We often take it for granted, but our sense of smell is helping us live our lives every day. Smell can alert us, entice us, even relax us. Researcher Dr. Alan Hirsch says even “concentrations so weak they are below the threshold of consciousness, still affect peoples’ moods subconsciously.”

Second only to vision in strength, the sense of smell proves to have easy and immediate access to our memories and hence emotions. “Seventy-five percent of the emotions we generate on a daily basis are affected by smell,” says one expert. “Next to sight, it’s the most important sense we have.”
Endless amounts of research continue to prove this relationship between the sense of smell and our ability to retrieve memories and evoke emotions.

Here are some fun facts about the sense of smell:

• The sense of smell is directly linked to the center for memory and emotion in the brain through the olfactory system;
• Over 70% of our emotions are based on things we smell;
• Smells can be recalled with great accuracy after long periods of time –
• Remember the smell of fresh bread as you walk past the bakery?;
• The sense of smell can be used to influence mood or concentration;
• Increase alertness or reduce anxiety, relieve stress and enhance the quality of life.
• Pleasant fragrances have been proven to elevate mood and reduce depression;
• Aromas can be used to increase staff productivity;
• Our sense of smell is responsible for 80% of what we taste;
• Everyone has their own unique odor identity or smell “fingerprint;”
• A woman’s sense of smell is keener than a man’s;
• Our sense of smell is at work even when we are sleeping;
• Odor can trigger or retrieve a memory instantly;
• We can not turn off our sense of smell.