Memory and smell go beyond a simple pleasant luxury of our day, it is a connecting link to a particular phase of life and associated feelings. Presumably, there is more to understand about how exactly memory and smell are connected and how specific aromas physically push the neural rewind button.
Why do odours cause vivid recollections?
Research has shown that the sense of smell is special because is it directly connected to the limbic system, which is associated with memory. Once a familiar smell is recognised, the olfactory nerve sends messages directly to the part of the brain that is associated with emotions and memories.
Scent in Recollection of Childhood Experiences
Scent-linked memory of childhood is believed to be one of the most diverse and powerful memory experiences because new knowledge and smells are likely to be encoded. China offers smouldering espresso and the tantalizing smell of freshly baked cookies in a parent’s kitchen as well as the power of the fragrance of flowers in the grandparents’ garden to become memories that make us turn back in every stage of our life cycle. Memory and Smell are strongly associated during the early years so nostalgic scents from childhood.
Especially significant. Fragrances as Emotional Time Machines
Some scents have a seemingly miraculous ability to capture our past and set us right back to that moment. For instance, the scent of pine makes people think of Christmas Day and the scent of sunblock makes them think of summer holidays. This capability of scent and memory also helps why such people are inclined to certain perfumes since those scents have an inclination to bring up lovely memories such as friends and kin or memorable events in their lives.
Ways to attract the power of scent memory
What we know about the connection between olfactory triggers and memory gives a brand new perspective on how to make our lives fuller. This way we can deliberately select appropriate fragrances that would make homeowners feel comfortable using inside their houses or even putting on fragrances that cause feelings of joy, love or memories of something we cherish in our past. Moreover, impacting nostalgic scents from meaningful events such as weddings, travels etc. create a strong memory that can be revived in future, thus collection of personal scent memories.
