Understanding the scent-memory connection.
A waft of perfume that reminds you of a loved one, the smell of freshly cut grass that takes you back to childhood springs—we have all experienced the abrupt trigger of memories or jolt of nostalgia when hit with a particular scent. As it turns out, familiar odors, whether obvious or more deeply connected to the subconscious, are perhaps one of the most powerful connections to our memories, and our emotions.
One of the first studies into the connections between scent and memories came in 2004. Dr. Rachel Herz and her collaborators at Brown University measured higher brain activity in a group of five women when they smelled a perfume which they associated with a positive memory compared to when they smelled one they’d never come across before. Interestingly, the brain activity from smelling the perfume was markedly higher than when they were just looking at the familiar bottle it came in. But why is this the case?
The olfactory bulb, which runs from the nose to the base of the brain, is where our sense of smell is handled. Its direct connections to the brain’s amygdala (which is responsible for processing emotion) and the hippocampus (which is linked to memory and cognition) have led neuroscientists to theorize that our brain learns to associate smells with certain emotional memories in a way that is more powerful than our other senses.
The implications for this close connection are wide-ranging. In the field of mental health, understanding the connection between scent and memory can prove to be a powerful tool in unlocking certain memories. In a September 2016 study titled “The Role of Odor-Evoked Memory in Psychological and Physiological Health,” Dr. Herz explores how the ability for smells to unlock positive memories can have a direct impact on a person’s wellbeing. “Positive moods and emotions are known to be beneficial for psychological health and odor-evoked memories have been shown to be more positive than memories elicited by other cues,” she writes.
She points to chronic stress as an example of a condition that odor-related therapies could help relieve. “A positive and calm mood is an antidote to stress, though when one is in a state of stress, pleasant moods are very hard to experience and maintain,” she writes. “The act of “comfort smelling” where a person sniffs a garment worn by a loved one they are separated from has been demonstrated to conjure the feelings of love, support, and comfort representative of the absent person.”
Beyond the worlds of health and wellbeing, the ties between scent, memory and emotion offer an interesting realm to explore for a variety of businesses. This isn’t a new concept—in the 1950s, the film industry came up with AromaRama and Smell-O-Vision, where they dispersed scene-specific scents throughout the movie theater to further pull audiences into the film. But today, the nuances and subtleties of scent and its emotional cues are being leveraged by businesses to create experiences that feel bespoke and luxurious. Many hotels and concept retail stores, for example, will infuse their spaces with their own signature scent, in the hope of more deeply integrating the positive experience of being in their worlds into our brain.
Then, of course, there is the world of scent. Perfume houses have long drawn on memories and nostalgia for bygone worlds as a source of inspiration for crafting their fragrances, but a new generation of perfumiers are taking it a step further. UK-based organic perfume maker Ffern, run by brother-sister duo Owen Mears and Emily Cameron, creates just one perfume per season, with clients having to sign up to their ledger system beforehand so that the brand only produces as many bottles as are needed. Not only does this eliminate waste, but it also makes the bottles even more precious.
The other component that makes the scents so special is that each one is inspired by a particular memory from Mears’ and Cameron’s experiences. For their Autumn 22 fragrance, the duo used a rich mix of dried spices and fresh herbs to recreate the scent of the biodynamic herb farm that sat at the end of their childhood street in Somerset and infused the air around them. While the perfume is rooted in something so personal to them, the use of natural scents means it often unlocks the wearer’s own memories. Plus, using the perfume throughout the season can mean it becomes tied to the memories you create while wearing it.
“I like to think of them as being constantly in conversation,” Cameron explains. “At Ffern, we use our memories to create scent, often a memory of a particular place at a particular time of year, while hoping that our scents can then become interwoven with memories of the seasons in which they’re worn.”
While our childhood is thought to be the most crucial period for developing our sense of smell and building odor-tied memories, the connections are constantly being made. Whether it’s switching to a different perfume or cologne for a specific experience—a vacation, wedding or even a first date—to create a unique connection, or just taking the time to be conscious of the scents that surround you, engaging with this crucial sense could help you save up a lifetime of memories.