was able to make it to five o’clock.
So,
next time I head out into the wilderness I am going to throw some starlight
mints into my pocket and some in my survival bag.
Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Ten Essentials of Winter
Camping ©”, where we will talk about how to camp in the winter wilderness and
stay warm and safe.
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
to leave a comment on either site. I
announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at
bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Sources
Blatchley,
Barbara and Li, Sijia; “Examining the Effect of Peppermint on Cognitive
Functioning”, https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.psichi.org/resource/resmgr/journal_2014/fall14jnli.pdf,
accessed August 2, 2025
Deivanayagame,
Balasubramaniam, et. al.; “Effect of Peppermint Aroma on Short Term Memory and
Cognition in Healthy Volunteers”, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342000375_Effect_of_Peppermint_Aroma_on_Short_Term_Memory_and_Cognition_in_Healthy_Volunteers,
accessed August 2, 2025
Ellis,
Rachel Reiff; “Health Benefits of Peppermint”, https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-all-about-antioxidants,
accessed August 2, 2025
Michigan
State University Extension; “Stressed? Peppermint can help!”, June 01, 2016, https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/stressed_peppermint_can_help,
accessed August 2, 2025
