Peppermint and menthol may support athletic performance, though the evidence is thin and specific. One small 2013 trial found that a daily dose of peppermint essential oil improved airflow, work and time to exhaustion in twelve healthy young men. Menthol's separate cooling effect only works on contact with the mouth.
The short version
Almost every claim that peppermint boosts performance traces back to a single 2013 paper by Meamarbashi and Rajabi. In that trial, twelve healthy male students drank 500 ml of mineral water containing 0.05 ml of peppermint essential oil daily for ten days. Researchers measured blood pressure, heart rate and spirometry, then ran a Bruce protocol treadmill test with gas analysis, and reported significant changes in airflow, power and time to exhaustion.
The authors put forward three possible explanations: relaxation of bronchial smooth muscle, increased ventilation and brain oxygen concentration, and lower blood lactate. These were offered as likely mechanisms and were never tested directly. Muscle recovery, cognitive function and maximal strength sat outside the scope of the study, so claims about those do not come from this research.
Menthol works through a different route. It appears to help during endurance exercise in the heat by creating a sensation of cooling, and it has to touch thermoreceptors in the mouth to do so. The honest limits on all of this: twelve participants, young males only, no long term follow up. It is an early signal that deserves more research.
What does the research actually say about peppermint and exercise performance?
Almost everything written about peppermint and athletic performance traces back to one paper: Meamarbashi A, Rajabi A, "The effects of peppermint on exercise performance," published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2013. Being precise about this matters, because the same trial has been written up under several different headlines, including respiratory ventilation, brain oxygen concentration and exercise performance, which can make one study look like a whole body of evidence.
Twelve healthy male students each drank one 500 ml bottle of mineral water containing 0.05 ml of peppermint essential oil every day for ten days. Researchers measured blood pressure, heart rate and spirometry, covering forced vital capacity (FVC), peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) and peak inspiratory flow (PIF), one day before and after the supplementation period. Participants then completed a treadmill exercise test using the Bruce protocol, with metabolic gas analysis and ventilation measurement. The researchers reported significant changes in airflow, power and time to exhaustion.
That is a real finding and worth knowing. It comes from one small study, and the authors themselves called for more research.
What did the 2013 study measure, and what did it leave out?
Peppermint gets credited with a lot of things it was never tested for, so it is worth setting out exactly what this trial covered.
| Measured in the study | Left out |
|---|---|
| Blood pressure and heart rate | Muscle recovery or post-exercise soreness |
| Spirometry: FVC, PEF and PIF | Cognitive function, focus or reaction time |
| Time to exhaustion on a Bruce protocol treadmill test | Maximal strength or resistance-training performance |
| Work and power output during that treadmill test | Effects in women, older adults or trained athletes |
| Metabolic gas analysis and ventilation during exercise | Long term or repeated-season use |
Peppermint is often credited with better muscle recovery, sharper thinking and more power in the gym. None of those three were tested. The treadmill protocol recorded work and power output during a graded run to exhaustion, which is a measure of endurance. Recovery and cognition were never assessed at all.
How might peppermint affect breathing during exercise?
The study's authors put forward three explanations for what they saw: relaxation of the bronchial smooth muscles, an increase in respiratory ventilation and brain oxygen concentration, and a decrease in blood lactate. Worth repeating that these are the authors' proposed mechanisms, offered to explain the results. The trial was not designed to test them individually.
The plausible route is peppermint's main active compound, menthol, which activates cold-sensing receptors in the airways and mouth. That is the same property that puts menthol in cough and cold products, and it is why so many people describe peppermint in terms of how their breathing feels during a session.
A second, smaller paper from the same lead researcher (Meamarbashi, 2014) looked at the instant effects of peppermint essential oil on physiological parameters and exercise performance, and pointed in the same direction. It comes from the same group at a similarly small scale, so it is best read as supporting context.
Why does menthol only work if it touches your mouth?
Menthol is the part of this story most often confused with peppermint itself, and it has its own separate evidence base, largely in endurance exercise in the heat. The effect there is described as a perceived cooling.
Chris Stevens, PhD, a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Southern Cross University, has explained that menthol is effective when applied during endurance exercise in the heat because it feels as though it cools you down. He adds that the menthol needs to be in contact with thermoreceptors in the mouth, and that in his assessment "a pill would probably not work."
