Start The Year With A Challenge: Your Nose

I am truly excited about this to the point I have been trying it myself for a few weeks. Can I say it is working? I am not sure yet but I have nothing to loose, neither do you so read on to find out more…

I was challenged a few years ago to do something that seemed so easy but naturally kind of silly. The challenge was part of a bigger picture about: is God a God of encounter? That is does He like to share in our experiences and can we share ours with Him?

Hear me out because this has to do very much with your health! Unless brain function does not interest you…..

The challenge was for a certain time to ask God to speak to you in one of your 5 senses. This month my challenge to you is - your smeller!

Olfactory Enrichment is a thing! Olfactory means having to do with your sense of smell. The Olfactory nerve is the shortest cranial nerve. What that means is the olfactory nerve is the shortest distance from the outside world to your brain. Your sense of smell is directly linked to your brain and memory health. One doctor I listened to said he knew of 137 health issues that were linked to the sense of smell.

The ability to smell is linked to slower brain volume loss, memory, decision making, and speech. Depression can be helped through olfactory enrichment, your sense of smell.

"The olfactory system has the only direct superhighway access to the memory centers and the emotional center of the brain," says Michael Leon, PhD, a professor emeritus of neurobiology and behavior at the University of California.

Smell training can be helpful with memory and cognition. Yes you can train your sense of smell. Currently olfactory retraining is being used to help after Covid as it is estimated that 60% of Covid patients lost their sense of taste and smell.

There have been quite a few studies with huge benefit results working with older people to seek an easy and affordable way to improve brain health, specifically for Alzheimer’s and Dementia plus cognitive function. “Alzheimer’s” says Dr. Jean-Pierre Willhelm, M.D., “ is critically bound with our sense of smell and the limbic area of our brain. He says in France aroma therapy has been used in hospitals and nursing homes for more than 10 years and it is recognized as having striking results to the patients and residents. Often one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s is a loss of smell.”

In another 2023 study the people received a memory and thinking test called the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test before and after the study along with an MRI of their brain. The group of people was aged 60-85. Some of the people were given a diffuser and real smells and the others received a diffuser with mainly water with minimal smell. They would run the diffuser for 2 hours at night while sleeping and circulate through 7 different scents, alternating each evening, one different scent per night. The scents were peppermint, eucalyptus, lemon, orange, rose, rosemary and lavender. The results were staggering. In the group who received the “real” smells a 226% improvement in cognitive ability occurred!

That is why I’m trying it, a 226% improvement in cognitive health is massive and it is easy, and affordable to do.

The How To:

1. Get a diffuser, there are ones designed to automatically shut off after 2 hours

   (Diffuser World, Amazon)

2. Choose the essential oils, I stayed with the 7 from the study and Diffuser world had them in a bundle

3. Buy essential oils from reputable sources- the Health Food stores have good brands

4. Consistency is important, at night switch out the essential oil and turn on the machine for 2 hours a night

5. Do this for 4-6 months or longer

   
   

The studies on older people show remarkable results so what would olfactory enrichment help in younger people?

1. Improved memory and learning. The olfactory system has a direct route to your limbic system which includes memory and emotional processing

2. Enhanced neuroplasticity which means it encourages new neurons and structural changes in the brain

3. Potential for academic success

4. Can help with depression

5. Currently studies have seen improvement with autism

   
   

If you have breathing or lung issues you will want to discuss this with your doctor before starting anything.

The studies show Olfactory Enrichment can be beneficial for any age.

What if you have lost your sense of smell or it has become weaker? Speak to your dr first because your sense of smell is a direct link to a number of medical conditions. It is reported there are a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders linked to olfactory decline. Second, get an olfactory retaining kit such as this one from Amazon.

There are 2 kits: Phase 1 & 2

Actual Retraining is a bit more time than the diffuser method but in terms of brain health, probably so worth it. Retraining can stimulate this pathway and promotes the growth of new neurons (neurogenesis) and strengthens connections, improving learning and memory.

Here is a quote from CSIRO out of Australia, link to follow:

"Smell training is emerging as a promising experimental treatment option for olfactory dysfunction. For people experiencing smell loss after COVID, it's been show to improve the ability to detect and differentiate odours.”

Smell training (or "olfactory training") was first tested in 2009 in a German psychology study. It involves sniffing robust odours - such as floral, citrus, aromatic or fruity scents — at least twice a day for 10-20 seconds at a time, usually over a 3-6 month period.

Link: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2025/January/Train-your-nose

Participants are asked to focus on the memory of the smell while sniffing and recall information about the odour and its intensity. This is believed to help reorganize the nerve connections in the brain, although the exact mechanism behind it is still being studied.

You may be wondering if I’m off my rocker but honestly I am not. You can research yourself Olfactory Enrichment and see the various studies that have been done. Look at the medical papers that have cited various clinical studies.

You are a complete package. Your nose, your toes, your elbow are all connected. Remember the song: the heel bone is connected to the leg bone, the leg bone is connected to the knee bone.. and so on.

God is a remarkable Creator! Our bodies are designed to work together. BUT more important than anything is the fact that your Creator gave you your sense of smell. Do you not think He can use it in such a way to communicate with you?

So the challenge I did was to ask God to speak to me for a certain amount of time specifically in one of my 5 senses, after all He is very familiar with them.

I have to tell you this exercise was one of the funnest and most encouraging ones I have ever done. Consider it a scientific spiritual experiment, and expect God to answer and show up.

This month we will focus on your sense of smell, with the health benefits and the getting to know God better. What really do you have to loose?

Sniff on my friends and join me on Olfactory testing.