This past week I have been studying up on our sense of smell, more specifically our bodies’ olfactory and limbic systems. I am doing this in preparation to present to a group of elementary students tomorrow for their “Living off the Land” event. You may remember I attended last year as well, giving a demonstration on lip balm making, and it was such a great day! This year I decided to switch things up and am doing a hands-on exploration of aromatherapy and its effect on the body both emotionally and physically, using smelling jars…I’ll post more about this later, after the event.
Anyways, my anatomy and physiology is a little rusty to say the least. Coincidently, this is also the area I am working on in my aromatherapy certification course presently so that’s convenient timing. While the technical jargon is not particularly my cup of tea, I do feel that it is pretty important for an aromatherapist to be able to know how these processes work in order to make and utilize effective remedies.
Anyways, my anatomy and physiology is a little rusty to say the least. Coincidently, this is also the area I am working on in my aromatherapy certification course presently so that’s convenient timing. While the technical jargon is not particularly my cup of tea, I do feel that it is pretty important for an aromatherapist to be able to know how these processes work in order to make and utilize effective remedies.
I learned a few things this week about our sense of smell that are pretty fascinating to say the least!
- Fun Fact: Smelling an orange can relieve stress by up to 70%!
- Once an aroma is inhaled, it can reach the brain in just a matter of seconds and the entire body within minutes.
- There are over 6-10 million olfactory receptor cells within the nasal cavity, which can detect at least 1 trillion different aromas.
- The olfactory bulb (which sends aromatic impulses to the brain) is only one synapse away from the amygdala (the brain’s emotional control center) - suggesting the great potential aromatherapy has on influencing our emotions.
- Scent is closely tied to our memories: when a new scent is smelled for the first time our brain makes an imprint of the surroundings; then when we smell the same scent in the future a memory or feeling tied to it is automatically evoked.
- Our sense of smell shuts down while we are sleeping.
- Women have a better sense of smell than men! (Sorry guys!)
- The scent of coffee beans can act as a “palate cleanser” when the nose becomes overstimulated.
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