How smells awaken our memory

You smelled the familiar scent of cologne, and an image of a loved one who used similar perfumes immediately appeared in your head. The smell of pancakes reminded me of Sunday mornings, when my favorite Disney cartoons were shown on TV, and my mother cooked breakfast. And the aroma of pine needles and tangerines resurrected warm memories of New Year's Eve.

Such vivid and emotionally rich images that arise in response to the smell are typical for most people.

French novelist Marcel Proust book “Towards Swann” is a similar experience: the smell of cakes made the hero feel a wave of pleasure and forget about the hardships of adulthood. He did not immediately understand where the pleasant experiences came from, and only after some time he guessed that the reason for everything was memories of childhood.

Because of these lines, the ability of smells to evoke memories was called the Proust phenomenon. It is characteristic of all people and is directly related to how our brain works.

Why smells evoke vivid memories

It's all about how our brain handles odors. When we breathe in air, chemical molecules bind to receptors in the nose. Then information about them enters the olfactory bulb - a paired formation in the front of the brain - and goes further to the cerebral cortex, where it is recognized as a certain aroma.

Similarly, information is transmitted from all the senses, but the sense of smell occupies a special place, since the primary processing of odors going on in brain structures responsible for emotions and memory.

The olfactory bulb has direct connections to the amygdala and hippocampus. The first structure is involved in the formation of emotions, especially anxiety and fear, the second is associated with memory, associative thinking and learning. That is why smells cause more emotional and positive memories than visual images or words.

Of course, the aroma can also remind you of bad events. For example, in one experiment it was the smell, felt while watching an unpleasant movie, that later evoked the most negative, exciting and detailed memories.

And yet, for the most part, fragrances resurrect pleasant pictures from the past filled with nostalgia for happy times. And there is an opinion that this can have a good effect on health.

How pleasant smells can improve health

Because familiar scents evoke a strong emotional response, they can work as a stress reliever.

Listening to music is often advised for calmness and good mood, but smells associated with positive memories cause twice as strong a reaction as listening to tracks.

In one experiment discoveredthat when people smell the aroma associated with autobiographical memories, they breathe more deeply, slowly and relaxed. More than more anxious a person, the better a familiar smell affects him.

Another study found that scents associated with memories not only give positive emotions, a sense of comfort and happiness, but they can decrease the level of inflammation in the body. For example, smells can help in the fight against addiction. In one experiment, familiar scents associated with pleasant memories helped smokers reduce cravings for cigarettes.

So, if you know what smells are nostalgic, try using them as a stress reliever. Just do not overdo it: the nose quickly gets used to the aromas, and with constant use, the method may lose its effectiveness.