Do you smell that?

Your sense of smell is related to mental health. A diminished sense of smell is associated with worsening memory, cognition, dementia, and depression. In fact, troubles with smell are among the first signs of Alzheimer’s.

The areas of the brain involved with smell are uniquely connected to the parts involved in cognition. As one neurobiologist noted, “Our brains need a lot of olfactory stimulation in order to maintain their health. The olfactory system is the only sensory system that has a direct superhighway projection into the memory center and the emotional centers of your brain.”

Sadly, our sense of smell diminishes with age. It also diminishes because of infections, such as Covid, and from smoking and pollution. But it may be reversible! Example: master sommeliers sniff wine as part of their profession. Studies have shown that the longer they’ve been in the profession, the larger certain parts of their brains become. Those parts—the insula and entorhinal cortex—normally get thinner and smaller as we age. They are also the areas whose dysfunction is involved in Alzheimer’s disease. With sommeliers-in-training, those areas get bigger!

You can test your sense of smell with self-testing kits (search for them using “smell test kit”). You can also improve your sense of smell—and maybe brain functions—by training your nose like this: find four strong-smelling household items, such as a spice or some toothpaste. Sniff each of them in the morning and evening for at least 30 seconds. The point is to become more aware of smells. (I can’t imagine doing this every day—maybe not at all.) If you want to get serious, for about $375 you can buy a sommelier wine tasting kit. In addition to improving your olfactory acumen, you can become a wine-tasting smarty-pants!

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.