The nose and brain are directly linked
The olfactory organ and the emotional center are directly linked, which explains the memory function through the olfactory trigger. Researchers at Michigan State University found amazing things in a study on dementia and nasal strength: Study participants who had a reduced olfactory performance had an increased death rate of 46%. The death rate was significantly lower in participants who had a good sense of smell.
The nose and memory are linked and are triggered by the limbic system. It plays an essential role when it comes to processing emotions. That is why we associate certain fragrances (a large selection available for example on parfumdreams) certain emotions and experiences.
Memories through scents
Fragrances shape our whole life, in the kitchen, when choosing a partner or in other situations. Often the smell of a fresh apple pie is associated with cozy, warm emotions from childhood, for example, because the grandmother often baked the children’s favorite dish. The situation is similar with perfume smells in connection with certain people. Anyone who associates bad experiences with the ex-partner and who always used a certain perfume will often suddenly experience bad ones when perceiving this fragrance memories faced.
The same applies when a certain fragrance is associated with positive experiences. Anyone who perceives a preferred scent activates their hippocampus and the amygdala. Researchers have even been able to demonstrate this through playback using magnetic resonance imaging.
Smell as a survival strategy
The Sense of smell was developed even before the higher and seeing in the history of evolution. It served and still serves as a real survival compass, for example when choosing a partner or when choosing food. For example, if we perceive the smell of spoiled food, we would never voluntarily put it in our mouths, because our body has a built-in warning function.
Everyone knows that typical rotten egg smell or the slightly sour note when it comes to spoiled salads. This perception triggers a feeling of discomfort and dislike in us. We instinctively know that these foods may no longer be suitable for consumption and would harm our bodies.
Therefore we have to be able to smell our partner
The scent also plays an important role when choosing a partner. The smell attractiveness decides who suits us: where the chemistry is proverbial. In the animal kingdom, the choice of partner based on smell has long been scientifically proven – this was also confirmed by Claire Dandine-Roulland (Université Paris Diderot) and her colleagues.
They carried out some studies on partner selection and found that our genes are partly responsible for the attractiveness of the smell. The genome of 383 married couples from Germany, Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Israel was tested. It was found that most of the couples showed an MHC dissimilarity.
The immune genes of the couples were different, which suggests that we are looking for a partner with opposing immune genes. However, there was an exception for the participants from Israel, because here no preference could be determined in the choice of partner depending on the MHC genes. Another indication that the scent influences the choice of partner, but that socio-cultural factors also play an important role.
Consciously train the nose tracking system
Sometimes different causes and circumstances can disrupt the nose tracking system. Common causes are inflammation of the sinuses or breathing disorders. Once such symptoms have subsided, the sense of smell usually returns on its own.
However, everyone can work on the sensitivity of their nose themselves, for example with very specific olfactory training. Through this training, the olfactory ability can be sensitized and increased. Experts recommend a trial course, which is completed consciously and in peace.
Through the targeted smell training, images in the head are linked with certain scents. The smell of rose water often brings to mind the image of a rose. It can also be good to combine several smells with each other, because this increases the activity in the brain. An oriental mixture of fragrances unites many concise fragrances that need to be recognized. This stimulates the performance in the brain and stimulates the nerve tracts.
Practical tips to train your sense of smell
The sense of smell can be trained with regular scent samples, because the sensory cells are newly formed. It is best to start with intense smells: onions, coffee or eucalyptus are particularly suitable as intense smells. The fragrance samples can be optimally stored in preserving jars. For the scent training it is best to choose four different odorous substances every day, smell them for ten minutes and then close again and put away. A sniff is enough to intensify the training effect.
We recommend such a test procedure over approx. Four months, because the sense of smell needs time to condition and improve. After this time, more sensitive training can begin. In addition to the particularly intense fragrances, there are now also finer notes. Vanilla, pineapple or cocoa are ideal. Slowly, the sense of smell can be challenged a little more, for example with notes that are particularly close together in the fragrance family.
Here, too, it is important to practice sensitization over a longer period of time, to keep adding new scent notes to the repertoire. Then it can move on to blind scent training. Here, the notes are sniffed with closed eyes to find out whether the visual link with the sense of smell is already working well.
Anyone who can distinguish even the finest scent nuances and differences between blackberries, strawberries or raspberries knows that their fine nose is working optimally again and that their sense of smell is pronounced.
Source: including Maximilian Puelma Touzel (Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization)
04/23/2021