Ya know how you sometimes smell something and are transported to a powerful memory? Like cotton candy and that time you uncontrollably sobbed when your friends left you at the town fair?!
Well, a new study found that smelling various odors not only conjures memories, but, when done while you sleep, it improves your overall memory!
In the study, 43 participants not suffering from memory loss were divided into two groups. One group received a natural oil diffuser and seven powerful fragrance cartridges: rose, orange, eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, rosemary, and lavender. The control group got "sham" cartridges.
Over the course of six months, all participants were instructed to diffuse a different cartridge before going to bed, emitting either pleasant odors or almost nothing at all for two hours while they dozed off.
By the end of the study, the adults with the scents showed a remarkable 226 percent improvement in cognitive performance, evaluated via a word learning test, and backed-up by imaging that revealed strongly functionality in a brain pathway associated with memory.
"The idea is that [smelling in your sleep] keeps the memory centers of your brain in good condition throughout life, and perhaps prevents memory loss later in life," says study co-author Michael Leon, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at UCLA.
Am I the only one who is completely flabbergasted by these findings? Do we all start blasting lavender oil at 10pm on a nightly basis? What if I don't like lavender oil?