That is the practical takeaway, and it makes delivery format important. A capsule that dissolves in the stomach bypasses the receptors that produce the effect. Formats that keep menthol in contact with the mouth, such as a sublingual drop, a rinse or a mouthful of a menthol drink, work with the mechanism.
Who is this worth trying, and who should skip it?
Worth a try if you are
- An endurance athlete training or competing in heat, where the perceived cooling effect of menthol has the most support behind it.
- Looking for a caffeine free pre-session ritual. Peppermint contains no caffeine, so it carries no jitters and no afternoon crash.
- Someone who notices their breathing most during a hard session.
- Comfortable trying something backed by an encouraging early signal and judging it on your own experience.
Probably not the right fit if you are
- Living with GERD or acid reflux, since peppermint can relax the valve at the top of the stomach.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding, or buying for young children, without speaking to a clinician first.
- Known to have a mint allergy.
- Hoping for gains in strength, recovery or mental performance, since those sat outside what the research measured.
Peppermint is best treated as a support or adjunct alongside training, sleep and nutrition, and it is not a treatment for any condition.
This article is educational and not medical advice. People with health conditions, and anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, should speak to a healthcare professional before using concentrated peppermint products.
How do Ark Drops fit in?
The research above says something specific about format: for the menthol side of the effect, contact with the mouth is the mechanism. Ark Drops are a caffeine free sublingual peppermint oil. The directions are to place a quarter pipette, 0.25 ml, under your tongue, hold it there for a moment and breathe in. That puts the peppermint and menthol straight into contact with the receptors Stevens describes.
To be clear about the limits: the 2013 study used peppermint essential oil in water, and no trial has tested Ark Drops themselves on exercise performance. What can fairly be said is that a sublingual format is consistent with how the mechanism is understood to work, and that peppermint delivers a cooling, breath opening sensation with no caffeine in it. If breathing is what you notice most during a hard session, that is the honest case for trying it.
Related reading: peppermint oil benefits for focus, breathing and performance, and natural energy drink alternatives without the crash if you are looking for a pre-session lift without a can of energy drink.
Frequently asked questions
Does peppermint oil really improve athletic performance?
A small 2013 study found that twelve healthy young men who took a daily dose of peppermint essential oil for ten days showed significant changes in airflow, power and time to exhaustion on a treadmill test. It is an encouraging early result. The sample was small, all participants were young males, and the authors called for more research.
Is there more than one study on peppermint and exercise performance?
Most articles on this topic describe the same 2013 trial by Meamarbashi and Rajabi under different headlines. A second, smaller 2014 paper from the same lead researcher looked at the instant effects of peppermint essential oil and pointed in the same direction. It comes from the same group, so it is best read as supporting context.
Does menthol work if you take it as a pill?
Probably not for the cooling effect. Chris Stevens, PhD, of Southern Cross University has explained that menthol needs to be in contact with thermoreceptors in the mouth to produce the perceived cooling that helps during endurance exercise in the heat, and that a pill would likely not work. Formats that keep menthol in the mouth, such as sublingual drops, rinses and mouthfuls of a menthol drink, work with the mechanism.
Does peppermint improve muscle recovery or brain function?
The 2013 study did not measure either one. It measured blood pressure, heart rate, lung function and treadmill performance. Claims that peppermint improves recovery, strength or cognition do not come from this research.
Is peppermint better than caffeine before a workout?
They do different jobs. Caffeine is a well established stimulant with a large body of research behind it. Peppermint works on breathing and perceived cooling, and it contains no caffeine at all, which is why many people reach for it when training late in the day, cutting back on stimulants, or looking for a lift without jitters. Plenty of people use both.
Sources
- Meamarbashi A, Rajabi A. The effects of peppermint on exercise performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2013;10:15. doi:10.1186/1550-2783-10-15. Read the study · PMC3607906
- Meamarbashi A. Instant effects of peppermint essential oil on the physiological parameters and exercise performance. 2014. PMC4103722
- Chris Stevens, PhD, Sport and Exercise Science, Southern Cross University, on menthol and endurance exercise in the heat. Muscle & Fitness
By Dina Rogonja
