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Wellness
LifestyleHealth & Wellness

How your sense of smell is closely linked to your memory, and how you can fine-tune it to improve your memory and thinking

  • Smell is more closely linked to memory than the other senses, and smells can take us back to events and places we may have forgotten
  • New research shows you can improve your memory and cognition by exercising your sense of smell, quitting smoking and making other lifestyle changes

Reading Time:5 minutes
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Our sense of smell is deeply entwined with our memory, and recent research shows it is possible to actually improve memory and cognition by exercising our sense of smell, in nature and elsewhere. Photo: Shutterstock
Anthea Rowan

Of our five senses, it’s often the one that we think about the least: our sense of smell.

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Our olfactory sense delivers critical information, from sniffing out potential dangers like smoke to picking up the aroma of freshly baked bread.

New studies have uncovered more reasons to appreciate this sense. Boosting its ability has been linked to better memory and cognition.

During the coronavirus pandemic, everyone got better at registering how well their noses were working: losing that sense was often an early symptom of infection. That’s because a viral illness can damage the nerve receptors in your nose and can change your perception of smell.
The olfactory bulb, which manages our sense of smell, sits at the bottom of the cerebral hemisphere near the front of the brain. Illustration: Shutterstock
The olfactory bulb, which manages our sense of smell, sits at the bottom of the cerebral hemisphere near the front of the brain. Illustration: Shutterstock

Our sense of smell – the only sense fully developed in the womb – is managed by the olfactory bulb, which sits at the bottom of the cerebral hemisphere near the front of the brain and above the top of the nose.

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Some neurological disorders illustrate the close connection between sense of smell and the brain. For example, people with a rare condition called synaesthesia – which causes a sort of sense crossover – can “taste” shapes or “smell” colours.
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