Did you know that smells have a stronger link to memory and emotion than any of the other senses?
"When you see, hear, touch, or taste something, that sensory information first heads to the thalamus, which acts as your brain's relay station. The thalamus then sends that information to the relevant brain areas, including the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory, and the amygdala, which does the emotional processing.
But with smells, it's different. Scents bypass the thalamus and go straight to the brain's smell center, known as the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, which might explain why the smell of something can so immediately trigger a detailed memory or even intense emotion.
But why, if we're such visual creatures, does smell get this elevated status in our brains? Some think it goes back to the way we evolved: Smell is one of the most rudimentary senses with roots in the way single-celled organisms interact with the chemicals around them, so it has the longest evolutionary history. This also might explain why we have at least 1,000 different types of smell receptors but only four types of light sensors and about four types of receptors for touch." - Excerpt from
Here's Why Smells Trigger Such Vivid Memories
Take in the smells all around you today: literally stop and smell the roses, notice scents from nature and those that are man made, take a big inhale of the food you're eating before that first bite, bury your face in your pet's fur, think of scents that make you feel nostalgic and remind you of joyful memories.
