...or wake up and smell the coffee ....wine....roses!
Recently, one of my granddaughters lost her sense of smell which triggered a quick trip to a COVID-19 test center. The result—she’d contracted the viral infection.
The incident reminded me how much we take for granted a valuable, but almost forgotten, sense. You don’t have to lose your sense of smell (known as anosmia) to appreciate it. While we’ve all experienced temporary anosmia due to colds or allergies, recent studies indicate that the lack of the ability to smell in older adults may be a predictor of a later onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
A phenomenal feature of scent is how it can reach deep into our psyche. For example, if I sniff certain crayons, it can transport me back to my childhood. Or, if I get a whiff of a certain laundry detergent it can bring back a memory of more than thirty years ago. A favorite word that I recently learned from another granddaughter is “petrichor” --the smell of rain in the air. That scent always brings a smile to my face because as a South Texan I always welcomed a summer rain in the middle of a heat wave.
Scent is tied to memories. Neuroscientists tell us that our olfactory organs have a direct line to the limbic system—that part of the brain that processes emotion and memory. Right now, I can’t wait to uncork a bottle of pinot noir to appreciate its bouquet before dinner!
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