After a stressful day, who wouldn’t like to drop in for a full body massage, where we can relax with fragrant oils? Why is it that scents help us to relax? Or have you ever felt that even years later, we can recall a moment triggered by a specific scent. And not just according to Proust.
It turned out that the daily use of high-quality essential oils can be beneficial in several ways. Inhaling a pleasant aroma during sleep has been associated with a “dramatic” improvement in memory, according to early research. In a small, randomized controlled trial, researchers discovered that cognitively healthy individuals who were exposed to the scent of an essential oil for 2 hours each night over a 6-month period experienced a 226% improvement in memory compared to a control group that received only a trace amount of the scent.
Additionally, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) revealed that those in the enriched group showed improved functioning in the left uncinate fasciculus, a brain area linked to memory and cognition, which typically declines with age. According to an interview with Medscape Medical News, the senior investigator Michael Leon, PhD, professor emeritus at the University of California, shared that the memory improvement is far greater than anything previously reported in healthy older adults. The team observed a critical memory pathway in their brains improving to a similar extent compared to unenriched older adults.
In their study, the researchers explain that olfactory enrichment involves exposing individuals to various scents on a daily basis, and has been shown in mouse models to enhance memory and promote neurogenesis. A previous study demonstrated that exposure to individual essential oils for 30 minutes a day over 3 months stimulated neurogenesis in both the olfactory bulb and the hippocampus.
As described, the olfactory system is unique in that it provides a direct pathway to the brain’s memory centers, unlike other senses, which reach these areas via more indirect routes. As a result, olfaction has a much stronger influence on maintaining the health of memory centers. When the sense of smell is impaired, these memory areas begin to deteriorate. Conversely, when olfactory enrichment is introduced, these regions grow in size and functionality. Olfactory dysfunction is the earliest symptom of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and is prevalent in almost all neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Boglarka Klementisz
