The Science of Using Scents

Happily, for most of us, most of the time, are noses are doing their job and we can pick up odours in the world around us.  Scientific studies consistently link particular smells to particular outcomes.

Before thinking about any particular smells, it’s important to know that when a person smells a smell that they themselves categorize as pleasant, their mood improves, that means they’re better at problem solving, creative thinking, and getting along with other people, for example.  We may have pleasant links to a smell because it was present in a place where we formed a happy memory or because we associate it with someone, we hold dear, for example.  Across cultures, many people have positive evaluations of floral smells.  Smelling pleasant scents helps us keep our stress levels in check.  Also, when we’re in a pleasantly scented space, we feel that we’ve spent less time there than if it’s not pleasantly scented, so it’s great that so many laundry detergents smell good; that helps us feel that we’ve spent less time in doing laundry.

We also tend to linger in spaces that smell extra good, so you can use scents to influence where people spend time in your home.

If you’re selling your home, be particularly attentive to how it smells; pleasantly scented spaces seem cleaner and brighter than unscented ones.

For scents to do their jobs, they should be used every so sparingly. A specific concentration can’t be identified for all situations, because in any room ceiling height, ventilation, etc., can vary, but a general rule of them is to start with very subtle amounts of scents.  Ask people in a space what it’s like to be in the area, if they mention an added scent, cut back.  You’re shooting for a concentration at which the scent is not spontaneously mentioned by anyone in the space as a feature of the area and when in a follow up question asking people specifically about scents in an area, some people still are not aware of a scent.

Also, a scent continues to “work” even after we’ve grown accustomed to it and no longer consciously perceive it.

Now, some smell specifics.  Each smell below has been linked by research to the effect noted.

Green apple – increases apparent size of a space

Sweet orange (that’s the sort of orange we normally eat) – reductions in anxiety levels

Floral scents  (particularly jasmine and hyacinth) – reductions in anxiety levels

Vanilla – reductions in anxiety levels, feel that they weigh more

Ylang-ylang – feel calmer, less alert

Lemon – feel less stressed, more relaxed, boosts mood and cognitive performance, feel that they weigh less

Mango – feel less stressed, more relaxed

Lavender – feel less stressed, more relaxed, encourages sleep, linked to greater trust in other people

Rosemary – improves memory and impressions of own alertness

Sage – improves memory and impressions of own alertness

Peppermint – improves memory, impressions of own alertness.

Chocolate – enhanced cognitive ability and performance of clerical-type tasks

Grapefruit – feeling energized

Tangerine – feeling energized

Peppermint – feeling energized

Eucalyptus – feeling energized

Smells we associate with cleaning – acting to keep a place physically clean and also being more positive towards other people, for example, fairer and more generous to others.

“Warmer” scents (for example, cedar wood), “cooler” scents (such as eucalyptus) – feeling slightly warmer or colder.