Don’t forget to pause and smell the roses, it may improve your memory, according to a recent study

Smell is typically considered to be the least significant of the five senses. However, a growing body of studies indicates that smell may also play a key role in memory recall for objects like food and flowers.

Additionally, a recent study reveals that improving one's sense of smell may improve memory.

According to a study published in “Frontiers in Neuroscience,” older persons who were exposed to smells. While they slept demonstrated enhanced verbal memory performance. As well as improved function in a brain pathway that supports memory formation.

“I would consider it preliminary. But I think it's pretty exciting,” said Donald Wilson, a neurologist at NYU Langone Health who was not involved in the recent study.

“I think it's an important first step in showing how very simple odour enrichment can influence. Or at least protect against degeneration,” noted Leslie Kay, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Chicago. Who was not involved in the study.

A loss of smell is a symptom of several neurological conditions, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, and depression. Additionally, it is well-recognised that memory loss can result from damage to the sense of smell. Which can be caused by ageing, pollutants, smoking, head injuries, menopause, or even having a habitually stuffy nose.

As you become older, your memory and your sense of smell go hand in hand, according to Michael Leon, the study's lead author.

The majority of people in our contemporary, wealthy society, according to Leon, a professor of neuroscience and behaviour at the University of California, Irvine, are odour-deprived. The absence of stimulation “may leave their brain open to a wide range of issues.”

The study had just 43 healthy volunteers, ranging in age from 60 to 85. However, the group that was exposed to seven different smells for two hours every night for four months outperformed the control group by 226% on a verbal memory test. Brain scans also revealed differences between them.

People are scrambling to find something to save their memories, according to Leon. “This is a very efficient thing that requires no effort.”

Describing the potential causes of this

According to Wilson, there is a biological justification for the connection between olfaction and memory. The brain's smell system is only one or two connections away from cognition and emotion-related brain regions, as opposed to a far greater distance for the eyes and ears.

Only smell has a “direct superhighway into the memory centres of the brain,” to use Leon's phrase. And as a result, it has a much bigger effect on memory than the other senses.

Wilson stated that he was interested in the discovery that the only test that Leon and his team's study subjects showed improvement in was verbal memory. The majority of individuals are bad at identifying scents; they can smell something, but they can't describe it as “a rose scent” or “cinnamon.” He claimed that this is why most odour tests present individuals with many selection possibilities.

Wilson claimed that there is a gap between olfaction and language that is difficult for humans to comprehend. It's intriguing that the new study is having an impact on verbal learning.

During sleep, the brain cannot pick up new knowledge

For example, playing German audio to someone who is sleeping will not help them learn the language. However, according to Wilson, the brain can detect odours provided when you're asleep. Memorization is improved when a scent is presented when learning a list of words and again that night as you sleep. “That's another reason to think maybe it could work,” he said, referring to the idea of activating the brain as you sleep to slow down the ageing process.

Another recent study that focused on dementia-stricken older persons discovered that twice-daily exposure to 40 various smells significantly improved their memory. Leon, who was not engaged in the research, claimed that “no drug has come close to the improvements they've seen.” It's never too late

According to Kay, “massive” research is required to support the claim that odour stimulation of the brain can improve memory or delay cognitive decline. Wilson and Kay both expressed their excitement at the findings and caution that they will exercise until they have access to larger studies.

Wilson commented, “It seems like there's something there, and that would be nice.

Smell stimulation is more important than ever.

The COVID-19 epidemic has raised the stakes for this type of effort, according to Kay.

According to research published last year by Kay, almost 15 million people with COVID-19 lost their sense of smell for months at a period, if not permanently. This may have increased their likelihood of developing cognitive issues in the future.

I believe it's critical that we all pay attention to olfactory health at this time, she said.

A wave of “post-COVID dementia” may be on the horizon because even modest cases of COVID-19 can cause degeneration in brain regions linked to the olfactory system.

Kay is particularly intrigued by the idea that sensory stimulation, as tested by Leon, might be able to at least partially halt that degradation.

She remarked, “They've come up with a fairly cheap, simple treatment that is quite promising.

What might be required to activate memory?

The scents utilised in the new study were rose, orange, eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, rosemary, and lavender. “I don't want to have gross odours in my house,” Leon stated.

Though it doesn't work to blend all the different odours into one, he added, the type of odour doesn't seem to matter. It's preferable to have more odours because novelty is vital.

Leon said overnight diffusers involve less effort than purposefully opening spice jars or inhaling essential oils twice a day, though he doesn't believe it matters whether someone is awake or asleep when they experience the odours.

Sleep is not disturbed by the smells.

Someone can be awakened by a bright light, a loud sound, or a touch, but odours “cannot wake people up,” according to Leon. “Not even frying bacon works,”

The reason for this, according to him, is that, unlike the other senses, scent is not routed through the thalamus, a region of the brain that connects to sleep centres.

A business named Memory Air was founded by Leon and a few of his coworkers. The business will start selling products later this year that can instantly disseminate up to 40 different scents twice a night. Leon stated that although a final cost has not yet been determined, “we will be aiming for an affordable consumer product.”

If one can be consistent about sniffing a variety of aromas twice daily, any diffuser or even a spice cabinet will work.

According to Leon, the brain needs constant stimulation, especially as it becomes older.

For better vision, older persons with cataracts should have surgery. Hearing aids should be worn by those who have hearing issues. Everyone should be sure to create or restore social relationships after the pandemic's isolation. Exercise and a balanced diet are still essential.

And now, said Leon, they ought to include olfactory stimulation in the list of things they do for their deteriorating brains.

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