subject: What We Smell Can Determine How We Feel [print this page] Have you ever walked into a room where fresh cinnamon rolls were baking and were immediately transported back in time to the home where you grew up, your mom in an apron, just taking the rolls out of the oven? Or sometimes you smell someone's cologne and you remember your junior prom?
There is a definite connection between fragrance and memory. When the nose detects a scent, olfactory neurons send information to the brain's limbic system.
It is the same system that controls our memory, behavior, and emotions before the information gets sent on to the cortex. Odors can be strong reminders of past experiences, both positive and negative. We often find ourselves drawn more toward scents that are related to fond memories. For example, if one wore a certain perfume during a successful relationship, one might want to re-create that feeling in the present time by wearing the same or similar fragrance.
The aroma of your own home is important, not just to you but to visitors. It has been said that a house that is on the market is more likely to be sold to the buyers who smell bread baking in the oven while they are viewing the home. Most likely they are carried back to pleasant memories of childhood and feel comfortable and at home in the new place, just because of the smell coming from the kitchen.
Use your crock pot or bread machine and you will find that coming home to the wonderful smells of meals being prepared will help contribute to a more relaxed, happy attitude for you and your family. Also, don't forget about the smell of flowers and candles as an easy addition to the pleasant aroma of a home.
But since we can't always have bread in the oven or candles burning, what about using a special scent that goes where you go? Lotions, body washes, sprays, perfumes, and other body care products such as essential oils, can be relaxers.
Floral fragrances are feminine and probably the most popular scent. If you love a certain bloom, you might try choosing a scent that starts with that one flower.
So-called green scents tend to be light and are ideal for someone who doesn't normally like to wear perfume. Green scents can include grass, bamboo, woody pine, and cypress, as well as herbs like rosemary and mint.
When it is cold outside during the fall or winter, people tend to gravitate to fragrances that elicit warmth and comfort.
Whatever you choose, just remember the connection between scents, memory, and emotion.
Feeling emotions such as peace, empowerment, and self-confidence can all come from being surrounded in the fragrance that brings those positive experiences to mind.
