Forgetting things is frustrating and it can make life inconvenient too, especially if you can’t remember where you left your smartphone or didn’t pick up an item you needed at the grocery store These “senior moments” become more common as the years go by, but they aren’t inevitable.
Staying physically and socially active, getting adequate sleep, managing stress, and engaging in mentally stimulating activities all help slow normal age-related memory changes. But are there other things to do to safeguard your brain against age-related changes or even boost its function?
The Power of Smell for Brain Health
Researchers at UC Irvine recently made an exciting discovery that could help boost memory as we age. They conducted a 6-month study. As part of the study, older adults diffused an essential oil blend in their bedrooms each night. The results? The subjects who used aromatherapy saw their cognitive test scores improve by an average of 226%.
For this groundbreaking study, the researchers recruited a diverse group of older adult volunteers ages 60-85 who did not have any existing memory problems.
To evaluate the effects of aromatherapy, they provided each participant with an essential oil diffuser along with seven specially designed cartridges filled with different natural essential oils like lavender and bergamot. The essential oils used were rose, orange, eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, rosemary, and lavender.
The participants were split into two groups – the enriched aromatherapy group received full-strength oil cartridges to infuse their bedrooms with scent for 2 hours each night as they slept. The control group used cartridges with only tiny trace amounts of oil instead.
Over the 6-month study, both groups continued their normal daily activities, with the only difference being the nightly aromatherapy exposure for those in the enriched scent group.
By having an active comparison control group, the researchers could examine how inhaling therapeutic levels of essential oils overnight impacts cognitive assessments over time compared to those exposed to just faint whiffs. This month-long experiment enabled them to evaluate whether aromatherapy could be an effective way to boost brain health into older age.
Improvements in Cognition
The results showed a significant increase in performance on cognitive assessments among the aromatherapy group. On average, their test scores rose by 226% compared to the control group.
“Our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that the chronic delivery of certain plant-derived scents can safely improve aspects of cognition in older individuals,” explains lead investigator Dr. Cora Tran. “This novel, non-invasive method could provide a simple and effective means of unlocking memory potential in seniors.”
How does it work? And could this unassuming, pleasant practice hold promise for the fifty million people worldwide grappling with dementia? Let’s uncover the science behind this sensory-based memory breakthrough.
These early findings suggest aromatherapy could be a promising non-invasive approach to help support memory and cognition in aging. Diffusing certain pleasant essential oil scents overnight may quietly enhance the brain’s ability to form and retain memories.
Of course, we’ll need more studies with larger participant pools to validate effectiveness and safety over time. Still, this sensory-based technique shows initial potential as an easily accessible and enjoyable way older adults could boost their mental sharpness.
Olfactory Sense and Memory
Could smell be a key to preserving brain health? Do you know the feeling when a certain smell evokes a long-forgotten moment? Like how freshly cut grass can transport you back to playing little league baseball as a child. Or the way grandma’s homemade apple pie instantly reminds you of chasing fireflies in her backyard.
The aromatherapy study provides compelling evidence that inhaling essential oils could be a potent catalyst for strengthening cognition and combatting senior moments. Researchers found that just a whiff of lavender as participants slept activated and regenerated critical areas like the hippocampus responsible for learning and recollection.
Our Sense of Smell Diminishes with Age
Unfortunately, as we get older, our sense of smell tends to worsen, particularly after reaching age 70. By the time most people turn eighty, over three out of four experience significant difficulties with their ability to smell. This age-related decline in our olfactory sense results from several interrelated changes, including structural shifts to nasal anatomy, damage to smell receptors in the nose, and alterations in how our brains process smells.
But scientists also know it can signal something more ominous – the slow erosion of memory and cognition. Researchers recognize the gradual decline of one’s sense of smell as a possible early warning sign, occurring years or even decades before eventual memory loss and cognitive impairment set in.
It’s easy to dismiss a diminishing olfactory ability as another inconvenience of getting older. But scientists have come to understand that something more worrisome may be taking place beneath the surface when our noses start letting us down.
The loss of smell is thought to be an early indicator of brain changes because of its direct, anatomical connection to brain structures central to learning, memory, and higher thinking. While many factors end up damaging smell over time, the nerve cells that detect scents are intertwined closely with parts of the brain targeted by diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
So, when those olfactory neurons first start to wither, it suggests preliminary deterioration may be spreading through networks involved in more major functions. The erosion of cognition then plays out slowly over the years.
Beyond a healthy lifestyle, could essential oils help slow this process? Only time and further research will tell.
Conclusion
Of course, we need more research to fully understand essential oils’ impact on the aging brain. But these early insights suggest sensory pleasures like aromatherapy could help seniors hold onto precious memories a little while longer – whether it’s the scent of fresh pie that transports you back to childhood or remembering where you left your car keys yesterday. The path ahead remains long, but for the growing number of older adults worldwide, this research signals the first steps towards finding a deeper connection between the sense of smell and brain health.
References:
- News N. Scentful Slumbers: Enhancing Memory in Older Adults Through Nightly Aromatherapy – Neuroscience News. Neuroscience News. Published August 2023. Accessed January 9, 2024. https://neurosciencenews.com/olfaction-memory-aging-23733/
- “How scent, emotion, and memory are intertwined — and exploited.” 27 Feb. 2020, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/02/how-scent-emotion-and-memory-are-intertwined-and-exploited/.
- Kostka JK, Bitzenhofer SH. How the sense of smell influences cognition throughout life. Neuroforum. 2022 Aug 26;28(3):177-185. doi: 10.1515/nf-2022-0007. Epub 2022 Jun 6. PMID: 36067120; PMCID: PMC9380998.
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